The February 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge! - How Did I Do?
The 30 in 30 Challenge Has Ended!
On February 1st I embraced the challenge of creating 30 pieces in 30 days, and I committed to exploring mixed media for 30 days.
How did I do?
Overall, I feel like it went well! The month started very productively. I was painting and posting daily, then I've fallen behind with the daily postings, but even if on a few days I did not find the time or the energy to paint, I learned more about mixed media and about myself, what I like.
This journey can be summarized in four key points:
Color - Texture - Simple Shapes - Fibers
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| Some of my colorful creations from the 30 in 30 challenge (Feb 2018) |
1. Color
The first thing I realized, on the first days of the challenge, is that I LOVE COLOR SO MUCH. Color is what had me inspired to paint at the very beginning, and somehow I abandoned the idea of painting with "made up" colors, and I started painting things as I see them. And sometimes colors of what you see are dull and grayish...
My love for plein air painting has had something to do with the process of painting more and more what I see. Painting on location, completing a piece in a couple of hours, is hard enough without having to worry about changing the colors of what I see. Creative colors involve extra processing, in the attempt of making the painting harmonious and visually pleasant. So I stuck with realistic colors.
I had not rationalized this until now, but somehow I have forgotten the initial urge to use vibrant-colors-no-matter-what.
My very first colorful painting, below, was inspired by Mark Gould, an artist that paints colorful, contemporary landscapes from memory. This is the painting that gave me the initial motivation to start painting daily, in Dec 2010.
After a few years of painting things as I see them, the exploration of mixed media has reminded me how much I love color and how my original inspiration was to use it creatively and boldly.
2. Texture
Oh my, do I love textured paintings! Looking at texture and brush-marks in artworks does something to my salivating glands!
Being able to apply thicker brushstrokes without the need of a thickening agent was one of the reasons why I dropped acrylic for a while and started painting with oils. That, and the ability to blend edges, which is very hard with acrylics because they dry so quickly.
With mixed media, I had lots of fun adding layers of thick paint, paper, and even fabric, and I love the textured look. Also, while working, I enjoy the sense of variety and randomness, with only partial control over the final effect; you kind of have to go with the flow and accept what happens.
You keep adding things and evaluate what might be needed, add some more, dull something down, push some darks or some colors, and keep evaluating and adding, following your gut instinct and your visual taste.
In the end, different layers of colors and materials show through adding interest and movement to the composition, and some great textures!
3. Simple Shapes
Working with paper collage of limited colors makes you think in big shapes, you need to simplify the subject, and group together shapes according to how dark or how light they are, or how warm or cool.
Probably, the radiating landscape below is this month's strongest example of this kind of thinking.
I believe simplifying and thinking about bigger shapes, rather than single objects, is an essential step toward stronger compositions.
4. Fibers
Some of the pieces include stitching and some fabrics. I started adding fibers only at the end of the month, there are many more things that I want to try, I hope I can tackle several more studies soon.
There is so much more potential in fabric and fibers, I feel like I have just discovered the tip of the iceberg.
Below is my favorite piece of the month, Seascape Study I, created with acrylic paint, fabric, and tissue paper.
I love the color, the texture, and the abstraction in it.
Now that the challenge is over, I need to figure out how it informed my work.
Is my style going to change?
The only way to find out is to go into the studio and paint what my heart tells me.
Thanks a lot for visiting!!
The first thing I realized, on the first days of the challenge, is that I LOVE COLOR SO MUCH. Color is what had me inspired to paint at the very beginning, and somehow I abandoned the idea of painting with "made up" colors, and I started painting things as I see them. And sometimes colors of what you see are dull and grayish...
My love for plein air painting has had something to do with the process of painting more and more what I see. Painting on location, completing a piece in a couple of hours, is hard enough without having to worry about changing the colors of what I see. Creative colors involve extra processing, in the attempt of making the painting harmonious and visually pleasant. So I stuck with realistic colors.
I had not rationalized this until now, but somehow I have forgotten the initial urge to use vibrant-colors-no-matter-what.
My very first colorful painting, below, was inspired by Mark Gould, an artist that paints colorful, contemporary landscapes from memory. This is the painting that gave me the initial motivation to start painting daily, in Dec 2010.
 |
| The painting that started my journey as a painter, I painted it inspired by a work by Mark Gould. (Jan 2011) |
After a few years of painting things as I see them, the exploration of mixed media has reminded me how much I love color and how my original inspiration was to use it creatively and boldly.
2. Texture
Oh my, do I love textured paintings! Looking at texture and brush-marks in artworks does something to my salivating glands!
Being able to apply thicker brushstrokes without the need of a thickening agent was one of the reasons why I dropped acrylic for a while and started painting with oils. That, and the ability to blend edges, which is very hard with acrylics because they dry so quickly.
With mixed media, I had lots of fun adding layers of thick paint, paper, and even fabric, and I love the textured look. Also, while working, I enjoy the sense of variety and randomness, with only partial control over the final effect; you kind of have to go with the flow and accept what happens.
You keep adding things and evaluate what might be needed, add some more, dull something down, push some darks or some colors, and keep evaluating and adding, following your gut instinct and your visual taste.
In the end, different layers of colors and materials show through adding interest and movement to the composition, and some great textures!
3. Simple Shapes
Working with paper collage of limited colors makes you think in big shapes, you need to simplify the subject, and group together shapes according to how dark or how light they are, or how warm or cool.
Probably, the radiating landscape below is this month's strongest example of this kind of thinking.
I believe simplifying and thinking about bigger shapes, rather than single objects, is an essential step toward stronger compositions.
 |
| "Radiating Landscape Study" Mixed media on canvas sheet Example of how working with paper collage made me thing about shapes, value, and temperature. |
4. Fibers
Some of the pieces include stitching and some fabrics. I started adding fibers only at the end of the month, there are many more things that I want to try, I hope I can tackle several more studies soon.
There is so much more potential in fabric and fibers, I feel like I have just discovered the tip of the iceberg.
Below is my favorite piece of the month, Seascape Study I, created with acrylic paint, fabric, and tissue paper.
I love the color, the texture, and the abstraction in it.
 | |
| "Seascape Study I" 8"10" Mixed media on stretched canvas Fabric, acrylic paint, paper, and marker. |
Now that the challenge is over, I need to figure out how it informed my work.
Is my style going to change?
The only way to find out is to go into the studio and paint what my heart tells me.
 |
| A panoramic of my mixed media creations this month |
Thanks a lot for visiting!!
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