Shifting

This year has been a strange one for me.  I seem to start down one path and end on another.  But that's OK.  I'm just letting things unfold as they will.

I started Feb. by signing up for Leslie Saeta's 30-in-30 challenge to paint 30 paintings in 30 days.  That didn't work.  I found out pretty early on that that is not the format for me.  I need to let things develop slowly and take as long as they need.  I then tried to challenge myself to paint every day for 30 days.  I didn't keep good track and know I missed a few, but I'm very happy that at the end of the month, I ended up with 15 finished paintings.  They're small, 12" squares, but 15 finished is definitely a record for me.  I tried to explore something new in each of them.  Here're a few of the latest ones when I was exploring minimal color with black and white.

And then trying to reduce the color even more in the next one.

Along the way I signed up for Nicholas Wilton's Creative Visioning Project, a 3 month long, online painting class.  That was a really big step.  I had looked at it last year, but it required so much dedication, not to mention money, that I passed.  It has been haunting me all year, so after hearing a number of alumnis say it was the best thing they ever did, I took the plunge this year.

We are only a week into it, but so far I am very impressed and excited.  It's a huge, juicy program full of information, inspiration and support.  We have something scheduled every day of the week, except for Sundays.  Always a new video, online coaching, newsletter, something coming our way.  And a huge file of resources to go through.

For the first two weeks, we don't paint in the class.  We establish our vision and goals.  The first project was to make a large inspiration board, using pictures of things that light you up.  These are going to be put near where we paint because, as Nicholas says, you need to be working from that point of enthusiasm and inspiration, that place that provides your unique spark, to create authentic paintings.  The class is very much focused on working from deep within to create your own work, no collection of techniques to make your work look like the teachers.

My board ended up dividing between things that I find calm and peaceful and things that are high energy.  I'm very curious to see where this will take me.