Day 15 - Portrait

Oil, 12 x 16 - 3 hour pose. 4 hours to complete

Day 13 - Is This Working For Me?

6" x 6" oil

I've been thinking about this 30 day challenge and whether it is working for me. This morning, I woke up exhausted to post a whimsy floral painting which does not reflect my personal goals and intention for doing this challenge. At times, I feel my work is reverting to decades gone by or I am rushed. Coming home from my design job, I have a window of about 3.5 hours to do all that I need to do. I wish I could paint full-time, but that's just the way things are at this point in time. Coming up with a worthwhile painting has been hit or miss and definitely scattered in subject matter and style.

So, a decision has been made. This challenge needs to work for me. I will paint daily for 2 hours - longer on weekends. My daily post will be of the progress I made the previous evening instead of a complete painting. I may choose to work on one painting for a few days or just a few hours. I will continue to paint 30 days, but not expect 30 paintings. Anyone else doing something different?

Day 12 - Coming Up Roses

Oil, 1 hour 6" x 6" sketch

Day 11 - Running with Scissors

Oil, 6" x 6"

This was a quick sketch - under one hour.

Day 10 - Willingness to Destroy

Oil, 8" x 8"

I've been learning much about myself during this 30 day challenge. I realize in order to grow creatively, there needs to be a willingness to destroy what is previously known. My philosophy and approach about art needs to change as well as the ability to view my work as impermanent and something less than precious.

 I may say that my work is not precious and be OK if it were to become damaged, yet it was difficult to freely try something unexpected in an area. I could feel my hesitation to extend my brushstroke beyond the object's boundaries to break into the background. I avoided destroying an area which I felt was working fairly well. I'll make strides in some areas only to meekly go back and fix it. Perhaps there is a balance of risk and familiar which should be considered.

Rafael Valdivieso

Charcoal,  aprx. 2 hour sketch



I can hardly believe I've been drawing with the Pretentious Tremont Artists for one year. Happily, I'm off to a good start. Rafael was inspirational; everyone's drawings were fabulous. Dressed stylishly in all black, he was a dream to draw in charcoal.

Day 8 - Getting to the Heart of the Matter

Oil Painting 10" x 10" - 2 hour study from life

It's the start of week 2 of the 30 day challenge and after reviewing my paintings from last week, I've noticed that my style is all over the place with no clear direction. My reason for doing the challenge was to force myself to paint daily and loosen up my style. Instead, I feel as if I'm leaning on old habits and styles from years ago rather than exploring new ways of painting. What have you done to shake yourself into the new and progress? Ever feel this way?