After the 30/30 Challenge - The Happy Recap

Interested in a painting here? Check my Etsy shop OR leave me a comment or an email.

Thank you all for following my painting journey. I hope you'll stick around and to see what happens in the future! I also hope that you've joined my blog with your email  (so you don't miss a post) and/or joined my email list (MUCH less frequent postings!). Please share with your friends.

As in September (and last January) the question is: What's the takeaway? What did I get out of this? And in some ways the answer then, is the answer now. 

My answer is much the same as it was previously - The Challenge is NOT about creating a masterpiece - it's about just doing it – a square inch of a doodle, or discovering a new tool or medium. It's about planning and spontaneity, problem solving and editing. (And to repeat myself) It's discovering your limits in the moment AND that there are no limits in the big picture (pun intended!). 

It's about pushing yourself and honoring a commitment TO YOURSELF. And it's hard to find the time when the rent/insurance/phone needs to be paid and the cats need to eat, so you have to do your "day job," which is a perfectly fine day job, but secretly, you'd rather be tramping about in some farm field or on a rocky coast finding the perfect place to paint. (And then of course selling it before it's even finished!)

In 13 months I've painted more than 90 paintings! That alone is an amazing number! 

In this Challenge I painted:

(some count in multiple categories)

7.5 pastels

22.5 watercolors (White Daisy counts for that 1/2)

7 Birds and Animals

10 Landscapes/Buildings

5 Winter scenes

10 Still Lifes/Flowers/ Vegetables

1 portrait

1 car

2 "Tangles"

Did I miss anything?

This year, I know I had to make a concerted effort to use brighter colors – the weather was dreary and COLD and I think it really got to me!

If you are interested in purchasing paintings from this or a previous challenge, most of the postings have a link to my Etsy shop (or will VERY soon). If there's something that you've seen either here, in person or on my FB page, that doesn't have a link or a price, please feel free to contact me.

January 2013 - 30/30 Challenge

These are the paintings from last January. It's an interesting comparison. 

These seem to be a much brighter palette.