Here are some of my observations throughout this past month.
1. I couldn't have done this without my family respecting my time of exploration and near isolation. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
2. On the first day, I ambitiously started a 12" x 9" painting and completed it in one day (I show you the step-by-step process on Day 1 - Jan 3). However, I quickly realized that particular size was not going to be manageable on a daily basis. I subsequently downsized to 9" x 6" for the next 2 days, and then to 6" x 4" for the next 27 days.
3. I included subject matter that I would never normally reach for. A lime green chair?? Rose petals?
4. I used colors that I don't normally reach for either (e.g. Peacock Blue), along with a paper that I've never painted on (Fabriano 140#). I may incorporate both into my normal routines as a result from now on!
5. I'd wake up early every morning (4 or 5am) and be excited and anxious to tackle that day's painting. I'd go to bed at night, worn out, having quickly planned what I wanted to paint the next day.
6. At Day 7, I thought I'd need to quit! By Day 15, I knew I could do it. On Day 30, I almost ran out of time due to overbooking myself that day but, just under the wire, I did it! The "rules" of the challenge were that we had 24 hrs after the day of the painting to photograph it and post it to the official website for the challenge. (I realized that photographing artwork with a flash at night is not worth it. I'd wait till the early morning sun was out, which allowed me to capture the colors much more easily. I also realized that my knowledge of Photoshop, as little as it is, helped me tremendously to pull this off. I can't imagine having to deal with the technicalities of doing all that without feeling comfortable with some kind of photo editing software.)
7. It took discipline to record my daily adventures in my blog. When I thought I couldn't think or perform anymore that day, I had to spend a few more precious minutes on my posts. (We had to have a blog in order to qualify and participate in the official challenge. We also had to post our prices for our work)
8. I found myself buoyed up by my friends' daily comments on Facebook. You made my every step a little lighter. Thank you!!!
9. I would do this again in a heartbeat, except I'd much prefer it to be a 5 day/week challenge, not 7 days/week. Real life sure does have a way of making itself heard (especially because I missed having my little grands around me as much as I'd like), and it would be nice to have a little leeway in the schedule. Other than that, I recommend it to anyone that's ever entertained the thought of such a challenge.
10. I owe a personal thank you to Leslie Saeta for posting the challenge. Thank you also to the other 220+ artists from around the world that participated in the challenge. I tried to hold up my end of the bargain because of you! You may view all of the paintings in this 30 day challenge by all of these fantastic artists by visiting: http://lesliesaeta.blogspot.com/
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I think you just may have voiced it for all of us who took part in the challenge. I know you did for me. I really like the way all your paintings go together. So beautiful! Good job.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Sonia!!!
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