A Long Time Coming - 30 in January 2014

                                                                               Acrylic, 6x6"

I have been dying to show you this painting for months!  I actually started it last January during the 30 in 30.  The original reference photo had some elements I needed to eliminate, which was very difficult for me to do.  I've actually had to consult with a horse expert on this one a couple times.  I really should get her final approval on it, but it will be a few days before I can see her, due to this weather.  But I have to say, unless there's something major-major, I'm quite satisfied with this one and thrilled to call it finished!

I wanted to ask my art blogger friends a few questions--if you're interested in responding, you can answer in a comment here on my blog or in a post on your own blog, if you prefer.  If I know you, I will see your blog post.  If I don't already know you, please let me know if you do a blog post on my questions, so I can be sure to see it.  The questions are:

1) Why are you doing the challenge?  What are you hoping to get out of it?

2) If on any particular day, you feel like your painting isn't going to work out, how do you feel and how do you handle it?

and most importantly...

3)  What do you REALLY want to be painting? 

My answers:

1) I am doing the challenge because I had been out of the studio for a few weeks, due to the holidays and due to needing to get set up at the Woolworth Walk gallery.  The longer I stay away from painting, the harder it is to get back into it.  Even though I love to paint, it is also hard work for me, requiring a certain level of deep concentration that I feel unprepared to give when I let too much time go by.  So, the challenge came at a perfect time for me in that it's the perfect catalyst to recommit to painting regularly.

I'm also doing the challenge because the past two that I did were wonderful in terms of seeing a lot of great art and connecting personally with other artists I enjoy.  I believe I have made some lifelong friends via prior challenges.  Painting is such a solo act, so we all need artist friends!

My third reason for doing the challenge is because we have the opportunity for increased exposure for our work, because we get to post our paintings on Leslie Saeta's blog (Leslie being the artist/art marketer extraordinaire who is our fearless leader for this challenge, and the challenges past).

2)  I have gone into every 30 Paintings in 30 Days challenge knowing that even if every painting I attempted worked out, I still wouldn't be able paint 30, due to my work schedule.  In past challenges, I have often felt really left out when I didn't have a painting to post.  For some reason, during this challenge, I feel much more level about it.  I think I am doing a much better job of caring about process rather than product, i.e. my attitude is more "Today I am going to paint" ("painting" as verb) as opposed to, "Today I am going to create a painting" ("painting" as noun).  I don't know how I improved my outlook, but I am certainly grateful for it.

3)  I will answer the third question in another blog post!  Just cause if you have reached this point, you have had to read a lot from me already today.

Enjoy the challenge!

Here comes the part you will want to skip if you've been here during the past couple days:

One of the the very best things I have ever done for my blog readers was to figure out how to get rid of that "prove you're not a robot" thingy for when readers want to leave a comment.  I would encourage all bloggers to do the same.  The tests to see if someone is a robot are getting smaller and blurrier and harder to pass.  I did find the other day that if you fail about three times in a row, they throw one at you with larger, clearer print.  Yes, you have to REALLY want to leave a comment on someone else's blog to try to prove you're not a robot four times!
 
Bloggers, you can still have good control over the comments on your blog if you enable moderation.  That way, all comments go to your email and you have to approve them prior to their posting on your blog.  So, you use your own brain to decide if someone is a robot or not.  Actually, Blogger does a good job of catching most of the spam comments and not even sending them to your email.
 
Of course, we all have a choice how to handle comments on our own blogs....but I know the feedback I've had from my followers about not having to prove themselves not robots is..."what a relief!" 

Feel free to email me for instructions on how to make this change to your own blog, and Happy Painting!