30 in 30 - Day 29 - Layers of Light...in progress

8x10

oil on linen on panel

 

 Spent the day at Malibu Nature Preserve with Allied Artists for the 11th Annual Exhibit.  Sold a few paintings and enjoyed the beautiful weather, talking to collectors and the other artists, but most of all I had the chance to paint and  I got a little closer to reaching 30 paintings in 30 days:-)   The lighting for this scene was what drew me to paint it.  A really dark background with with a back area that looked really cool gray and a very lit up foreground.  I managed to take one picture half-way through when I was playing around with some color choices and the top picture is where I left off at the end of my session. It still needs some finishing touches and adjustments.  Back-lit trees are always a real challenge.   Hope all the 30 in 30 Artists are hanging in there!  Only one day to go!

Morning Shadows - Day 30!!!!!

8x10

Oil on Linen on Panel

Painted on location at Paramount Ranch

Day 30 of

30 Paintings in 30 Days

Taking stock of this challenge and what it has done for me

I feel that the biggest thing painting

                                                30 paintings in 30 days has given me is:

To build my confidence!

Several times I've been told that..."to get better, all you need is to just paint everyday"...And now I see, now I feel that I know from experience why they say that:)

It's a numbers game!
Not every painting is a winner and having to move on, (because I have another painting to paint
tomorrow), means:

I'm working faster.
I don't have the luxury of time to second guess my every move and get stuck on details as much.
I've had to leave good enough alone and move on.
I've put down a few more strokes and then left them alone.
I've been more willing to wipe things off, not as attached to every piece.
I've given up on "getting it right" and have followed my instincts more.
I've listened within and have gotten more in touch with what I like and what I'm drawn to paint.
I've found a few of my own personal shortcuts that work for me to get the drawing right and figure out angles etc.  (turning my reference and my painting up-side down is one of my favorites)

Simply said, if one out of 5 is a winner....I'm more likely to have 5 winners after 30, than 5 winners after 5, and hopefully improve that much faster:)

I just realized that in 2012 I had 34 blogposts the whole year and now I will have nearly as many (30) tomorrow, after only 1 month in 2013 woooohoooo!

I want to thank Leslie for getting me and all the other artists jump-started in this way.
I'm ready to tackle bigger paintings and new ideas with momentum.
I've connected with some great artists that I didn't know before, even one painting as close as 50 feet away from me!!
I now proudly have 14 followers as opposed to 3 before (little by little:)
I've gotten great feedback - and comments, - wow what's that?!!
I've even been told that I've inspired some other artists to paint more.

HAPPY PAINTING EVERYONE!