Tenacious - SOLD, and 10 things I've learned from 30 paintings in 30 days

'Tenacious'  SOLD

5" x 7" oil on panel

Reference photo, with thanks, by Steve Evans 

Note: You have been warned, this post is looooong. :) I won't be offended if you skip it if it doesn't interest you. Well. . . maybe a little, but I'll get over it I promise! ;)

Well it's nearly over. 30 paintings in 30 days. When I started out on this challenge I knew it would be, well, um. . . a 'challenge.' :) For two years in a row I did NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month, where you write an entire 50,000 word novel in 30 days). So I knew that any kind of creative commitment that involves producing work every single day is tough.


In fact, since the last NaNo I did (2011), I haven't written consistently since. Why? Because I got severely burned out. It is wicked hard to maintain serious creative energy without a break for that length of time and maintain your passion for creating at the same time.

But I feel more passionate about painting than I ever have about writing. Painting is woven into every single piece of who I am, while writing is just for fun, a 'hobby', not a life sustaining endeavor (which is what painting is to me, sometimes I feel like I can't breathe if I go too long without painting). With my passion for painting so strong I hoped I wouldn't feel burned out by doing this 30x30 challenge.

But I was wrong. I did feel burn out at times. But I didn't let it stop me from painting, I didn't let it kill that passion that I have for creating art. Because I need to paint, and so I have always found a way to work around whatever road block is in my way so that I can.

So, here are ten things that 30 paintings in 30 days has taught me:

1. Don't ever run out of chocolate. Seriously. Keep a secret stash somewhere or something. Trust me, you'll need it in those moments when the last three paintings you've attempted have resulted in nothing but a big pile of suckage reminiscent of the world's largest dung heap.

2. Don't expect every single painting to be a masterpiece. This was a hard one for me, and something that a few of my good online painting buddies had to knock into my head a few times (you know who you are, ahem, Carrie, Sandra, Teresa, and Bren. Really all of you. All of you helped pull me out of my self pity mire). It is highly unrealistic, and stressful, to think that every single thing you produce needs to be a huge success. And to stand before a blank piece of paper or panel with that thought at the front of your mind is just setting yourself up for disaster.

3. Don't think you have to paint like anyone other than yourself.  In order to produce a finished painting every day I sometimes thought that I needed to paint like someone else, so I could paint faster, not like my detail oriented, accuracy driven self. And so some of the work I produced this month didn't satisfy me completely. It took me a while to realize that this is what was bothering me when I started to feel burned out, but when I finally did I embraced the fact that I should only ever paint like myself, detailitis and all. Because painting any other way, forcing myself to be 'loose' when it doesn't come naturally to me at all, is being dishonest. And I believe that in order to paint with feeling and emotion you have to be completely honest with yourself first.

4. Everyone needs a dragon day. In the middle of my burned out period this month I started sculpting little dragons out of clay, just for fun. I did this on Sundays, which is my permanent day off from painting (30 x 30 challenge or not I still wasn't planning to paint on Sunday). When I was talking to my sister about how I was feeling so uninspired about painting, but so excited about making cute little dragons she started calling Sundays my 'dragon day.' And I liked that idea so much that I now call Sundays my dragon day, whether I'm sculpting a little dragon, or putting together a photo album, or baking a new yummy treat. A dragon day is a day where you refill your creative well, it's a day to do anything creative that you want, just for fun, with no expectations that anything will come of it other than the joy you get from the act of creating. 

5. Don't try to paint a portrait (or any other difficult, complex subject) every single day for 30 days. Just don't. Trust me on this. Portraits are my favorite thing to paint, but they are also very draining for me. I feel like I put more of myself into one of my portraits than I do any other subject, so to paint them for 30 days straight would leave me nothing but a blibbering idiot by the end of the month.

6. Don't doubt yourself. Love thyself fellow artist! Repeat after me: You is kind. You is smart. You is important. And you is a good artist. Don't ever forget it.

7. Streamline your housework and meal planning. Or whatever other work you do. Now is not the time to volunteer to bake your son's class personalized cupcakes with each child's name iced in calligraphy. Now is not the time to deep clean your basement and closets. Now is the time to do the basics of housework and cook reliable, family favorite meals.

8. Keep yourself surrounded with things that inspire you. Visit other artist's blogs and websites that leave you breathless with their beautiful work! Read books or magazine articles, or listen to podcasts (like this one) that talk about the life of an artist, their thought process, and what they do to stay inspired. Pin an inspiring quote, favorite photos that you want to paint, or pictures of paintings you love above your workspace to motivate you. Keep a journal of the things you see in your daily life that make you pause and see how beautiful your life really is. In other words, enjoy the journey that is your life.

9. Forgive yourself. So you didn't do 30 paintings in 30 days, you only did 17. So what?? You tried, you painted your heart out, and you accomplished great things anyway. If you need further reassurance go back and read #6 of this list.

10.  Recognize that this challenge is more about the journey than the destination. Trite perhaps, but so true. It's not a race, there's no need to compare yourself to anyone else. This challenge is about you and your art and what it means to you and no one else. It's not about the end result, it's about the process of painting and the joy it brings you.