Week 2 Recap - 30 Paintings in 30 Days
I’m trying to keep my momentum up as I remove distractions. It’s essential to progress on this project—not with addition, but by subtraction.
Over the past week, I’ve made decent progress by finishing a small piece which I’m quite proud of. It’s one of many in this series which I hope to elaborate and expand upon; I love the idea of variations on a theme and still life paintings are my focus currently. I’m somewhere in the middle on a few of the other pieces that I’ve started, and I have a few passes to go on them, but I’ve taken up some big projects which occupy most of my time.
I finished my large Phoenix piece and set it above my bed to dry. I hope that I don’t wake up to an oil paint surprise— I’m pretty confident in the two nails on which it rests.
I’m proud of this Phoenix. It’s the first time that I’ve ever painted a 60”x60” canvas. I wanted to go with something dark which would be a great piece for my bedroom, and the piece has evolved to have more meaning than at its inception— it reminds me of a rebirth back into the heat of Phoenix. It symbolizes my shifting mindset as I continue to pivot from old habits into new patterns.
I rarely know where a piece is going when I start it and I allow it to evolve organically as the paint covers the canvas. Typically I’ll find forms that are asking me to latch onto them and bring them to life, much like seeing patterns in clouds.
As I return to smaller pieces, I’m aiming to smash out my Kyoto scene today or tomorrow, then conclude the variations on the still life theme. I started one piece from Michael of a photo taken in Utah and I think I can do it in just one more pass of texture.
I have three concurrent larger pieces— the figure scene, which is about 80% complete, my Cézanne dupe with some questionable swatches, and the start of a piece inspired by a photo taken by Michael in Iceland.
In other news, I spent some time this week declaring a system to “preorder” the pieces. I haven’t done any marketing regarding product drops before, but I’m hoping to allow for a sort of reservation— I want those who are first interested in the pieces to have the option to buy them first before I go live with the paintings. Check it out on my site here and let me know if it makes sense.
Financially, things feel like they’re turning around. I fully expected that my overall project would take quite some time to come to fruition. I’m happy to say that I hit my first main goal in May of covering my entire living expenses as an artist, and I’m hoping that June works out as well! I have a few big things coming: paintings to release, clients to train, and my first ever painting seminar. I’m aiming to record the 4 hour workshop so that I can make it into repeatable content and offer it here on my site.
One of my patrons who bought my first Cézanne dupe and I have connected in the fitness sphere and we’re working towards his goals, which I’m excited to see! It’s the most rewarding part of this journey! I have enjoyed connecting with those who I wouldn’t have before, only after putting myself out there, and I’m seeing that I can help them achieve their goals. I’m planning on releasing some fitness content for them: a stretching and mobility routine, plus some simple workouts.
Overall, I feel a bit behind on my 30 paintings, but I have to remember that the whole point was to push myself and see what I can handle. I’m trying to build something sustainable and not put too much pressure on it; pressure destroys the purity of the art, and all that you can do is put yourself at your workstation and hope that flow strikes.
