30 Paintings in 30 Days. This is a very ambitious challenge and I am loving every moment of it. One of my New Year’s intentions was to be more productive in the studio and to take advantage of the weather whenever possible to paint en plain air.
So far I have made it to day 4 ( I will be posting my progress on Sundays so week 1 is not a complete week)
I had a reality check on Day 1after thinking I was going to front end load this. You really have to complete the painting as well – not just start them.
Day 1
“Immortality” White Iris
Water-colour 11″ x 9″ on Arches 300lb paper
$125 Available Click here for more information
Day 2
“Another White Iris”
Water-colour 11″ x 9″ on Arches 300lb paper
$125 Available Click here for more information
I am taking every opportunity with this challenge to experiment. Here I applied a loose yellowish background wash and then applied Incredible White Mask through a stencil. Applied another wash and the applied more mask with the stencil and did this four times. I was pretty happy with the effect. However, the mask was effective on the first stencil placement. No matter how well I cleaned it off between applications, the mask would bleed under the stencil. I have a stencil adhesive spray but did not want to use it on a painting.
Day 3
“Unfortunate Beauty”
Acrylic on canvas 6″ x 6″
$65. Available – Click here for more information
This rather handsome beetle is an Elder Borer. My husband called me over to look at the interesting bug he found. At first we saw only one. Then we discovered a mess of them on our elderberry trees.
Then I grabbed our bug field guide. It is both handsome and unwelcome! We noticed we were experiencing some weird die back on our elderberry trees. Well this is the culprit. The adults lay their eggs near the surface and the larvae eat the roots – they leave perfectly round, pencil size hole at the base of the plants. Boo!
Day 4
“Elder Borer”
Acrylic on canvas 6″ x 6″
$65. Available – Click here for more information
One of these beasties dropped down on to a storage bin we have outside. I was captivated by its shadows and ran for my camera. My daughter Jennifer was so completely grossed out – she said, and I quote “Mom, you are never going to paint those horrible bugs!”. She meant it. But she did not count on the 30 day challenge and me needing a variety of subject matter.