Dear kindred explorer, the last we spoke, I outlined the vision and concept for my upcoming body of work, all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed gazing lovingly ahead at a painted world rosy with possibilities. Little did I know…
While this went on for a bit, I quickly realized that I was facing some crucial problems many artists and creatives would identify with in a heartbeat. Reality set in, like they always do, and to my dismay, the initial burst of creative light started to dim….
- Progress was like wading in molasses-slower and more painful than I’d like and inspiration came in bright, brilliant BUT infrequent spurts.
- I was drowning in an ocean of decisions: what do I want to paint? What should I paint on? What medium is best for how I want to express myself? What size and display methods inspire me?
- I was also feeling the pull of painting a certain way because ‘that’s how it’s done’ and was increasingly feeling the uncomfortable choke of precedents cutting off my creative air and bleaching the fun and experiment out of my painting sessions.
- I’ve been trying to build a daily painting ritual but keeping this up was extremely challenging and so results were uneven.
In a sort of panicked state, I realize I had to do something quick before the fire went completely out.
Reaching into my creative toolkit, I remembered the 30-day challenge I did a while back that played a significant role in shaping my aesthetic voice. It was one of the best things I did for my artmaking in 2012.
So I wondered, why not a brand new 30-day daily painting challenge with stakes raised and a tight mission in mind?
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The goals:
- Ritualize. Use this challenge to build my daily painting ritual by painting and posting everything I create (accountability, anyone?) on Instagram and Facebook.
- WORK, not worry! This meant slowing down my expectations, reigning in the impatience and concentrate on the DOING. Small steps. Ritualize. Breathe.
- Explore, experiment, have fun! An opportunity to paint on anything I was drawn to, with whatever medium I desire? Oh heart-joy!
- Get soul-realigned, focus on ME. This is a chance to dig deep into what makes my spirit sings, ignoring what’s already done out there. This is a special time for MY vision.
- Make mistakes! Many of them! As much as possible!
- Gauge what folks respond to. As much as creating art is soul work, I still want to be able to share this joy with others. And the only way to know if it resonates is to test waters! Get it out there.
The rules (because I strongly believe limitations expand creativity):
- All paintings are studies for my Explorations body of work.
- Tight color scheme -cohesiveness is important to me.
- Explore textures and materiality as much as possible.
- Share everything I create, even if I’m not happy with it.
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It’s been 10 days, 1/3 of the way in, how does it look?
- My creative spirit is feeling so nourished! Loving that this is forcing me to create a daily painting ritual.
- I’m definitely finding patterns in what I’m drawn to and what I feel the deepest urge to paint.
- I’m so creatively re-energized it’s almost magical!
- I’m discovering problems in certain methods that I would not have found out without experimenting-a good thing!
Stay tuned for a report at the end of the 30-days. In the meantime, hop on-board and join me on this mini-expedition on Facebook ,Instagram, or if you’re not already on my list (or if social media makes you sigh), sign up below and I’ll send a periodic roundup of my adventures through email.
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Before I sign off, I’d love to know, is there something you are hoping to tackle-building a habit, or learning a new skill, by introducing a similar 30-day challenge?
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UPDATE: Read about what it took for me to take this collection on the road in this travelogue entry.
