30 in 30 - Day Sixteen

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My Favorite Things - 30 Paintings in 30 Days

"Buoy, buoy, buoy", Oil, 6" x 6"

Click here for purchase information.

I just finished an amazing three day workshop. There were eight wonderful artists here and for the first time in a very long time all were from California. We braved the cold weather but had a magical three days. Most of the students finished four paintings in three days but a few actually painted seven! I am jealous.

Here we are in my backyard ...

My April workshop is sold out and there are only two spots left in my May workshop.  

Sign up now if you are interested.

I am loving painting everyday. We are on the back half of the Challenge so enjoy these days. They will be over soon! I feel like I am painting with 250 artists in my studio everyday. Thank you for sharing your wonderful paintings. And thank you for keeping me motivated.

Leslie

Check out my upcoming palette knife painting workshops at http://www.saetastudio.com/Leslie_Saeta_fine_Art/Workshops.html.

30 in 30 - Day Fifteen - SOLD

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My Favorite Things - 30 Paintings in 30 Days

"Waiting For the Ride", Oil, 12" x 12"

Sold.

I know what you are thinking. Hmmm ... that painting looks a lot like boats. Now I could try to convince you that these aren't boats. But I wont go there, I promise.

Instead I am going to tell you the honest truth. In my three day workshop this week my students really wanted to paint boats. In fact, I always paint boats on one day of my workshop. I mean, that's what I am kind of known for. So it's Day Two of my workshop and we painted boats. And since I lead the demo I painted one too. Then tonight I cooked dinner for the class. Then we talked, had fun and at 9:00 tonight there was no way I was going to head out to the studio and paint a painting. Fatigue had set in ...

I kind of mentioned my dilemma in my workshop today and it was unanimous among my students that I needed to follow the #1 rule of the Challenge ... to have fun. It was also suggested that I give myself a break and post my boat photo from today. Needless to say, I totally agreed with them.

We are half way done with the 30 in 30 Challenge. It's been awesome. But I want you all to promise me that you will give each of yourselves a break. I am not suggesting that you skip a day.  But if you need to, then go ahead. Just get back on track as soon as you can. For those of you that haven't been able to keep up, no one knows but you! Just keep painting and post here when you can. And it's alright to push yourself. But no guilt, ok?

For all of you that have posted every day ... congrats! You are awesome and I hope you can keep it up for 15 more days. 

Finally, for any of you that want to paint boats. Go ahead ...

Check out my upcoming palette knife painting workshops at http://www.saetastudio.com/Leslie_Saeta_fine_Art/Workshops.html.

30 in 30 - Day Fourteen - SOLD

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My Favorite Things - 30 Paintings in 30 Days

"Fraternal Twins", Oil, 6" x 6"

Sold.

Today was the first day of my three day workshop here in South Pasadena. I am blessed this week with a group of wonderful artists. Some have painted for years, others never before. We laughed, shared stories and had a wonderful day painting with the palette knife. Our only issue was the cold ... 28 degrees in Pasadena last night. Seriously?

I like to start out on the first day painting still life. It's an easier subject and gives everyone a chance to focus more on the palette knife than the subject matter. We painted pears and the end result was amazing.

Tomorrow we are painting boats ... which creates a problem for me since I am not allowed to post a boat painting for my 30 in 30 Challenge. I am also cooking dinner for my students tomorrow night so I haven't quite figured out how I am going to get my painting done tomorrow. Any ideas???

Check out my upcoming palette knife painting workshops at http://www.saetastudio.com/Leslie_Saeta_fine_Art/Workshops.html.

30 in 30 - Day Thirteen

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My Favorite Things - 30 Paintings in 30 Days

"Vodka, Diet Tonic and Plenty of Limes", Oil, 12" x 12"

Lucky 13. That's where we are in the 30 in 30 Challenge. Some of you are hitting "the hump" and others are just cruising along. I probably fall in the first group as I have already blogged about some of the trials and tribulations of getting my painting time completed in the studio each day.

The biggest problem I am having is that I have been finishing most of my paintings in the evening, so I have not been able to photograph them in the usual way. In fact, I will re-photograph this painting tomorrow and re-post the better photograph. This photo doesn't look a lot like the original and the painting is so much better!

I start teaching a three day workshop tomorrow so I have been busy printing packets, name badges and embroidering aprons. I have selected all of the inspirational photos we are going to paint but I haven't finalized the gourmet dinner menu that I will be cooking on Tuesday night for the class. It has been so darn cold here that I just want to cook comfort food ...

I did have a fabulous time at the Rose Bowl swap meet this morning. All of my purchases are on my facebook page so head over there to see photos of what I bought!

Check out my upcoming palette knife painting workshops at http://www.saetastudio.com/Leslie_Saeta_fine_Art/Workshops.html.

30 in 30 - Day Twelve

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I am not ready to upload for painting for Sunday. It needs a bit of tweaking but it is one of my "favorite things"! So you will just have to wait to see what appears here on Sunday afternoon.

I am heading to the Rose Bowl Antique Swap Meet in the morning. I haven't been in a few years, which is hard to believe, because I use to go every single month. For years I wouldn't miss it and my house has a lot of wonderful "finds" from the swap meet. I should do a "photo tour" of all of the cool swap meet items in my house. Many of you have seen my taboret in my studio. It's sage green and it's an old gardeners worktable. That was a great find at the Rose Bowl.  An old mirror, table lamp. old wire vase, picture frame, glass cup, chandelier ... I could go on and on. What's great is that each item was picked out by me, from thousands of others, with a special place in mind as to where it would fit in my house.  I am so excited for tomorrow as I cannot wait to find some cool stuff to photograph for my still life paintings. I am hoping to find something I can use in my workshop next week!

I hope you are all hanging in there and enjoying this new way of painting. Great job. All of the art is absolutely amazing!

Check out my upcoming palette knife painting workshops at http://www.saetastudio.com/Leslie_Saeta_fine_Art/Workshops.html.

30 in 30 - Day Eleven

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My Favorite Things - 30 Paintings in 30 Days

"Reflections on the Pond", Oil, 12" x 12"

Today was an "un-fun" day in my studio.  My day was full of mostly non-art stuff and I before I knew it I was behind schedule. I had a "hard stop" time to leave for my son's college volleyball game and that was non-negotiable. By the time I entered my studio I had less than two hours to paint. And I had no idea what I was going to paint.

I was not inspired in my studio, as I felt very rushed and stressed as I tried to paint. I started with a rooster face but didn't like the result. I wanted to paint boats, to get back in my comfort zone. But someone made a "no boats" rule this month (gee, who was that??) and I knew it wasn't an option. Finally, with less than an hour left, I painted some colorful fall trees.  I got lucky. But the experience was way too stressful and painful.

It pretty obvious I learned a lot today. This is the absolute worst scenario to try to paint. It wasn't fun, I wasn't feeling inspired and I did not like the fact that I had to finish a painting. And I had no time.

So, a lesson was learned. I have to paint earlier in the day. I have to block out the time. Forget the errands and "stuff". Painting is more important.

So my alarm is set for 6:00 am. I am on a mission to not let this "un-fun" scenario happen again. 

Check out my upcoming palette knife painting workshops at http://www.saetastudio.com/Leslie_Saeta_fine_Art/Workshops.html.

30 in 30 - Day Ten

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My Favorite Things - 30 Paintings in 30 Days

"Under the Sun", Oil, 12" x 12"

Click here for purchase information

Day Ten ... We are one third of the way there! Sadly, I have already painted more paintings than I painted in December AND November of last year.  I know this is a good thing, I am just not sure what I was doing for the past few months! 

I was lucky today to be able to teach a one day workshop today. Eight gals from Phoenix spent the day with me in my studio and we had a wonderful time! Most of them hadn't painted before and look at these finished paintings! 

 For more information about my workshops, click here.
Hopefully you have all heard today's "Artists Helping Artists" radio show. My co-host Carrie Waller and I interviewed daily painting artist Lisa Daria Kennedy who has painted a painting for over 1300 days in a row! Listen to the show for some wonderful daily painting tips!

Check out my upcoming palette knife painting workshops at http://www.saetastudio.com/Leslie_Saeta_fine_Art/Workshops.html.

30 in 30 - Day Nine - SOLD

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My Favorite Things - 30 Paintings in 30 Days

"Rooster Face", Oil, 6" x 6"

Sold.

In my post yesterday I mentioned I had a few things I wanted to get accomplished today. Well ... it's 10:45pm and I am almost there. 

The Carriage House studio has been completely emptied out, cleaned and re-organized. I am not sure if this vast project really needed to be done today but I just felt that it was a great way to start the new year. The easels and glass palettes are set up and I am ready for my workshop tomorrow.  The embroidered aprons are ready for my students, personalized with my logo and their first names.

My painting is done for tomorrow (yeah!) and there are a ton of packages sitting by the front door ready to be shipped.  The radio show notes are done and my co-host Carrie Waller and I are ready for a wonderful "Artists Helping Artists" radio show tomorrow. If you are participating in the 30 in 30 Challenge you don't want to miss our interview with Lisa Daria Kennedy. She's been painting a painting a day ... for four years ...

It's amazing I found time to paint. But it's a new priority for me and there was no doubt I would find the time today. Yippee.

Check out my upcoming palette knife painting workshops at http://www.saetastudio.com/Leslie_Saeta_fine_Art/Workshops.html.

30 in 30 - Day Eight

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My Favorite Things - 30 Paintings in 30 Days

"Hawaiian Morning", Oil, 6" x 6"

Click here for purchase information

Things are starting to get a little busy around here. I have a one day workshop this Thursday and I am teaching a three day workshop early next week. I still have aprons to embroider and packets of materials to print. Not to mention I really want to spend some time organizing the Carriage House. I am not sure if I can all of this done but I am going to try! And then there is daily painting thing too ...

The good news is most of these commitments involve painting! I know while I am teaching I will have the chance to paint so I am thankful I don't have to stress about that. It's funny but it seems that my day is now centered around "when am I going to paint?". I am much more focused on painting and feel a HUGE sign of relief when I have finished my daily painting. So what are the chances that this is actually going to become a habit? Is 30 days in a row enough?

This week's Artists Helping Artists radio show has been specifically planned for all of you. Our guest is Lisa Daria Kennedy. Lisa has been painting one painting a day and is on number 1325. Yes, she has completed ONE THOUSAND THREE HUNDRED AND TWENTY FIVE paintings. Every day.

On Thursday's show I promise to ask her every tip and secret she has discovered in the last four years. We will discuss all of her experiences and any wonderful suggestions she has to help us get through our 30 days.

Seriously? 1325? And we are on Day Eight? Hmmm ... I guess its a bit humbling ...

Don't miss the show as I think it is going to be great!

Check out my upcoming palette knife painting workshops at http://www.saetastudio.com/Leslie_Saeta_fine_Art/Workshops.html.

30 in 30 - Day Seven

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My Favorite Things - 30 Paintings in 30 Days

"Setting Sun", Oil, 12" x 12"

Ah ... We have hit a milestone. That's right. We are done with our first week!

So that meas we are about 25% completed with the 30 in 30 Challenge. We all need to take a minute to stop and think about all we have learned. For me, I now know if I wait until too late in the day the stress of getting the painting done definitely impacts how much I like my finished painting. Yep ... if I am stressed I like the painting A LOT less. I have confirmed that I don't paint well under pressure. I also paint better in the early day verses evening. And I know that when I am ahead of schedule (and not stressed) then painting is fun. I absolutely love the fact that I am painting different subjects. And I like painting 6" x 6" and 12" x 12" panel sizes. Oddly enough, they take me about the same amount of time to paint.

My painting for today represents one of my favorite things ... my favorite time of the day. Sunset is a time for family gathering, it's a time for contemplation and it's a time to reflect back about how lucky we are for family, our health and the wonderful things we are able to experience every day.

So here's to week #2. Hang in there. Have fun and keep painting!

It's still not too late to sign up for the January webinARTs course. 

This is exactly what your art business needs for the new year. 

Use the discount code save25 to save $25.00 off the registration price.

30 in 30 - Day Six - SOLD

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My Favorite Things - 30 Paintings in 30 Days

"A View of the Stanford Quad", Oil, 6" x 6"

Click here for purchase information

Sold.

Before I talk about my experiences with "30 in 30" I want to talk about yours.  I have had a tremendous amount of input on Facebook and here on this blog and so far it appears most of you are still with me.  I love that one of you thanked me "for making you do this". That's pretty funny. But hey, I tried to apply some pressure to guilt you all in to doing this with me because it sure wouldn't have been this much fun all by myself!

Quite a few of you have commented that this "Challenge" has gotten you back in the studio. A few of you stated you hadn't painted in a year.  I think it is wonderful that you are starting out the year, back in the studio, enjoying painting.

It still feels different when I am painting. I feel as if I finally have an understanding of what my goals are for completing paintings. I am very calm about the fact I need to paint a painting every day and I don't feel overwhelmed by it. I feel an incredible sense of accomplishment when my painting is done. (I am also trying to paint one day ahead, as I know some of you are, so that I can post my painting at midnight for the following day). Of course it is only day six. So I promise to circle back on this in about 21 more days .. just in case my feelings have changed!

I would love to hear more as to how it's going for all of you. If you comment here then we can all share in the comments. Please share the good stuff and the bad.  I have already learned a ton from all of you and I would love to be able to share it all with each and every one of you.

My "favorite college" is Stanford University. Although it's not my alma mater I am a huge fan and think it's an amazing institution with strong academics and strong athletics. I have painted a ton of Stanford campus paintings and this is one of my favorites!

Check out my upcoming palette knife painting workshops at http://www.saetastudio.com/Leslie_Saeta_fine_Art/Workshops.html.

30 in 30 - Day Five

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My Favorite Things - 30 Paintings in 30 Days

"Looking Beyond", Oil, 6" x 6"

Click here for purchase information

I haven't posted my painting for today because it's not painted yet. As much as I would like to stay ahead in the Challenge I am going to need to paint this one later today. I have started a list of "My Favorite Things" and I might be painting this theme for a very long time. It turns out I like a lot of things ... and it looks like they will make very nice paintings.

I hope you are having fun blogging and talking on Facebook about the Challenge and your theme for this month ... If you are not out there sharing your art then you should! This is a great time to be excited about your art and the fact you are painting 30 paintings in 30 days!

Until tomorrow ... Happy Painting!

Leslie

Check out my upcoming palette knife painting workshops at http://www.saetastudio.com/Leslie_Saeta_fine_Art/Workshops.html.

30 in 30 - Day Four

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My Favorite Things - 30 Paintings in 30 Days

"My Favorite Flower", Oil, 6" x 6"

Click here for purchase information

You have probably guessed by now that my favorite flower is a tulip. It was actually hard to decide between peony and tulip. But as much as I love peonies I really can't stand their smell so the tulip won fair and square. The tulips were also ver fun to paint with the palette knife as I love the thick edge work on the petals!

So I hope you all are enjoying this as much as I am. I know for a fact that there are a lot of people looking at all of the paintings. Yesterday I had over 4000 hits on my blog post and I kind of doubt that it was just the artists as that would mean we all had to visit my blog nearly 2o times. So I hope the exposure for your art and paintings is going well!

It's been wonderful to see all of the posts on facebook about the challenge. And I really appreciate all of your comments on the blog. If you have any questions please post them on this blog. And please ... I hope all of you will feel free to help answer them! We have had a lot of artists join us late as they just found out about the challenge. That's great so if any of you are new to the Challenge and want to join in then just start posting your daily paintings. 

Oh, and by the way, the weekend is half over so we will be painting on "week-days" soon. We can just pretend we had the weekend off. I highly recommend you consider getting a day or two ahead. It REALLY takes the pressure off. Of course it means you have to paint two or three paintings in one day. But it is so worth it, I promise! Hah!

Leslie

Check out my upcoming palette knife painting workshops at http://www.saetastudio.com/Leslie_Saeta_fine_Art/Workshops.html.

30 in 30 - Day Three - SOLD

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My Favorite Things - 30 Paintings in 30 Days

"My Favorite Flavor", Oil, 6" x 6"

Sold.

It looks like most of you are enjoying participating in the 30 Day Challenge. I am really enjoying all of your stories and comments on facebook. My favorite comment so far was "it looks like my family might have to clean and cook for themselves this month". Ha!

Of course it is Friday and we are only on Day three. That's great! There is only one problem and it hit me this morning like a ton of bricks ... and that was "WAIT, WE DON'T HAVE THE WEEKEND OFF?" Seriously? Who created this challenge anyway?

Hmmm. Sometimes when reality sets in there are sacrifices we have to make. So a little time painting this weekend will be a good thing. Just promise me you will not curse my name or post my picture in the middle of your dart board. This Challenge is a really good thing for all of us, even on the weekends!

I am really having fun with my theme "My Favorite Things". My first painting featured my set of palette knives, then I painted persimmons which I think are the most misunderstood vegetable fruit. They taste a bit like papaya and are really good. Try one, you'll like it.

My third painting is titled "My Favorite Flavor" and should really be titled "My Favorite Food". But I decided that it was too embarrassing to admit to everyone that ice cream is absolutely ... one hundred percent ... my favorite food.  Of course my favorite flavor happens to be peppermint which is a "seasonal flavor" and that means it is only sold in stores during the holiday season. I suppose this is a good thing because I can only eat it  for a month a year. But there is a lot of pressure to eat a lot of it ...

(My very sweet girlfriend Mary Liz once brought me peppermint ice cream in the hospital when the doctors told me I could finally eat solid food. I am not sure where she found it in April. I am also not sure if it was just left over from the holidays ...)

I will be back tomorrow with another post and another new painting. In case you have forgotten, tomorrow is Saturday. And then I'll be painting and posting on Sunday too. And Monday. And Tuesday ...

Be sure and check out the amazing paintings that are being posted here on my blog. All of these artists will be painting on Saturday too!

Check out my upcoming palette knife painting workshops at http://www.saetastudio.com/Leslie_Saeta_fine_Art/Workshops.html.

30 in 30 - Day Two

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My Favorite Things - 30 Paintings in 30 Days

"Persimmons", Oil, 6" x 6"

Click here for purchase information

I am so in awe of all of you. I just checked and there are 222 paintings posted on my blog for Day One of the Challenge. How cool is that? I find it simply incredible.

As I was painting in my studio today I couldn't help but think how many other artists out there had the same goal as me ... finish a painting today! I know most of us try to paint everyday but for some reason it felt different in my studio today. I knew I had an obligation to paint and no matter what happened today I knew I was going to finish that painting. It was also liberating. My "no boats" theme also opened up a lot of new doors and I am really excited about all of my inspirations for paintings this month. (I actually re-named my theme to "My Favorite Things" which includes, of course, "no boats"). The painting I painted today was something I have been thinking about painting for two years. Seems silly, that it took me so long to paint it.

I heard today there are some of you that were intimidated by the talent of some of the artists that posted on my blog. If you are feeling that way then please continue reading ...

This challenge started as a very personal goal for me to get in my studio and paint. I spend WAY TOO much time on the computer and not enough time in the studio. I had a lot of goals for the new year which included to paint more, paint better, reach outside my comfort zone and paint faster. So that is why I decided to paint 30 paintings in 30 days. So even though I have opened this challenge up to all of you and there are 222 paintings posted on my personal blog tonight, this is still a very personal challenge for me. Just like it should be for each one of you. 

Someone asked me today if it bothered me that there were some really great artists paintings appearing on my blog today. I laughed and honestly thought, of course not! I am thrilled for the artists that painted them and hope that maybe someday I can buy one of their paintings. Am I intimidated or discouraged by my fellow artists? No. I am happy for them and happy for me. It makes no sense for me to compare my art to others. That is not the purpose of this challenge. The whole reason for this challenge was to get me in to my studio and to paint 30 paintings in 30 days. Knowing there are 256 other artists doing the same thing makes me happy. So please, enjoy the beautiful paintings posted on my blog as long as you promise not to be intimidated by it! Since there really aren't any rules to this challenge (other than the request that you all have fun!) it is important to stay focused, motivated and realize that a little goal to complete a painting in a day can and will have a huge impact on your art in 30 days. Trust me. 

Now, for a few brief technical explanations. I forgot to mention that you have 48 hours to post your painting once the my blog post goes live. For example, January 2nd was the  Day One of the Challenge. I know many of you painted a painting that day but didn't get a chance to photograph and post your painting. No worries, as you can go back and post your painting to the Day One blog. You have two days to do it.

Secondly, you do not have to paint your painting exactly on the day it is posted. I will not be able to paint in my studio this weekend so I am going to have to paint multiple paintings in the next few days to stay on track. I will admit this has me a bit stressed out but that's ok. I'll get a few done in advance. I know I will.

Happy painting!

Leslie

Check out my upcoming palette knife painting workshops at http://www.saetastudio.com/Leslie_Saeta_fine_Art/Workshops.html.

30 in 30 - Day 1 - SOLD

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Day One - 30 Paintings in 30 Days

"Tools of the Trade", Oil, 6" x 12"

$400.00

Sold.

Wow. Day one is here. And I simply cannot express how excited I am that there are over 250 artists that have signed up to take the "Thirty Paintings in 30 Days Challenge" with me! I think it is wonderful that we are all doing this together. I know there will be easy and hard days. There will be fun and challenging days. Just don't forget that the only favor I ask is that you enjoy this challenge. I really want us all to have fun! So please share your comments here on my blog and let's make sure we support each other. We have 30 days and were gonna have a blast!

There have been a lot of question about posting your daily paintings on my blog. I will try to make this simple. Every day at 12:01am PST my blog post will appear for the day of that challenge. Today is "Day 1". There will be a place at the end of my post for you to click where you need to upload a photo of your completed painting. You can upload your painting at anytime that day. All you need is a photo of your painting. You do not need a blog to upload your photo. If you don't have a blog then just leave the field blank that asks for a link to the web address of your blog. That's it. It's simple! Also, after you upload your photo a "red X" will appear. This allows you to delete your post if you want to re-do it. Please note, no one else will see this red x.

My theme for my 30 Paintings is "No Boats". I would like to spend this month outside of my comfort zone so I am not going to paint any boats. They are too easy and I have about 1000 photos of other things I really want to paint. It may sound like an odd theme, but I am really excited.

Check out my upcoming palette knife painting workshops at http://www.saetastudio.com/Leslie_Saeta_fine_Art/Workshops.html.

Thirty Paintings in Thirty Days

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I am starting a 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge on January 2nd. I think this is a great way to kick off the New Year and I invite you all to join me. It's very simple and easy ... all you need to do is paint 30 paintings in 30 days. You can post your paintings daily here on my blog to share and I hope my blog will offer encouragement for those of you who might fall behind, need inspiration or have no idea what to paint!

I am doing this challenge for a lot of reasons. Personally, I need to paint more so I know this challenge will get me in my studio every day. I also firmly believe that if you paint more regularly you will improve your painting skills in dramatically. I decided to share this with all of you because I think it's a wonderful way for all of us to start off the year ... together!

So, what do you need to do to accept this challenge and stay on track? Well, here are my steps ...

1. Post a link to your blog below to say officially that you are in!

2. Make a commitment to yourself to enter this challenge and understand there may be days when you need to paint more than one painting to "get ahead" or "catch up".

3. Understand there are no real rules for this challenge. If you miss a day, then paint two the next day. If you fall behind stay in the challenge! No one is counting how many paintings you have completed (except you), I promise! The only rule is that you must have fun and enjoy the process.

4. Tell your art friends about this challenge and get them to join in so you can share your experiences with your art buddies!

5. Decide in advance on what you want to paint for the month. You might select a theme (such as painting still life, reflections, glass, flowers, landscapes, value studies, portraits or as in my case "no boats"!) or a particular size or different medium. I do suggest you paint fairly small as a painting a day is a big commitment.

6. Get organized. Go through your photos and pick at least the first week of inspiration or plan out your plein air locations in advance. Check your supplies to make sure you have enough canvas(es) for at least the first week. 

7. Spend an hour organizing your painting area. If you studio looks like mine from crazy holiday deadlines, a bit of organization is a good thing.

8. Tell your friends and family you are doing this. They can provide great support.

9. Blog about it. Be sure to upload your daily painting on your blog and put it on your blog and website. Talk about the experience, what you are learning and the fun you are having! Be sure to include prices (and please charge a price that makes it worth your while ... paintings listed too cheap seem too cheap) and an easy way for someone to buy your paintings (i.e. buy now buttons ...). Then share it also on Facebook.

10. Post your daily painting on my blog and include a link to the page on your blog featuring that painting. I am hoping the visibility here will help you sell your paintings! Who knows. I will also teach you how to create one of these collages (as seen above) featuring all 30 of your paintings when the challenge is over. You can post your collage to my blog too!

11. And most importantly, have fun. If you get behind no one will notice. If you do paint all 30 paintings then you will know you accomplished an amazing goal and have started off 2013 with a bang! If you reach some hurdles, talk about it on my blog as all of us are here to help. We will support each other, I promise.

This is going to be fun.

Leslie

Don't forget my webinARTs course starts in January. Sign up now and start anytime ... It's the best thing you can do for your art career. Use the discount code save25 to save $25 on the registration price.

Check out my upcoming palette knife painting workshops at http://www.saetastudio.com/Leslie_Saeta_fine_Art/Workshops.html.

Merry Christmas!

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"Resting for the Holidays"

Oil, 6" x 6".

Merry Christmas! My Twelve Days of Christmas giveaway has come to a close and I want to thank each of you that were kind enough to join me in celebrating the holidays these past 12 days. Yesterday we had 73 suggestions as to ways we can all give back and help our fellow artists in the coming year. I will be sharing many of these wonderful ideas (along with details on the January 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge) on this week's "Artists Helping Artists" show. Be sure to tune in Thursday at 9:00 am PST, 12:00 noon EST. If you would like to participate in the 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge you can sign up here on my blog starting tomorrow, December 26th. Also, be sure to sign up to receive my Daily blog posts as well so you don't miss anything!

The winner of the final giveaway (which is one of my original paintings) is Teresa Telehany! Congratulations! Email me so we can finalize all of the details and I can get your mailing address. 

Finally, for those of you that participated in the Twelve Days of Christmas, there was a reason behind every "request" you had to do to participate. I tried really hard to get all of your artwork shown and publicized on my blog. My stats for the last few days averaged a 1000 % increase in viewership so I think it worked! For those of you that went back and found a favorite painting or blog post, make a mental note of what you liked! Try to incorporate everything you saw and liked in to your own artwork. And most importantly, take one of the suggestions of how you can help your fellow artists and make a point to incorporate it in to your plans for 2013. Life really is about giving back and helping our fellow artists.

Happy holidays. Merry Christmas. And thanks for making my life so complete!

Leslie

Check out my upcoming palette knife painting workshops at http://www.saetastudio.com/Leslie_Saeta_fine_Art/Workshops.html.

12 Days of Christmas - Day Twelve Giveaway

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It's hard to believe tomorrow is the last day of the Twelve Days of Christmas giveaway. This has been a lot of fun and thank you to the hundreds of you that have participated in the fun. 

I love all of your favorite paintings that were posted on my blog post yesterday. Please take a minute to click on the links to see all of the great art.t

The winner of the 11th Day Giveaway is Debbie Lamey-MacDonald. Debbie is the winner of a month long webinARTs course. Email me and I will register you for the class. Congrats!

The 12th Day giveaway prize is one of my original oil paintings. If you would like to have a chance to win the painting, my request is simple. I am a true believer that as artists we all need to think about giving back. We need to do everything we can to help our fellow artists.  That's why my radio show is named "Artists Helping Artists". 

I am looking for suggestions as to how we can all help our fellow artists. So to be eligible for the final giveaway leave your suggestions here. What do you think is a great way to help a fellow artist? Share your ideas on my blog or on any of my facebook pages. And you are welcome to make as many suggestions as you want if you would like to increase your chances to win. 

Good luck. And thanks for sharing.

Check out my upcoming palette knife painting workshops at http://www.saetastudio.com/Leslie_Saeta_fine_Art/Workshops.html.

12 Days of Christmas - Day Eleven Giveaway

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Wow, only one day until my Twelve Days of Christmas Giveaway is over! I can't believe it. And, I survived our party. Now that's good news! I can't wait to get in my studio and start painting again.

Some of you may have heard about my "30 Paintings in 30 Days" challenge. It starts on January 2nd and for any of you that are interested in joining me, we are going to paint 30 paintings in 30 days! You will even be able to post your painting on my blog if you choose to participate. It will be fun and it is a fantastic way to start of the new year. I think it's a great chance to try some new things and also get in the habit of painting more often. Think about it. Give it a try. What's the worst thing that can happen? Perhaps you paint 15 paintings and after 15 days you can't continue. At least you will have painted 15! 

Some of you are putting together a theme for your thirty paintings. That's great. You can also just choose a size and paint that size every day. Or paint 30 value studies. Maybe you will paint 30 larger versions of paintings you have already done. Or paint 30 paintings that each represent a month of the year (then you can print a 2013 calendar right away!) Maybe you want to paint the same painting but just vary it each day. It's up to you! Just make sure you are ready by the 2nd of January ...

Yesterday's giveaway was fun and I loved reading all of your posts about the one things you would like to learn. There were lots of techniques mentioned, as well as art marketing. Be sure to visit my blog from yesterday and read all of the posts. And if you did submit an entry, be sure to think about adding your "wish" to your goals list for 2013. I bet it's not that hard to accomplish.

Today's Giveaway for the 10th Day of Christmas is a webinARTs course. It's a month long course and will prove to be very valuable for all of you! If you don't win, be sure to use the "save25" discount code before December 31st to save $25 on the January webinARTs course because it will expire! 

To qualify for the 11th Day Giveaway all you need to do is post a link below of someone else's painting that you love. Be sure you link to their blog for everyone to enjoy!

The winner of the Day 10 free workshop giveaway is Joan Funk. Congrats! Be sure to email me your contact information so we can get you all signed up for one of my workshops.

Check out my upcoming palette knife painting workshops at http://www.saetastudio.com/Leslie_Saeta_fine_Art/Workshops.html.

12 Days of Christmas - Day Ten Giveaway

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It's been an incredibly busy time as tomorrow is our annual holiday party and I am cooking for 250 guests.  Fortunately I have been cooking for weeks and today many of my friends came over and helped with the last minute preparation. I have 24 items on the menu and today we actually made 500 crab cakes! I am very tired but thanks to my family, the house is entirely ready and tomorrow will be a pretty easy day. Yahoo.

Thank you so much for all of your very inspiring comments about "why you love being an artist". sometimes we need to stop and think about how lucky we are to be able to create and enjoy the wonderful lifestyle of an artist! I hope this reflection has helped to reinforce why you have chosen this wonderful profession, regardless if you are doing it full or part-time.

The winner of Day 9 of the 12 Days of Christmas Giveaway is Susan Garriques. You have won a $100 gift certificate. Just email me and we will make arrangements to to figure out how you would like to spend it!

The Day 10 giveaway is one of my painting workshops at the Carriage House in South Pasadena. It's a $325 value and can be used to attend one of my three day workshops which includes a gourmet dinner cooked by yours truly. 

To be eligible for the giveaway, all you have to do is post a response to the following question: "If I could learn anything having to do with my art career it would be ...". Your question can pertain to technique, painting methods, marketing and sales ... anything you want! You can post your comment here or on any of my Facebook pages. Good luck ...

Check out my upcoming palette knife painting workshops at http://www.saetastudio.com/Leslie_Saeta_fine_Art/Workshops.html.

12 Days of Christmas - Day Nine Giveaway

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Wow. I don't even know what to say. There were over 100 suggestions submitted yesterday for topics for future AHA shows. Really? Do you all have any idea how awesome that is? And do you have any idea how wonderful that is for yours truly? I am stunned. And forever grateful. Thank you so much for taking the time to send in your suggestions. I am so touched that you all rallied to help me with this. Thank you.

The winner of the 12 Days of Christmas Day Eight Giveaway is Carol Steinberg.  It's not all that surprising since she submitted A TON of AHA show ideas. I was a bit curious to see if random.org would "randomly" pick the one person who submitted by far the most suggestions ... and sure enough, that is exactly what happened! So congrats! Email me and we will set up your free consultation.

The Day Nine Giveaway is a $100 gift certificate towards one of my paintings or any of the merchandise featured on my website. To qualify for the giveaway, all you have to do is leave a post on this blog or my Facebook pages answering the following question.

"I love being an artist because ...".

Dig deep, and take a moment to think about why we are so blessed to be artists. And enjoy your day!

Check out my upcoming palette knife painting workshops at http://www.saetastudio.com/Leslie_Saeta_fine_Art/Workshops.html.