The Challenge,

Hi everyone! So back in September I decided that I wanted to participate in a 30 paintings in 30 days challenge. To push myself out of my comfort zone and see what I could do. Also I wanted to create more and try new techniques. I had decide that all my paintings would be 5×7’s, to be sure it was something I could accomplish in one day. If it was too large I would just set myself up to fail. Deciding to start with a winter theme so I could have something for cards come Christmas time. I started my journey.

Painting day by day,

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Day one I found a picture I was excited about painting, and worked on it though out the day. Stopping off and on to pick up kids from school and take care of them. Finally finishing my painting in the evening, I was very excited to have finished the first one and loved it. I felt like I was off to a good start! But what I didn’t expect was for it to sell within seconds of it being posted! What!?! I was in shock and happy, its always a different feeling to sell and original piece compared to a commission.

Day two didn’t take me very long and I again felt like things were going well. That night I ended up sick with a horrible stomach bug 🙁

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On day three I was still very sick, and felt worried about the challenge. I didn’t want to fail two days in! So I decided to pick something that would be fairly simple. I started working but things just got worse. At one point I had to stop and ask for a puke bucket because I was going to be sick, and was. I had to rest for a couple of hours after that because of the pain i was in. I then finished my painting. As I look back that painting really does reflect how I was feeling that day, in the muted/dark colors and the choppy water. I am glad that I pushed through as I do love this piece. Painting while feeling sick helped me to see how far I could push myself and what I could accomplish.

Day 4’s painting is probably my favorite of the 30 day challenge. I love how the mountains and flowers turned out. We were canning peaches and pears so I was glad to be feeling better. Canning before painting so we would have enough time to finish. If you have ever canned you know that it is a little time consuming. Day five was a good day but Day 6 the stomach bug came back and was worse this time around. I painted a quick animal so I could have my painting done and rest to get over my sickness more quickly.

By day seven I was all better, Yay!! I hoped I stayed better this time. Wanting to paint something happy for day 7 I painted winter trees.  It ended up being my most popular painting for the 30 day challenge. This painting sold as well! Despite being very sick, I made it though the first week!  Getting tired of doing winter scenes I decided I needed more variety. Fall was approaching and I thought it would be fun for the next 5 or 6 paintings, then change to something else.

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I never knew until the day of what I was going to paint, I need to connect with each picture. To visualize how i was going to paint it. After my series of fall paintings I decided to do extreme outdoor sports. Usually things that I had done or would like to do. Looking though my pictures and found a bunch from when I went to Yellowstone National Park. I love the rugged beauty of Yellowstone and decided that I needed to paint some of the many pictures I had taken. I loved playing with the vibrant colors that make up the geysers, and practicing techniques for the steam coming up everywhere.

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By day 27 I was down to my last 4 days! Being so close to finishing I found myself thinking about places I would love to visit. So my last paintings were vacation spots.

With all I’ve learned and accomplished this month I’m excited for where my art is headed. Learning to have more confidence in myself, as I had no time to think about all that could go wrong in each painting. I just needed to trust in my ability and know I have trained and worked most of my life to do this. By working every day I was able to work faster and accomplish all I set out to do for each painting. Looking back on my 30 day paintings Im so happy with what I produced. Did all of them go how I first imagined? No, not always. But, I did it and I was ultimately happy how each one turned out. Im excited to try this again and continue to learn, grow and push myself beyond my boundaries.

To check all my paintings from this challenge, follow the link : 30 Paintings in 30 Days