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:

In college, I rowed competitively. As someone inherently drawn to contradictions, I quickly fell in love with this sport.

Rowing married the rigor and discipline of a solo sport with the camaraderie and bonding of a team.

I loved the balance of endurance and meditation, elegance and pain. And I was seduced by the pursuit of the elusive perfect stroke.

To a varying degree, I sense that same adrenaline rush now as I work in pursuit of the perfect stroke.

Here is painting 10 of 30:

I’m curious to see how this 30-day meditation on The Line manifests in my work moving forward.

Will this new language of bold gestural marks become integrated into my work?

Will the difference be mostly one of mind set — intention, confidence, comprehension — and therefore discernible only to me?

Out of curiosity, I pulled out an old piece today and started painting over it. And I could definitely feel the difference. (Will post a pic of this piece when it’s further along…)

In the meantime, here’s painting 9 of 30:

These pieces are so different from anything I’ve done in the past. And I’m finding this creative detour invigorating, if not intoxicating!

Mark making is still pretty new for me. Making a single gesture on a page is a bold statement. It feels risky and vulnerable. But this boldness by my hand is a thrilling departure for me. And I now feel a boundless curiosity to explore this most rudimentary of marks — the straight line…

Here is painting 8 of 30:

One of the joys–and challenges–of making these pieces is resisting the urge to “fix” them. Each one appears on the page fully formed…completely unique, impossible to replicate.

Sometimes it can be tempting to pick at, scrape, add, fill in…just to “fix” that one thing. But then I remind myself that my only role here is to breathe life into these pieces. Nothing more. Once they’re out, I need to step back, and let them be what they are. It doesn’t take long for me to find beauty in their imperfections.

This daily practice has become an invitation to make peace with what is…and to let go.

Here is painting 7 of 30:

It is now clear to me that this SOLO series will be the theme for the remainder of this 30 day challenge. Part of the joy of painting this series is trying to get the most out of a single line. This piece sings with so many colors…it is one of my favorites.

Here it is, painting 6 of 30:

Now I’ve caught the minimalist bug.

The act of painting a single line has me thinking about so much — focal point, color, balance, movement, repetition, texture, alignment, contrast, white space.

It’s 5 days into this challenge, and I am already experiencing a profound shift as I breathe life into this new body of work, which I am calling the SOLO Series.

Painting 5 of 30.