Monday, September 2, 2013

30 Painting Days in 30 Days

 Acrylic, 12x12"

Notice I did not say 30 Paintings in 30 Days in my Subject Line?  Most of my artist blogger friends are doing a 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge.  I'm along for the ride, but my intention is to have 30 painting days in 30 days, not to complete 30 paintings in 30 days.   I would LOVE to do 30 paintings in 30 days, but I quickly figured out last time that with my schedule, I would be placing myself under far too much stress to make myself do an actual 30 paintings.  After all, I don't want to come out of the challenge hating the act of painting! 

Leslie Saeta is once again the initiator of the challenge, and you can follow the challenge on her blog.  Over 200 artists are participating.  So many great things happened to me the last time I joined the challenge (read about it here), that I just couldn't resist saying "YES!"  again.  "Why don't you dance?"

 Leslie has encouraged us to have a theme for our paintings.  I have decided that my theme is "joy and learning."  I want to paint subjects that bring joy when I see them and be in joy when I am painting.  I hope to learn more about my preferences for applying paint, and maybe I'll even learn how to take better photos of my art.  If I do, I promise I'll replace the above photo!  I also learned I'm going to put a timed limit on each painting.  The above painting took a long time, longer than I have to spend daily.

What did I learn from the above painting?  I learned somethings about applying brushstrokes that I like, especially on the right side of the painting.  I learned that a different crop might have been better.  And I used a new brush style for some of it--a dagger!  I painted this yesterday, but it was too dark out to get a photo...and I haven't had time to blog it till this afternoon. 

Thanks for watching!  I'm off to paint....

16 comments:

Terri Buchholz said...

Very nice Meredith! That big sunflower just pops!

Meredith Adler said...

Thanks, Terri! I'm going to try the sunflower again. It's still looking fresh...

Linda Nickles said...

Meredith, I don't know what a "dagger" is, but I really like these gorgeous flowers. They are bursting with fresh, bold color. Love it!

Meredith Adler said...

Thanks so much, Linda! Hope you are enjoying this challenge...

StefB said...

Meredith! I love this -- you can hang it in my house if you have no place to put it!

Stefanie

Meredith Adler said...

Thanks, Stef, so, so glad you like it. Maybe after I see you and give you YOUR painting, I'll have room for this one in my house!

Cathy Engberg said...

This is wonderful! Love all the color. I especially love the brushwork and color in your shadow! That is really a fun spot also!

I'm not sure what a dagger is either. You'll have to put up a photo of one some time.

Dixie Damron said...

I know someone who loves the way you paint water and glass. And I agree. It's pure magic. The colorful flowers are beautiful too!

Kim Stenberg said...

A lovely still life! Nice to meet you!

Wendy Barrett said...

Hi Meredith, this painting is stunningly vibrant! I love it! Enjoy your 30 painting days.

Barb Hayden said...

Hi Meredith, Love this painting. also loved hearing what U learned in the last challenge. will look forward to seeing your posts. thanks for encouraging me on mine!

Anonymous said...

Love the way the sunflower takes center stage.

Unknown said...

I like the way the sunflower takes center stage! My favorite thing about this challenge is the way other artists comment back and forth and so I am determined to do the same. I have tried and am not sure what I am doing wrong. Anyway - if you get 3 comments from me I'm still trying!

carol edan said...

A beautiful and joyous painting... flowers are dancing... bright clean colors!!!! good luck on the challenge!!!!

Meredith Adler said...

Wow, thank you all so much for visiting and for your comments! I'll try to take a photo of my dagger paintbrush, Cathy. It's really fun meeting all these artists and seeing their wonderful paintings. I hope my personal friends and family members have some time to click on some of the names and see their creations!

Srishti said...

Smart thinking... 30 painting days on 30 days makes more sense to me... But I have jumped in and will swim across! It's hard though!
Love your beautiful painting! Looking forward to more!

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