First Up!

"Cousins"  8"x8"

 

 

Today is the the first day of Leslie Saeta's "30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge" and here's my first daily painting.  Five figures in a few hours on an 8"x8" canvas was probably biting off a little much for the first day, but I've been wanting to paint this since Thanksgiving when this picture was taken of 5 of my nieces! 

 

In that small space, it's impossible for me to capture Sara Beth's beautiful smile; Laura's gorgeous brown eyes; Rebecca B.'s thick, incredible blond curls; Rebecca S.'s sweet little rosebud lips; or Kat's soft brown curls framing her lovely heart-shaped face....but I hope I've been able to capture their gesture which is so much a part of who we are and what we look like. 

 

I love my girls!  I know their parents just love it when I call them "my girls" when I didn't birth them or raise them.....but, boy, do I love them as much as any aunt can!  They are beautiful inside and out!

New Year Painting Challenge!

"Montgomery Morning"  

6"x6"

Oil on Board

$150

 

 

Okay, what have I gotten myself into??  Artist Leslie Saeta, host of the blog talk radio program, Artists Helping Artists, has sent the challenge out to paint 30 paintings in 30 days beginning January 2nd!  She's aiming for 200 participants and I've just made it 171.  She has encouraged everyone to blog about the challenge and how it's coming along.  She encouraged us to tell friends and family what we're doing.  So....I'll start today! 

My plan is to paint small paintings each day - about 4x4 or 6x6 - similar to this one of the ladies shopping at the Montgomery Curb Market.  This will still give me time to devote to larger studio pieces during the day.  I'll work over the next couple of days to figure out the subject matter I plan to paint.  I'm thinking figures and still life will play a large part in this because I really want to do more of this over the next year. 

I think it's a great way to start the new year off productively, creatively and with the support of fellow artists!  Please bear with me as I plan to post to my blog daily and also on Facebook! 

Happy New Year!!