30 Paintings in 30 days - Post #2 (Painting #2,3,4 & 5!)

"Taking Stock" is my theme for this challenge and I thought I'd share some personal things from my life, so that I can feel a little less bad about not finishing the last four paintings on time. So to make up for missing four paintings, here are four things about me that I take into consideration when I am feeling guilty about NOT painting. 

1). I am a mother of 22 month old! He is a super cute-energizer-("bunny", is too soft) so let's call him a steam engine, since he LOVES those so much. Like a steam engine, he is fast,  loud, resilient, strong, and handsome and dirty! My family is my world, my art is my sun. My family wears me out (in a good way), my art wakes me up and keeps me going in the right direction. 

2). I am a public school art teacher and I start the 2016-2017 school year TOMORROW. Oh, did I mention I teach middle school? I actually prefer that age group to all the rest! 

3). I started a home business this summer to earn some extra money to save up for a house. I am now a Barefoot Books Ambassador. You can learn more about what I do here. It has been a great resource for me to learn more about business, marketing and social media- all things that I can apply to my art business. Needless to say, any business endeavor requires time, but I'm passionate about it! 

4). I paint in abstract layers. I don't plan my paintings. They are completely impulsive, yet refined with each layer, until the painting becomes what I want. This requires a completely intuitive, self-trusting mindset that is, at times easy to work within, yet can easily bring me a stuck feeling. It's simple for me when I have a plan to re-create something realistic, not easy - but simple in terms of the end result. In my method, I don't know what it's supposed to look like, and neither does anyone else. It's a challenge to know when to stop, but luckily I've been taking stock of my process and taking notes on my paintings to follow through. That has been my "aha" moment. 

Here are my paintings (2nd, 3rd, 4th  and 5th!) *** TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO ROATATE THESE - SORRY FOR THE SIDEWAYS VIEW***

The 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge - September 2016 

Theme: "Taking Stock"

A few days ago I counted all of the unfinished work I had. Can you guess how many paintings were stashed away in my studio? Well, I won't tell you 'til the end of this challenge (HA!), but I can tell you it's enough to do a month-long challenge.  I borrowed the term "Taking Stock" from my favorite living artist, Flora Bowley, in her book "Brave Intuitive Painting", where she describes her process from start to finish. Speaking of finish...here's my first FINISHED piece for this challenge! I hope looking at it brings you as much joy as I had painting it.

September 1st, 2016 

"Exclusion & Future" 

Acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas 

(12"x12")

Click here to buy or bid!

(below) - Unfinished, where it was left for almost 2 months untouched! Here, there are most likely 5 layers of acrylic on there already. As you can see, the color harmony is all off, there isn't enough contrast, and too much going on. 

                                 

(below) - Still Unfinished, but getting closer to the final version. It's invigorating covering up layers that I've been attached during the process, then uncovering them slightly. There were moments where I said "F* - it...you're getting covered up!" and then, BAM pleasing results. Sometimes you've got to be honest and unattached. 

Check back in tomorrow!