#1 - Shell Game - January 2014 Painting Challenge

One of my 2014 art New Year's bucket list items was to try a 30-day challenge (and to get back to blogging!)  

A number of art friends participated in Leslie Saeta's challenge last January.  Leslie, the host of podcast "Artists Helping Artists" (AHA) started this challenge last year, not as a must do 30 paintings to participate, but to get people to kick off the year painting more paintings in January than they did the previous January.  It was also to help them get back into painting after the craziness of the holidays.  

I will admit one of the hardest things for me is deciding what to paint.  I'm hoping this challenge will get me over that block and quite agonizing over subject matter.  Hopefully I can learn to pick anything in the house or in that hoard of pictures I have taken and just paint.  I'm also hoping it will get me to paint faster and over my compulsion to go back and "fix" paintings. I bought thirty 6x6" boards before the holidays so we'll see how it goes.  

Yesterday, I pulled out a few beach photos I took last Feb and have been meaning to paint.  

Day 1

Shell Game

6x6" oil on gessobord (sold)

Can't Catch Me

I don't work in acrylic very often but enjoy it when I do.  I haven't done any acrylic paintings larger than 11x14".  For me, I find it a great medium for painting small pieces especially when I need to paint small works (3x3" or smaller).  Being an oil painter, I can't always get the acrylic to do what I want until I remember not to fight the drying time and just go with it.  Of course remembering to spray my palette so it doesn't dry out isn't something I normally have to remember.   I have learned unlike oil, just when I think I have finally achieved the color I want, I come back later and find the acrylic has dried darker.  

ART TIP: If I can't get it light enough, I resort to going back into an area and painting it out with white then repainting it.  Then I get the lighter coloring I was aiming to achieve.

I always try to take lots of pictures when I'm at the beach.  I couldn't resist the little boy running with his big pail and his ever patient mom bringing up the rear.  

I decided to tone the canvas in black which is a bit tricky when painting in acrylic and dealing with the paint drying darker.  I'm learning it is all about lots of layers. 

The painting didn't feel quite right/finished so I turned to my critique group for suggestions. They suggested I tone down his maroon romper which was too dominate and didn't fit in with the palette I choose for the rest of painting.  I heeded their advice and I'm very pleased with the final painting. 

Can't Catch Me, 8x10" acrylic on gessobord ($200)

 Comics & Art

Herman by Jim Unger