It's that time of year again, and I'm not talking about the start of school, pumpkin spice everything, or Fall (although its that time, too).
I'm talkin' about Leslie Saeta's 30 in 30 challenge. What is a 30 in 30 challenge? Glad you asked. This challenge takes place twice a year (September and February) with a goal of creating 30 paintings in 30 days.
Lemon Tea 8x10 oil on canvas paper (palette knife) Feb. 2018
Don't let the idea of painting 30 paintings in a month scare you from giving the challenge a try cause I have not yet accomplished 30 paintings in the time frame, but I painted more than I would normally paint in a month.
Why would I participate in such a demanding challenge?
- Gets me painting every day.
Ok, so I paint quite often as it is (not daily, but almost), but there are those days when I get distracted with other task. Taking on this challenge forces me to make painting a priority in my daily routine.
2. Learn new skills or techniques
I have a goal set for each challenge for example, the first time I participated in the challenge I wanted to learn watercolor. Then the second time I wanted to experiment with palette knife, and did all my paintings using only palette knife. This go around is all about landscapes, and loosening up.
3. Jump starts new collection
The paintings I'm creating in this challenge are studies for future paintings, and by sticking to a theme like landscapes, I can use the studies to develop a cohesive series / collection.
We are a week into the challenge, and I thought I would do a round up of the week's paintings rather than post daily.
Day 1
Lake Junaluska Waynesville, NC
Day 2 & 3
Dyptich of the mountains in W. VA.
Day 4
South Norfolk (Chesapeake, VA)
Day 5
Freeport, Bahamas.
Day 6
Nellysford, VA
I'm having so much fun painting all of these landscapes from past travels, and with each one I paint, sweet memories flood my mind.
Thank you for following along my creative journey. I can't wait to see what this challenge brings next week!