New 30 Daily Paint Challenge -Day 1 of 30

 I didn't get to finish the daily paint challenge last time, in September 2020.  It was a horrific year full of loss and trauma and college started the end of the month. Art was nearly non-existent as I clawed my way through the year.  Though Covid lingers into 2021, I have hope for a better year and more art.  I started the challenge off with an oil painting of my brother, Travis, whom we lost in August.  Yesterday had been 6 months since he left us so suddenly.  I took the day off of work to allow myself to grieve and reflect on his life.  

Oil on 12x12 cradled canvas

 

Getting behind due to fires

 We’ve been in evac zone for Holiday Farm fire and facing devastation for our nearby communities.  Lots of friends and family displaced or losing everything,  It’s going to take a long time for our communities to recover..

Here’s some days of the challenge.  I have been still trying to paint to help get through this. Friends and family have sent me photos to try and paint so I’m trying to do those. It’s very challenging but I enjoy it

Day 14 of 30 daily painting challenge- watercolor requested by my friend.  Rocks have always been challenging for me But I enjoyed learning the layering process again for watercolor and playing with color. 

Day 16 of 30 in 30 daily painting challenge- I missed yesterday.   I struggle getting kitty faces right. Again, it was good to practice... watercolor is so hard to correct...Sorry Laura.

I got discouraged after the cat and didn’t paint for two days but did one last night for day 19...

Day 19 of 30 in 30 daily challenge. Bryce Canyon Utah, thanks Rebecca!   Rocks are really hard for me so why not try the ultimate of rock formations! . Lol

Days 10,11,12

Missed day 8 and 9 due to wildfires in our area. I’ve been in level 1 evac notice for a few days but they’re making progress, the fire has slowed thanks to the weather change.

Catching up posts...,

Day 10 of 30 in 30 daily painting challenge- I’ve missed a couple of days as we prepare to evacuate our home due to the Holiday Farm Fire that looms close.  I prefer oil painting but watercolor is faster and I can do it in the living room.  It’s on 8 1/2 x 11 140 lb cold press watercolor sketchbook paper.

Day 11 of 30 in 30 Daily Painting Challenge- no time to oil paint again today so splashed this Silkie chicken in watercolor to learn more about watercolor and loosening up. 8 1/2 x 11 140 lb cold press sketchbook watercolor paper

Day 12 of 30 in 30 Daily Painting Challenge - only time for watercolor again. This is a tighter technique than I’ve been doing. I’ve learned that donkeys are hard for me to paint. Lol these are my aunt’s donkeys, Moses the Mammoth Jack and Odie the once wild donkey.

Day 7 of 30 Daily Painting Challenge

Day 7 of 30 Daily Painting Challenge

Tried painting my brother’s portrait in watercolor. We lost him one month ago unexpectedly... he was my triplet and it has been hard to come to terms with... Not happy with the painting, it doesn’t look like him, but glad I tried. Will try in oil next.... 8 1/2 x 11 140lb cold press sketchbook watercolor paper.

DAY 6 of 30 daily painting challenge

I decided to do another watercolor today. I used one of my favorite watercolor books....well...favorite art books overall actually. Jean Haynes’ “atmospheric water colors painting with freedom expression in style” I wanted to paint similar to her expressionate, free style for years and finally just sat down and tried it with one of her examples in the book. I had a lot of fun and love how it turned out. She is so inspiring and positive for art.  8 1/2 x 11 140 lb cold press sketchbook paper.

Day 5 of 30 in 30 Daily Painting Challenge

 We’re in Prineville so I dug out my watercolors since they’re easier to transport. I haven’t watercolored in years and it’s embarrassing as I don’t remember the techniques anymore, the painting is terrible but I’m happy that I painted today and it was fun to try the old medium again. 8 1/2 x 11 140 lb cold press sketch book watercolor paper. 

Day 2 of 30 Daily Paint Challenge Sept 2020

Day 2 of 30 Daily Paint Challenge- 

I decided it was too hot to go out today but needed to get one done.  Painted one of my needle felted gnomes on a birch round with moss.  “Just a Little Felted Gnome” Oil on 6x6 canvas panel.

Day 1 of 30 Sept 2020 Daily Painting Challenge

I’ve decided to commit to another daily painting challenge this month to help me get back into painting. It’s been awhile since I painted.  The Strada challenge elevates the challenge by requiring live painting.  I didn’t have time for Plein air today so I tried a still life for the first time with oil. It’s pretty goofy and I’m very stale but it was nice to paint again and get lost in time. I painted one of my primitive folk art dolls I’m working on finishing. She’s one of my favorite dolls to make. I don’t know how to paint the drape of fabric, something I need to work in for sure. Elephant Prim Doll in oil on 8x10 canvas panel. 

Day 1 #stradaeasel

30 in 30 Daily Painting Challenge Sept 2018 Collage of 30 pieces

Here is my collage for the end of the Sept 2018 30 in 30 Daily Painting Challenge.  I actually finished with more pieces than these 30 which is a first  I loved the fluid painting, it was so magical in it's flow and colors.  Really loved doing these and cannot wait to do more.

Day 30 of 30 in 30 Daily Painting Challenge

It's here.  The last day of the challenge.  I went for doing my largest piece, an 18x24.  I used a lot of colors.  I had a lot of fun with this challenge and faced my fear of working larger and with bolder colors.  Cannot wait to keep making these fun fluid paintings.

18x24 Acrylic on Stretched Canvas

Day 29 of 30 in 30 Daily Painting Challenge

Only 1 day left of the challenge.  I went back to a dirty pour with some colors I had plenty of left.  I tried the black edges look again.  I really love how this turned out.  Nice big cells and contrast.   I've been taking a class in microbiology and this painting reminds me of the cells and protozoa I've been learning about....

 Movement

16x20 Acrylic on Stretched Canvas

Up close of cells...

 

Day 28 of 30 in 30 Daily Painting Challenge

Oopsy, I ran a little behind.  I managed to get a painting done last night for Day 28 and then forgot to post it.  This is another attempt to swipe and then I poured down the canvas over the white swipe to get these lines of blended and playful color.  I used just primaries, yellow, blue and red.   So I can't decide which way to hang this fun piece.  What do you think?..... 1, 2, 3, or 4?....

1. 

2.

3.

4.

 

Day 27 of 30 in 30 Daily Painting Challenge

I love the blended energetic and bright colors of this one.  It's small but I love the different shapes that popped through the beautiful blends.

I am struggling to keep from spiraling into deep overwhelm, anxiety and pain this week with having to work, starting classes, trying to finish this challenge, keeping up with home life, extreme pain in my feet and a sick puppy.  I told myself not to paint unless I have time after my online classes but I have found that coming home from work, if I take a time and paint a piece around dinner, I feel a piece of my anxiety shrink away, my art soul is fed for the day even if it is a frustrating process sometimes.  I need the art for my soul.  I can focus better on the school work after I have splashed color around on canvas. 

Let It Go

8x10 Acrylic on Stretched Canvas

Day 26 of 30 in 30 Daily Painting Challenge

I tried to do a swipe technique last night which takes a lot of paint and papertowels, it's messy.  I over-swiped, losing the white but still like how it turned out.

Day 25 of 30 in 30 Daily Painting Challenge

The challenge is catching up to me as I juggle full time work, full time school, building on a piece of property and caring for a sick pup this week...  Here is a trio of paintings I did a few days ago that I thought looked similar to an oil slick.  It's hard, once again, to capture the metallics in these paintings and I sometimes think they're too dark in certain light but are brilliant in other light.  each square is a 12x12 and the small one is 6x12.

Day 24 of 30 in 30 Daily Painting Challenge

College starts today.  I've been prepping for about a week and then was out of town this weekend so I am finding myself short on paintings and will be scrambling this next week to get some posted to finish this fun challenge... Art is still needed in my life to maintain sanity and peace so it's important to keep creating even through the crazy schedule of working full time and taking full time classes... I also noticed this is my 100th post on this blog!!! 

Another 16x20- I tried some pretty color combinations and two cups for the flip cup dirty pour.  I need to get brave and try one more swipe before the end of the challenge...

16x20 Acrylic on stretched canvas



Day 23 of 30 in 30 Daily Painting Challenge

I’m back to doing the large paintings, 16x20....

Day 22 Of 30 in 30 Daily Painting Challenge

I was working on this one when the pizza boy came to the door and demanded my ID and signature... off came the last pair of gloves I had to use during the pour. By the time I teturned to it, Brett told me to leave it alone, he liked it just like this. LOL

1. Lost
2. 12x12 Acrylic On Stetched Canvas

Day 21 of 30 in 30 Daily Painting Challenge

My paintings have been turning out dark.  This one still popped color from the black and I love the details in the cells and the iridescence in this one with the fuchsia and gold colors that are hard to photograph. 

Sunrise

12x12 Acrylic on Stretched Canvas

Day 20 of 30 in 30 Daily Painting Challenge

This one shows the progression of a pour painting that was a little too thin and sitting on an uneven surface as well as sitting outside on a humid day....  Extremly disappointed in losing such an awesome pour but it was a great learning experience...

AFTER POUR/SPREAD

 

1 HOUR LATER

NEXT MORNING

Something had goofed and so I added blue to bottom but I missed a photograph after I added blue.  It was the first time I'd still been able to move paint the next morning, it was still so wet. 

5 DAYS LATER, DRY

EVOLVE

12x12 Acrylic on Stretched Canvas

Day 19 of 30 in 30 Daily Painting Challenge "Surprise"

I had every intention of pouring over this one after making it.  I let it dry a couple days and when I went to pour over last night, I was surprised to see the metallic copper color had popped and interesting shapes appeared that hadn't been there before.  The metallic copper in this is so shiny and beautiful but the camera just doesn't pick it up, so much prettier in person.  Although some of the colors combinations did not turn out as I had liked, there is so much movement and surprise in this piece, I decided to save it.

This is an interesting and unpredictable art which is why I think I enjoy it so much.  I only have so much control but am forced to just let go and have fun and not worry too much. 

 Surprise

12x12 Acrylic on Stretched Canvas

Day 18 of 30 in 30 Daily Painting Challenge

I loved how this one turned out while wet as shown below but when it dried, it got really dark which was disappointing.  That's one reason I prefer Oils to Acrylic.  Oils maintain their color better.  But it was a beautiful piece when I first poured it.  This one was interesting, I tried the colander effect again but hated it so then I spread the pour and it ended up these lovely Southwest like lines.  I really loved the color, but, again, it turned out too dark once it dried.  I am hoping varnish or resin will bring out these striking colors again....

Southwest Style

12x12 on Stretched Canvas

Day 17 of 30 in 30 Daily Painting Challenge

This one was inspired by my berry and granola yogurt I eat in the mornings but turned out much more blue than anticipated.  I guess there were a lot of blueberries in this yogurt.

Follow Me

14x14 Acrylic On Stretched Canvas

Day 16 of 30 in 30 Daily Painting Challenge

I asked my friends and fluid pour painting group members to help me decide if I should post this painting or not on my daily painting challenge.  I wasn't sure if it was just a jumbled mess that would be embarrassing to post or if people saw something in it.  I received an overwhelming amount of thought-provoking responses that helped me look deeper into the soul of the painting and into my artistic soul. 

After creating the piece, I had thought about naming the painting Cancer.  The colors and energy felt like fear and anger smothering out peace and happiness as cells were overcome with disease...  I looked up the meaning of the colors in the painting and found yellow can represent peace and happiness but also represents disease.  Red initiates feelings of anger, energy, power and the lost past... It seemed fitting yet too controversial and naming it Cancer encouraged too much negative reaction for hurting memories which is not how I want to contribute to life.  I want to offer happiness, joy and whimsy and not focus on the negative that can devour our souls if we let it.   But cancer is an evil fact and we simply cannot escape the ugliness, anger, fear and helplessness that cancer causes.

 It's the first piece I've done to create so much conflict on why this dark painting unintentionally came out of my usually cheerful, bright art soul.  I see myself as a very, very simple artist, mimicking the beauty and whimsical side of nature in my paintings and I ponder how this painting came to be from my own hand.  Possibly from watching too much Criminal Minds or SciFi shows?  Or did the energy of frustration from my nerve pain expose itself onto the canvas?  Or maybe, quite simply and TRULY, I only attempted to save a painting with the mixed paint I had on hand...

Regardless of unintentional or subconscious reasoning, this piece gave me another nibble at the possibilities of freeing my imagination from the chains of perfectionism and judgement that I so tightly wrap around my life and within my art.

I have decided to name it Conflict.

"Conflict"

14x14 Acrylic on Stretched Canvas

Day 15 of 30 in 30 Daily Painting Challenge

Half way through!!  Scrambles for more paint, floetrol and canvas have begun for this new art I have been exploring. 

What do you see in this one? 

 

Lost

14x14 Acrylic on Stretched Canvas 

Day 14 of 30 in 30 Daily Painting Challenge

I love combining a lot of colors to get these galaxy like paintings.  I tried another round which I love as the pours don't have far to cover and I can play with swirling the cells more.  The photos just don't capture the iridescence and depth.

The Final Frontier

Acrylic 8" Round Birch

Day 13 of 30 in 30 Daily Paintig Challenge

Wanted to try a pour with metallics and black and white.   The metallic gold, silver and bronze is hard to see in the photo but is pretty in person. I used to do a lot of rock hounding and this reminds me of the Oregon Jaspers and petrified woods.

Petrified Wood

14x14 Acrylic On Stretched Canvas

I found myself pining for larger containers to pour with for these larger paintings.  At lunch, I stashed the accidental double cup for my water and the cover to my pie in my purse on my way back to work.  Apparently this is a sign of someone who's become addicted to pouring.  And so it begins... LOL

Day 12 of 30 in 30 Daily Painting Challenge

Tried new color combinations and having black space on edges. 

Enlightened

14x14 Acrylic on Stretched Canvas

Prineville Plein Air

I spent this last weekend in Prineville, working on our property.  I took my oil paints to try and paint plein air for the first time.  My husband asked that I paint the property as what I am imagining it will look like with some of our ideas we'd discussed.  I sat in the sun and stared in the direction of where the grain bin house, atrium, grain bin art studio, garage, juniper fence, eucalyptus trees and lavender field would be on our one and a half acres and attempted to paint what wasn't there. The scale is way off and the driveway looks like a large lake instead of a small turn-around.   It was very difficult and I am not happy with the result but it was a learning experience for sure and I am considering it a study so I can do another, larger painting of our property for my husband I to look at for inspiration.  Here are some lessons I learned this weekend:

1.  With one half my face now the shade of a tomato, an umbrella and hat are on my wish list.

2.  The paints dried out quickly.  

3.  I need something to put the paper towel roll on.

4.  Remember the palette.

5.  Remember the correct easel for plein air.

6.  Know my brushes better.

I didn't think I would ever share this little pathetic first attempt to paint outside but this blog is my learning log for painting.  In addition to celebrating the joy of creating beautiful pieces, the bad ones need to be documented too because that's how I learn from my mistakes and how I'm able to see progress.  

Future Dreams

11x14 Oil on Canvas Panel

Day 11 of 30 in 30 Daily Painting Challenge

I use black and white a lot in the fluid paintings but I held back on the black in this painting.  It popped with very bright colors.   I love square shaped canvas and I discovered these 14x14 ones to use this week and love the shape and size.   I have been struggling with using enough paint with one cup for my larger pours and it's definitely a learning process on how much paint to use for what size canvas.

Be Bold
14x14 Acrylic on Stretched Canvas

I have been stacking up a lot of paintings and finally hung some up so they'd be safe and out of the way.  I need to find frames for the rounds to hang them but hung most of the canvas paintings. 

Day 10 of 30 in 30 Daily Painting Challenge

Another 16x20 fluid pour painting.  This started out as a pastel pink and purple painting and as I added pours and spread, it got darker and developed into a darker, yellowish,orangish,pink with splashes of purple and white.  I still have a lot to learn to retain larger cells when I spread the pour but I do like the different textures and colors in this one.  It's much more vibrant than the other ones I think.  I let it crackle as well, I believe this is a flaw in the eyes of pour painters but I found it gave it a beautiful texture.

Pushing Through Chaos
16x20 Acrylic on Stretched Canvas

Day 9 of 30 in 30 Daily Painting Challenge

After listening to Artists Helping Artists' podcast from Thursday and with the help of my husband pushing me, I purchased some 16x20 canvases and tried a larger fluid pour painting.  I love creating cells and blending multiple colors. The larger canvas gave me so much space to work with.  I am hooked.

"Against The Current"

16x20 Acrylic on Stretched Canvas

Day 8 of 30 in 30 Daily Painting Challenge

The U of O Ducks started football this season.  With them on my brain, I tried this 8x8 pour.  I tried to move my pours to our art table inside the dining room but it ended up a disaster and so I will be moving back outside for now.  I didn't get to heat the cells out of this one so it's a little different than the others.   I overheated the white and you can see ridges in it below but now that it's dried a couple days, those ridges disappeareed. I can't wait to go get some gold paint and try another Duck pour. 

Smothered

8x8 Acrylic on Stretched Canvas