Okay, so I came across a few artists that have done this crazy (or so I thought) challenge of doing 100 paintings in 100 days. After spending loads of time browsing through their pages of updates and seeing their progress and what they learned, I thought, hmm...maybe I should do something like that too. I've had millions of ideas rolling around in this head of mine and many of them need experimenting (colors, form, etc.). However, with the spring show season and my school schedule starting soon (April to be exact) I wondered if I could find time to do a painting a day for the next 100 days. Mull it over for a week and I came up with a smaller challenge that will allow me to learn a bit and experiment a bit within a smaller timeframe. Thus the 30 day challenge.
Once a day, starting tomorrow March 1st, I will post the painting I did that day. All of these paintings will be smaller than I normally work (something else I'm trying) and a few will be experimental with materials (paper/canvas/linen?). In general I will be working in oils on canvas and mostly on equestrian subjects. I do allow my attention to divert to other subjects as they beg to be painted though. It is my hope that through this I will learn better how to handle smaller pieces and learn a bit more about color, light, and depth as pertaining to the equine subjects.
I invite you to join along the journey and learn with me! We get started tomorrow!
(All of the paintings from the challenge will be for sale within a few days of appearing on my blog. They will be found on my Etsy shop or you can email me directly about specific paintings).
Thursday, February 28, 2013
Sunday, February 3, 2013
My passion
Okay, so after that last post on sharing more of me, here we go!
First, it is important to let everyone in on what I'm passionate about. Since I was a small girl (think somewhere around the age of 5 or 6, though my mother might say I was even younger) I have always had a special spot for horses. Now, yes all little girls love horses and dream of horses. Unfortunately some grow out of it, and then there are girls like me that never will!
I remember collecting anything and everything horsy. I had millions of model horses, Barbies with horses, pictures of horses, stuffed horses, a carosel bedspread, etc. You name it and I probably had at least one! My real dream was owning one of these magnificant animals, and my mom and stepdad made that a reality for me at age 14.
Lucky was his name (mom said it was because he was lucky to be there) and I was in heaven. I loved taking care of him, brushing him, riding him, bathing him, etc. Of course, like all teenage girls, I also went through the boy crazy stages, where Lucky spent alot more time lounging in the pasture with my stepfather's calves. But, Lucky was in his senior years by then and deserved to get fat and lazy for putting up with me!
Once I moved out, my obsession quieted down as life took over a bit. Boys, social outings, and general life concerns (plus living in an apartment complex) made horses more of a decoration for my couch rather than a daily passion. Interestingly my artwork also became more of a hobby that I'd dabble in on rare occations.
Yet, what I'm finding out is that God always has a plan for helping you stay passionate about life. The arrival of my daughter forced me to evaluate my life a bit. I started painting again to revitalize the "me" in myself. Now, I knew I could sketch horses (I had been for years), but I was very intimidated about painting them. I started with my faithful landscapes and florals, both I've found quite easy to paint. I did make a leap once and try painting a horse...which ended in a horrible depicition of a third grader's idea of what a horse might be!
So, I figured I'd always be resigned to painting landscapes...which I was okay about. I'm not passionate about landscapes, but I still find much beauty in the world that does not involve four-legged creatures. Yet, this past Christmas I had interest in what I was doing and people started asking me to push the envelope a bit more. I started painting some dogs and a couple people. Which is why I revisited my true passion, horses.
Here is what came out of it!
Now, he isn't perfect (what horse really is), but I was pretty shocked and extremely excited. I always dreamed of painting horses to reveal their true beauty. I've envied many equine artists and dreamed of one day being able to do what they do. God answered my dream wish. Whenever someone asks how I do what I do, I'm not standing on my own ability for it truly isn't mine. He works through me and the end result is fabulous! I can not wait to paint horses for the rest of my life!
First, it is important to let everyone in on what I'm passionate about. Since I was a small girl (think somewhere around the age of 5 or 6, though my mother might say I was even younger) I have always had a special spot for horses. Now, yes all little girls love horses and dream of horses. Unfortunately some grow out of it, and then there are girls like me that never will!
I remember collecting anything and everything horsy. I had millions of model horses, Barbies with horses, pictures of horses, stuffed horses, a carosel bedspread, etc. You name it and I probably had at least one! My real dream was owning one of these magnificant animals, and my mom and stepdad made that a reality for me at age 14.
Lucky was his name (mom said it was because he was lucky to be there) and I was in heaven. I loved taking care of him, brushing him, riding him, bathing him, etc. Of course, like all teenage girls, I also went through the boy crazy stages, where Lucky spent alot more time lounging in the pasture with my stepfather's calves. But, Lucky was in his senior years by then and deserved to get fat and lazy for putting up with me!
Once I moved out, my obsession quieted down as life took over a bit. Boys, social outings, and general life concerns (plus living in an apartment complex) made horses more of a decoration for my couch rather than a daily passion. Interestingly my artwork also became more of a hobby that I'd dabble in on rare occations.
Yet, what I'm finding out is that God always has a plan for helping you stay passionate about life. The arrival of my daughter forced me to evaluate my life a bit. I started painting again to revitalize the "me" in myself. Now, I knew I could sketch horses (I had been for years), but I was very intimidated about painting them. I started with my faithful landscapes and florals, both I've found quite easy to paint. I did make a leap once and try painting a horse...which ended in a horrible depicition of a third grader's idea of what a horse might be!
So, I figured I'd always be resigned to painting landscapes...which I was okay about. I'm not passionate about landscapes, but I still find much beauty in the world that does not involve four-legged creatures. Yet, this past Christmas I had interest in what I was doing and people started asking me to push the envelope a bit more. I started painting some dogs and a couple people. Which is why I revisited my true passion, horses.
Now, he isn't perfect (what horse really is), but I was pretty shocked and extremely excited. I always dreamed of painting horses to reveal their true beauty. I've envied many equine artists and dreamed of one day being able to do what they do. God answered my dream wish. Whenever someone asks how I do what I do, I'm not standing on my own ability for it truly isn't mine. He works through me and the end result is fabulous! I can not wait to paint horses for the rest of my life!
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