Done -- 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge is Complete!!

Whew!  I did it.....I completed my 2nd "30 Paintings in 30 Days" challenge sponsored by the wonderfully talented Leslie Saeta, and I'm thrilled with the results.  Committing to doing the challenge was probably a slightly insane thing to do as I had so many things happening this month but as a good friend once told me -- "If you want to get something done and completed on time, give the task to the busiest person you know."

The last time I did the challenge, I created several paintings at a time during a few sessions, and most of them were paintings on canvas or small works on paper.  This time I decided to make everything the same size (14" x 11") and used a lot of collage elements from papers I had designed.

Many of you know I consider myself an intuitive painter, which means I basically let all of my conscious thoughts go and allow my imagination/intuition to guide me through the process.  When working like this, I gravitate towards certain colors, shapes, tools and symbols and watch as a theme or design develops.  99% of these paintings were created early in the morning when my mind is open and I'm still in a bit of a dream state.  I really try not to think too much while I'm creating -- and this time I focused on having fun with the challenge instead of thinking how to market the finished pieces or whether or not they were able to be sold.  There's a freedom with this way of thinking that I really like!

Multiple symbols kept emerging for me this past month -- along with my usual circles, lines, numbers and letters, I added houses, leaves, birds, dresses, ladders and lots of random marks.  I pulled out an old brayer and had a blast making bold blocks of black.  I did try to focus on composition and really really tried to stick to more neutral shades instead of the wild colors I am normally so comfortable with.  As you can tell, I slipped a few times and went crazy with the purples, magentas and lime green....

There are a few "darker" paintings but overall the paintings are happy, cheerful and thought-provoking ones.  Overall I'm ecstatic about having 30 new paintings and the best part of all was that I followed through on my commitment and was able to network with so many amazingly talented artists from all over the world.  My heartfelt thanks to Leslie and all the other artists who participated in this special challenge -- I'm looking forward to doing another one soon!!!