This year was definitely interesting as far as my painting habits go. It was both very productive in which I created some of my best paintings yet and very unproductive which led to a real struggle with painting in general.
I started the year off with a bang and completed a 30 paintings in 30 days challenge. I followed that up with what was supposed to be a year of painting animal portraits. What happened instead was I became frustrated and uninterested in my chosen theme and found myself without any real plan for the year.
The year was far from a bust though. I finished 48 paintings total and 2 more are nearly done. Plus, I participated in the Inktober challenge and worked on a handful of watercolors. Completing two challenges in one year is way more than I could have hoped to accomplish.
Doing the 30 in 30 challenge was really eye opening for me. I discovered that I can create some really beautiful artwork when I devote myself to daily painting. I also discovered that I really love the style my art takes on when painting quickly, I really like painting glass, and I enjoyed painting from life more than I thought I would.
The downside to daily painting is that it is extremely hard. The first half of the challenge was difficult because I literally had the flu. The second half was definitely quite a bit more difficult because I ran out of ideas. The second half is also filled with far more successful paintings with more interesting subjects and compositions. So the difficulty was ultimately worth it. At the time though, it was hard to reconcile the difficulty with progress. There were many days where I spent more time trying to figure out what to paint and set up a still life than I did actually painting. Turns out the easy part is painting.
Aside from being a little burnt out from the 30 in 30 challenge, my problem with painting this year came from moving. The move was pretty all consuming especially since this is the first time my husband and I have bought a home. My distraction with the new house continued well after we moved too. Now in possession with a shiny new (to me) house, I became thoroughly preoccupied with interior design. I haven’t mentioned it on this blog, but I absolutely love all things interior design and I frequently have home decor projects going on that distract me from my painting. This year had a lot more projects than usual.
Despite distractions, I did in fact paint a handful of nice animal portraits. I feel like the portraits towards the middle of the year clearly reflect my growing frustration and disinterest in painting. As the year goes on I moved away from animals and eventually oil paint all together and focused on other mediums.
Some of the animal paintings were more successful than others. Most of the successful ones happened earlier in the year when I was still painting several times a week. Then I got caught in a viscous cycle. I would become frustrated with what I painted and avoid painting. Then, because I wasn’t painting I would become frustrated when I did paint since I was out of practice. There are several paintings stemming from this frustration that are so unsuccessful that I will probably paint over them at some point.
In an effort to get myself out my painting funk, I painted a few paintings on aluminum panels. It worked in the short term, but I sill found myself distracted, uninterested and frustrated. After a while I switched up my medium and did some ink and watercolor paintings.
This year’s meager watercolor paintings
After the year I had with painting, Inktober seemed like a breath of fresh air. This year was the first time I participated in Inktober and I absolutely loved it. I think it will be a yearly event for me.
I made it easy on myself and did small 2.5×3 inch sketches and only occasionally worked on oil paintings. I’m so glad I did it this way too because it really took the pressure off. I also didn’t beat myself up over missing days and it was easy enough to do multiple sketches a day to catch up if I did miss a day.
The theme I chose was Halloween objects which gradually evolved into skeletons with a few random objects thrown in for variety. My favorite sketches are the skulls at the end, the white rat, and the skeleton bird.
I would sit down for a few minutes each day and knock out a quick little sketch which I actually found myself looking forward to it each day. This is one of those things that I could actually see myself doing almost every day. I had every intention to continue with it before life took me in another direction. I should in fact start it up again now that things have calmed down again. I think sketching in a sketchbook on a regular basis is one of my goals for 2019.
Side note about my ink subjects: I have a small collection of skulls, but I would like to add to it this next year. This year my husband found what may be a rabbit skull as well as a deer skull. He also procured a duck head from my sister-in-law’s farm which I had to clean myself (yuck!). One of these days I also want a few taxidermy birds too, but those tend to be harder to come by.
Between the Inktober challenge and a plein air field trip I took with my daughter, I’ve been gradually more and more interested in watercolor again. I’ve always loved the look of it, but get frustrated when I do it. But, with some minor successes with the plein air painting and Inktober, I think I’m ready to give it more of a shot. I think I will be doing a fair amount of watercolor along side ink in my new sketchbook this coming year.
On a more somber note, the end of this year has been a struggle for me. My sweet old dog Shanzi passed away suddenly at the end of October and I have been absolutely devastated by her loss. She was a big part of my life for the last 11 years and I find it really hard to express how deeply I feel her loss. I am so glad I made it a priority earlier this year to paint a quality portrait of her in her prime. I see it and cherish it every day.
I feel like this whole year has culminated in a whisper rather than a bang. I’m still painting, although it has been sporadic and difficult. I have plans to complete another 30 in 30 challenge in January as well as plans to start sketching in a sketchbook on a regular basis. Which is something I’ve never done. It’s a wonder I can draw at all.
Works in progress
Despite my good intentions, it is a mystery to me what will happen with my art this next year. I got a job, which I haven’t done in quite a few years. Up until now I was fortunate enough to stay at home with my kids during their pre-school years. They are now both in full time school which leaves me with time to work again and no reason not to.
Like most artists, I had hoped my art would sell like crazy and I could avoid a real job. It turns out selling art is harder than it sounds and my anxiety has compounded the situation. I’m not giving up on my art, but I do have to live in reality as much as I would prefer otherwise.
Thank you all for visiting, commenting and emailing. It means the world to me to have this community. Your support motivated me to continue to make art during this difficult year when I would have given up. I’m excited to start the new year and see where it will take me. Thank you.
Congratulations on the house and kids in full time school! Living in reality has it’s benefits – a job is not one, but you can still paint and draw – love seeing your art and looking forward to your continued journey in 2019!
Thank you! A job is definitely not a benefit to reality, but I am looking forward to it a little. It’ll be nice to have a little financial breathing room. I’m also looking forward to seeing what you create next year.
Amber, your portrait of Shanzi is stunning. My heart hurts for you. We very recently suffered a loss which still feels really raw and this brought tears to my eyes (at work no less!). I have been really wrapped up in portraiture of our animals and also now turning my attention towards the important humans in my life as a way to paint a tribute to them and spend time thinking about them and our memories (it’s hard to articulate but it feels important). In our case, I worked really hard to get a few portraits done and with some urgency, it felt really important to do, and when we’re ready we will hang them up and that can be our good memory.
I’m so sorry for your loss. Your comment brought tears to my eyes too. I think it’s a wonderful idea to paint portraits of all of your loved ones (four legs and two). It’s a beautiful way to honor their memory.