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Friday, January 30, 2015

Thirty Paintings in 30 Days - Day Thirty

"First Date"
Acrylic, 24" x 36" on 1 1/2" gallery wrap.

Thanks so much for all of your kind comments about my painting yesterday. The response was amazing and the painting also sold! I was inspired to paint another one is a similar format. It's big, bold and I love it. 

Here is my painting in a very cool room.


In case you need reminding, today is the 30th of January. It's the last day of the 30 in 30 Challenge! There were many times this month when I thought this day would never come. And now it's here and I am sad. I am going to miss the pressure of finishing my painting every day. But I plan to continue paintings almost every day.

I have thought long and hard about what was my favorite part of this month's challenge. Aside from painting every day, it has to be discovering my love and joy in painting abstracts. Painting big, painting with acrylics, following my heart and having fun are the best way for me to describe the last 30 days. I am so lucky!

Technically the challenge is over for now. But we all know, of course it's really just the beginning. 

This is the time for all of us to build upon what we have accomplished this month. Whether you painted five or thirty paintings, it doesn't matter. We have all learned something from painting more often, from blogging everyday and sharing our art on Facebook. The results have snowballed and have been amazing. Many of you told me that you have already blogged more times this month than the entire  year. Most of you have found a way to leave "the stuff" behind so when you enter your studio it's all about painting. A lot of you are painting faster and having little trouble finding inspiration to paint. It's been a great 30 days and I thank you all for joining and inspiring me to paint every day this month.

Tomorrow we will head back in to our studios and paint some more. We will continue to push ourselves out of our comfort zones and take some risks. We don't need to feel rushed and we don't need to ignore our families anymore (haha). Just paint what you want, but take a little more time to build on the momentum you have created these past few weeks. 

I promise we will do another 30 in 30 Challenge in 2015. In the meantime I will be busy painting and teaching and enjoying the beach house (I have a workshop there in June!)

Tomorrow I will post a collage of all of my 30 paintings. I will also post instructions as to how you can create one too. You can post your collage on my blog on January 31st. So be sure to check back tomorrow.

Check out my 2015 workshop schedule. I am coming to Cape Cod, Atlanta, Charlotte and Richmond in 2015. Plus you can paint and stay with me in Ventura, CA at the beach house. Click here for more information.

I am offering Online Studio painting classes every month. Join me each month as we paint boats, roosters, glass, beach scenes, umbrellas, etc. with a palette knife. Click here to sign up!
  www.dickblick.com

3 comments:

  1. Leslie, This is another beauty!

    I have really enjoyed taking part in the challenge and have had such fun painting different skies in my paintings. I am usually a plein air painter and with our cold, snowy winter I have only been able to do a few of these plein air, but I have had a great time looking through all those photos that I kept saying I would paint some day. This has also motivated me to get back to creating a painting now that the holidays are over, not just do a sketch (which is good too). I hope I can keep my motivation going! Thanks again.

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  2. Well said, Leslie. By the way, really loved the last two abstracts. You kept surprising us right up to the end! Congratulations to everyone who participated.

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  3. Thank You! I've truly grown as an artist this past month...just getting back into the process of creating and this was a good push for me! I can see such growth in my work as well! Thanks again!

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