Two-thirds of the way through this challenge, I’m noticing a distinct shift in how I approach my work.

By paying attention to what draws my eye, what feels right, the distance between what I picture in my mind and what I actually create is lessening. I am getting better at being present, listening to myself, and trusting my intuition. As a result, the work I’m producing feels completely aligned with who I am in this moment…

Here is painting 20 of 30:

The COCA 24 hour Art Marathon kicks off tomorrow at 10am–and the prep is getting real! So sadly, I don’t have time to write today.  But I do have time to paint 😉

I love how this piece turned out…especially the remnants of left over paint from earlier pieces (those traces of turquoise and orange).

Here is painting 19 of 30:

I’m getting ready to create some encaustic mixed media paintings for COCA’s 24 hour Art Marathon and Auction.  20+ artists will be creating, carving, painting, sculpting, welding, waxing on site, making new works that will be auctioned off the following night.

Feels like a long time since I fired up the wax ~ I’m feeling a little green, but super curious to see how my recent oil/cold wax techniques translate to the auction pieces I create.  (I’ll be posting shots of the pieces in progress on Instagram.)

CENTER ON CONTEMPORARY ART GALLERY
24hr Art Marathon: Thursday, September 20, 10:00 am until Friday, September 21, 10:00 am
Art Preview: Thursday, September 20, 6:00 pm-9:00 pm
Auction: Saturday, September 22, 5:30-10:00 pm
Location: The Summit, 420 E Pike St

Here is painting 18 of 30:

As someone who’s never been a multi-tasker, I find it surprising that I am at my most creative when I’m listening to podcasts (my favorites are long-form interviews with brilliant, creative people).

The brilliant “maker” Ann Hamilton says there is an energy and attention that is cultivated when these two sensations — the practice of listening and the act of creating — come together. This definitely rings true for me. My thinky brain is so focused on the conversation that it frees up my creative brain to be fully present and play. And conversely, there is something about my body and my hands being busy that allows my mind to open, and I’m able to fully absorb what I’m listening to.

Are there activities/practices you do that free up your mind to be more creative?  If so, please do share! I’d love to hear your thoughts…

Here is painting 17 of 30:

I love the way abstract art invites the creator and the viewer to collaborate as storytellers.

As the creator, I have my own story that informs the choices I make (materials, color, gesture, etc.) that lead me towards a finished painting. Sometimes I clearly know the steps I need to execute to realize my vision.  But more often, my process is based on intuition.  I couldn’t articulate what influenced my color choices for this piece.  That pop in contrast just felt right to me.

And I love what you can learn about a person based on what they see in a piece. At the pop-up market earlier this week, I was struck by how many people were drawn to this painting because of the “Seattle Seahawks” colors.

So it made me wonder…was it intuition that inspired this color combination, or has the seasonal rise in Seattle football paraphernalia subliminally influenced my color palette for this painting?  Inquiring minds…

All I know is that this piece is super pleasing to my eye.

Here is painting 16 of 30:

Talking about these SOLO pieces with people I met at the pop-up market got me thinking about ways I can continue to explore this series.  All of these pieces are on 9″x12″ paper because it was the size I had available. Yesterday, I bought a larger pad of paper, and am interested to see how these paintings change as I scale up.

I have also been questioning whether I need to include cold wax for these paintings.  I used cold wax initially, because that’s the medium I’m exploring.  But as I grow this body of work, I’ll be curious to see how these paintings work with oil or acrylic paint alone.

Doors leading to more doors…not unlike the opening credit sequence of Get Smart TV show I watched as a kid.

Here is painting 15 of 30:

Well…my internet exploded yesterday when someone erroneously included a portrait of my family in a post about US Open Champion Naomi Osaka. It is bewildering, to suddenly find myself sucked into this stranger’s orbit.  I spent the past 12 hours trying to disentangle my personal family photo from his careless post, and I just finished filing a copyright infringement report. Hopefully this whole matter will be laid to rest soon…

All this to say, I haven’t had time to reflect on today’s post.  So I will simply present you with painting 14 of 30.

September has turned art into an endurance sport, which is a welcome change following 2+ months off!

This “30 paintings in 30 days” challenge has reactivated my blog. I’m writing, painting and posting every day. It also gave me some much-needed inventory for my first pop-up market yesterday.

Thanks to Artist Trust for including me in this stellar line-up of local artists. It was my first time sharing my oil/cold wax paintings with the public — and the response was so encouraging, I might even be inspired to keep the SOLO series going after this challenge ends!

I’m giving myself a day to recover, then I have a week to prepare for the COCA 24-hour Art Marathon/Auction. Works made during the marathon will be auctioned off as a fundraiser for COCA Gallery the following day, with artists getting 50% of the sale price. Everybody wins!

I feel so grateful to be busy doing the work I love…♡

Painting 13 of 30:

SOLO #10 – 9″x12″ Oil & cold wax on Arches Oil Paper

To date, I’ve only created series that were loosely held together through a core concept, shared dimension, or technique. So what unified the body of work as a ‘series’ was usually only visible to my eye.

I look forward to seeing how these SOLO pieces look, hanging at the Artist Trust Pop Up Market at Amazon today. I expect I will be struck by the explosion of color and the rhythmic repetition of this series…

Here is painting 12 of 30:

My Instagram feed during this 30-day challenge is a radical departure from my usual posts of works in progress. The evolution of these Solo paintings happens in a moment. There’s no history of layers, no touch ups. Just paper, then finished painting.

Minimalist in form and execution.

As with everything that appears effortless, all the progress comes in the prep and planning leading up to the moment when the paint touches the paper.

Here is painting 11 of 30: