Let's be sensible about this

Today I did something I’ve always wanted to do, but never have been able to.

It’s very logical to stretch a whole bunch of canvases at one time, so they’re all ready when you want to work. I’ve even read the sage advice that, when an artist has a day of creative block, s/he simply spend time doing something functional like stretching canvases, and that will shake the block loose.

But I’ve never been able to stem the creative tide long enough to stretch more than one canvas at a time! In fact, I usually come roaring into the studio and can barely contain myself long enough to stretch one canvas, never mind more than one, before I starting wielding the paint brush. Sometimes I CAN’T wait, and I just unroll the canvas, paint on it, and stretch it later.

To me, the idea of stretching lots of canvases at once is like suggesting that someone spend a whole day wrapping freshly baked chocolate chip cookies in wax paper for later consumption, rather than eating them right away. Who can bear to postpone that kind of pleasure?!

But today I actually managed to exert some self-control: I stretched seven entire canvases! Here they are in a nice neat little pile (as Mabel says in “I'll Never Be Jealous Again” from “The Pajama Game”), all ready to get fancy. I feel so mature!