30 Paintings in 30 Days
For the past three years I've participated in the "30 Paintings in 30 Days" challenge started by California artist Leslie Saeta. This marks the 8th year that artists from around the globe have committed to creating a new painting each day for 30 straight days.
The last two years that I've started the challenge, I was all gung-ho! I couldn't wait to have 30 brand spankin' new paintings lined-up around my studio. However, it never failed that around the 2 week point, reality sets in, life happens, and realistically end up with around 15-18 pieces. It's easy to get hung up on the number, however, the point of the challenge is not about quantity or even quality. It's about creating the habit of painting every day and giving yourself permission to try new things. And quite honestly, no one will ever know if you don't paint all 30 unless you tell on yourself (like I just did.)
But, guess what happened this year! I painted all 30! I used the challenge to test out a new approach of painting on heavyduty watercolor (cold-pressed) paper. I noticed where other artists were using paper as a substrate and figured it would be a great way to offer customers lower cost originals. I matted them with these really nice 11x14 archival quality matts (see picture above) which, in my opinion, look super sharp. I also tried out an idea for some abstract deer and horse paintings that had been bouncing around in my head for a while. I'm really digging the new style!
Here's a slideshow of all of my new paintings from the challenge. Most are still available so if you see one you like just visit my shop section.
