One more day. That's it. One more day in the 30 day challenge. Hard to believe I'm near the end of the month. I have learned alot and I haven't learned all there is to know.

This painting was a hard fought battle between me and the paint. There's a lot of paint on this one today. I started last Thursday and left town for three days to paint the inside of a house in another state. I finally got back to it today and I thought "oh no, not again" thinking it wasn't going to work and I'd have to wipe it out and start all over. Well, I perservered and am happy.

There a ton of glare on this photo and I'll upload a better one once I get it. But here it is. 

And, I'm happy to say that this beautiful baby boy's painting will be heading home to his Momma and Daddy. When Momma likes it, you know it's a good day.

Oh boy I am so tired. It's been a long week and we're only at Wednesday. I made an effort to get in the studio. I worked on one of my earlier paintings and, again, it was not successful. I tried to figure it out and I think I've got it. The lighting of the subject has to be right. Also, when using photography there needs to be an understanding that photographs will flatten and skew angles and edges so it's so important to keep that in mind when using photos as reference material. I should probably be working directly from models but I am not. This is the route I'm taking right now and I'm seeing how far I can push myself. 

I've worked on a total of 9 paintings since the beginning of this month. Only 6 of those do I consider successful. I've also completed 10 drawings. I'm learning a lot about what elements of painting work and which ones don't work. And then there's those moments when you stand right in front of the canvas and say "I can't remember what colors to mix today." 

There are only 6 days left in the month. I am hoping that I can manage to paint with some success at least two more. That's a stretch considering I have to go and paint a house - a real house - this weekend. That takes out 3 days from my next 6. 

So, for today, I am posting the drawing of this cutie pie. I asked him if he would smile for the camera and his reply was simply "no". 

Today was the day of extreme distractions. I brought it on myself. There were good distractions and bad distractions and no, I can't share them with you because they are very personal.

I worked diligently to get out of my own head and just focus on the painting, once I finally got back into the studio this afternoon. (See the first photo above). But, it just didn't work. I started out okay but I knew the longer I painted that it wasn't what I wanted. So, I wiped away the painting. I just had to do it. (You can see below what it looked like when I'd had enough!) Now all that's left is a white canvas and a fresh beginning.

This is the longest period of time that I have ever spent just focused on one thing, one subject matter. I think maybe I hit a brick wall. I'm not sure. Tomorrow I go back to the routine that's been working for me, and I will work toward eliminating distractions. Wish me luck!

I didn't think I'd have time in the studio this afternoon but it happened and I am grateful once again.

I started late this afternoon and this drawing took me about 2 hours. I have tried to pay attention to what I'm doing and when my eyes get tired and the muscles in my eyes don't want to work anymore where everything starts to go fuzzy. It's when I'm drawing. It's not when I'm painting. It seems to be when I'm drawing. This just means more breaks and the drawing process will need to take longer than what I'm allowing for it. 

BUT, the purpose of this challenge isn't to take as long as possible. The purpose of this challenge is to see what I can accomplish in 2 to 4 to 6 hrs of time a day with a drawing on one day and the painting on the next. Yes, I know I took two painting days on the last painting. I'm leaving some of these rules flexible to see what's working and what's not. 

There's a lot to learn in painting. I've been told by several seasoned painters that we will never know everything about everything about painting. It's a life long learning process. 

And so I will leave you tonight with the following quote from the Japanese artist, Hokusai Katsushika which I love.

The first time I heard this was during an interview of artist, Joseph Todorovitch, on The Savvy Painter podcast. I highly recommend the podcast.

“From around the age of six, I had the habit of sketching from life. I became an artist, and from fifty on began producing works that won some reputation, but nothing I did before the age of seventy was worthy of attention. At seventy-three, I began to grasp the structures of birds and beasts, insects and fish, and of the way plants grow. If I go on trying, I will surely understand them still better by the time I am eighty-six, so that by ninety I will have penetrated to their essential nature. At one hundred, I may well have a positively divine understanding of them, while at one hundred and thirty, forty, or more I will have reached the stage where every dot and every stroke I paint will be alive. May Heaven, that grants long life, give me the chance to prove that this is no lie.” ― Hokusai Katsushika

Took  me two days of working on this one. I thought all was lost when I started this morning. I've had so many distractions this week with the ice/snow going on and the city being shut down and the family all stuck inside together. Until I had absolute quiet for most of today, I didn't realize what an impact on my art they had. I don't want to say it's negative having them around but it definitely affects my attention to the work and the ability to get lost in the work.

I keep thinking I want to call this painting "The Art Critic" because not only is he an amazing artist at just 14, he's pretty good at critiquing work as well - and that's a good thing. Honest critiques are important. His first comment when he saw it was "not bad". Well, thank you. I love you, too! He did point out a couple of things for me to think about. Maybe tomorrow.

Day 17 was a struggle. I thought I'd struggle on something earlier in the month on this personal challenge but it finally happened today. It's not even the same as the earlier painting I was so unsatisfied with I didn't want anyone to see it. It's just the seeing and placing the marks down. And my eyes are so tired. I probably need to start earlier in the day. I usually start right after lunch since that gives me time to take care of other business first and it allows me to clear my head. I think I'll start working earlier tomorrow.

This was so much a struggle that when my husband came into the studio about 3 hrs in and said I had a long way to go I continued working. Then when I was done and he saw it he said "oh wow, you did a lot in a short amount of time. I guess it's good I came into the studio." Yeah, that's what helped me. He's magical that way.

This is painting #7. This Beautiful Bearded Boy. My first attempt to paint a beard didn't turn out so well. (FYI - I didn't post that painting).  Glad this went much better. Constantly learning. Can't wait to go back to the first one and see what I can do with it now. I'm loving this process. I love the idea of sticking with these portraits every day and all month. What a challenge for me. I can't go 30 days without a Dr. Pepper, but I can stick with this. 

Definitely going back to this one tomorrow. I want to go back to the original drawing and double check some things. It's a learning process so constant checking what I'm doing is so important for me. I can tell when I'm getting to the boundaries of how long I can work during the day on the painting. I think four hours is my limit in order to keep some perspective on how it's going.

Still working on taking the breaks throughout the day. 

By the way, I waited all day for the snow and as of right now we're only getting sleet at my house. Needless to say, I did not go out and play in the snow. If we were 30 miles north of here, we would have had it. We're supposed to get snow over the next few hours though. But it's now tooooo cold out there!  

Days 13 and 14 fell over the weekend. Although I did go into the studio and work a little while, it was not enough time to finish a drawing or a painting. I try to spend my weekends with the family doing the stuff I have to do and the other stuff I like to do - like take a long nap on Sunday afternoon!

Day 15 brings me another drawing. This bearded boy. I did this one twice. I sketched it all out and then erased the entire drawing and started over again. My brain and eyes needed a break so I'm leaving it for a fresh look-see in the morning. 

I heard that it might snow around here tomorrow and I have my fingers crossed for that to happen. If it does, well, I might not be in the studio all day. Snow days - as rare as they are - are lots of fun for us Southerners!

12 Days - 6 Paintings

Yesterday, I laid out my paints and pre-mixed several colors and values. Walking in to the studio this morning was easier to do because I felt more ready to start painting. Even though I'm using a limited color palette, I don't feel like I'm limited by my color choices. I really thought I'd feel deprived not having all the colors I typically use. I'm thinking more of value and whether the color is warm or cool, thinking about the placement of that warm or cool value and what it does to the form when I lay it in. I didn't think I'd be doing as much thinking either during this process but I am. It's a work in progress in finding where the thinking and the intuition come together during the painting process for me. 

"Grace Happens" 
10" x 12"
Oil on Linen Panel

I really love this child's hair. I am keeping her hair as big shapes and tried not to get too bogged down in the details of every curl and wisp. I am working on thinking more about larger shapes, what's the least amount of information necessary to convey the form. I've got a long way to go but I'm loving the process of discovering it.  

It's now Day 11 and I've decided this should be called "My Daily Art Challenge". My initial intent was to paint a portrait everyday for the 30 days during January. What's happening is I'm drawing and painting and not accomplishing both in the same day - which is what I was hoping I'd do. And the 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge has become more for me. And, of course, as usual, I think I can fit more into my life and my schedule than can actually happen. This time, I'm okay with it. I am enjoying the drawing process a lot. The process is evolving over each painting.

I decided for tomorrow's painting session, I would pre-mix colors on my palette. Really looking forward to it. I'm enjoying the consistency of being in the studio for about 4 hrs on average each day. Also, thinking about you looking at these works in progress also "forces" me to consider more what I am doing. In a really good way.