The Fallback Plan

Recently I was reading an article about fallback plans. The article was about keeping up your exercise and healthy eating habits during the busy summer months, but I think many artists also need one for their art practice, or at lest this artist does!
The term fall back plan was apparently coined by Stonewall Jackson during the civil war, the story goes that he never went into battle with out first planning a retreat that would give him a defensible point to regroup, then resume attacking.
It seems counter intuitive to plan a retreat before an attack, but by planning ahead he was able to keep losses to a minimum, and gains to a maximum.
There is no doubt that many of us lose ground during the summer months. The kids/grandkids are off school and need attention. The garden is producing weeds faster than a mere mortal gardener can keep ahead of. Spouses expect strange things like, meals, clean laundry, and most startling of all participation in family events and vacations.
What's a poor artist to do!?! Why doesn't the world understand that this is plein aire season, and art shows, art fairs, art in the park all need attending.
It's very easy for things to slip between the cracks. In my art practice unfortunately it's the creation of art it's self that often gets short shrift, lessons have to be planned, and taught. Paperwork has to be kept up to date, and all of the afore mentioned need attending to too.
Over the years I've created many plans, but for me, it comes down to very simply planning each day. When I do that I can usually find a hour or two a few times a week, that I can declare protected and exclusively for the production of art, the hard task then is to make the mental shift to creative on cue.
More on that.....next week.

work in progress, 3rd texture layer.