I love having things in their place. I enjoy having things neat and tidy in our home. It is always for an aesthetic. It is all about how it looks for me. It is that creative in me that drives this. The studio is a whole other story. I just can’t get through a painting if I can’t make a mess in the process. I learned how to set up a beautiful palette when I began painting years ago in oils and painting landscapes that I spent weeks and months painting. With abstracts I’m always adding new colors and mixing and using a palette knife that takes up room. This photo shows a paper palette on top of my regular palette. I just cannot keep a clean palette with acrylics because they dry so quickly. So, Ive resorted to this. It works for me. I’ve resorted to this in life as well. I’ve decided to stop living by so many rules that aren’t even mine. Who created so many of our unspoken goofy rules anyway? I could list thousands that I try to keep even though they do not benefit me and how I do life or at least how I want to do life. So many were just passed down and for some reason I have never questioned them. I’ve got a lot of should and shouldn’ts that apparently other people do not have. So, at 50 I’ve decided to make my own! So, here’s to messy paper palettes! May you question your own shoulds and live the life you’ve always dreamed of having the guts to live. That’s what I’m trying to do. I can certainly tell you that” shoulding” all over myself certainly hasn’t made me more lovable or likable or more kind!