Please Welcome A New Challenger!

Please help me welcome Terry Allor, our latest challenger!

Terry is a retired nursing educator with very little formal education in art. She and I recently had a chance to meet in person and she shared with me how much joy she felt when she painted. Terry also mentioned that now that she had started she wants to experiment more as well as keep a pen, ink and wash journal.

Terry faces a lot of the same "issues" as you and I do, namely, getting inspired and maintaining that inspiration. Not always an easy thing to do with life's velocity increasing all the time! She often gets discouraged when she attempts to get back into painting if she has stayed away too long.

Terry is seeking to develop good, strong habits of staying active with her painting as well as learning more about her chosen medium of watercolor.

Please join me in welcoming Terry!

Welcoming Back A Challenger!

"What's Left Of Fall"
© Dora Sislian Themelis
The first entry of Dora's challenge

Dora started the 100 Paintings Challenge in late January 2011. She was able to complete 56 paintings—that's more than one painting per week! As we all know, juggling priorities, unexpected/unplanned challenges and just plain old life can get in the way of our artistic goals. Dora and I had the chance to talk about what challenges she faced, what she learned and why she's decided to go for another year at the 100 Paintings Challenge.

Laure Ferlita (LF): Congratulations, Dora! Fifty-six paintings in one year is no small feat! I also know there were challenges you faced during the last year with regard to your artistic goals. Can you tell us a little about that?

Dora Sislian Themelis (DT): Laure, thank you very much for the opportunity to take another go at the 100 Paintings Challenge. At first I was disappointed that I didn't meet the goal of 100 pieces of work, but it has been a wonderful year of 56 solid paintings I would not have done had I not been accountable any other way.

At the time I found the challenge I wanted to push myself to paint on a regular schedule, to build a body of new work, and experiment further in watercolors. As I hummed along painting small works that took twenty to thirty minutes, I did two still life works a week. In the spring I joined a vegetable share and lo and behold I found I loved painting arrangements of the harvest and the sunflowers. Suddenly I was painting much larger work which took longer to complete. Add in that I was sitting for my granddaughter who started staying awake longer than napping! There went painting time!

Add in some resistance and feelings of low motivation.

However, I developed a year of good work. I followed your suggestions and kept going. To my surprise I sold a couple of paintings from the collection. And yes, this past year is a collection of work that stands on it's own, as does each individual painting. As the year ended in the challenge I evaluated the group, minus the couple I sold. I can proudly say I accomplished something!

The challenge gave me some well needed confidence and I learned to better schedule my painting time. I'd like this next year to try to get to the goal and further hone those skills. Wish me luck!

LF: Dora, you mention feelings of resistance as well as low motivation....I think everyone who's reading this can relate to those feelings. Sometimes just recognizing the the resistance is a huge step forward. Other times, we're still stuck. How did you overcome the resistance and the low motivation?

DT: To get past resistance I would switch gears and do another activity like knitting, or clean up the studio. Deciding I could stop painting would relax my brain enough to try again later on. I tried not to let too much time go between sessions, because I found when I did paint I was excited to do it again the next day. Positive self-talk helped too.

#56 Four Shells With Rock
© Dora Sislian Themelis

LF: Sounds like a lot of new mindsets for you—shifting away from resistance by doing an alternative activity, giving yourself space so that you could relax as well as staying on target to keep the momentum going. What has been the most important thing you've learned in your first year of the challenge?

DT: Well, the challenge kept me accountable and I was happy with the direction my work was going. And, although I'm not really the competitive type, I want to see if I can reach the goal. If something inside me is saying You can do it, I have to give it another shot.

LF: Any thoughts on what you'll do differently this year than last to help you reach your goal?

DT: I've finally got my head in the right place as far as scheduling my painting time. I plan to take care of house stuff early in my day so my brain is free to concentrate on art after lunchtime with evenings for family. I heard another artist does this and it felt like the right fit for me too. I've ever had a regular schedule for art. That's the plan anyway!

LF: I would recommend artists make a plan, develop a schedule they can live with and dive in. I had to push through my own resistance, knock down walls of my own making. Just say yes to the opportunity and see what happens!

___________________________

Dora, welcome back and best of luck on another fabulous year of painting! To see more of Dora's work, please visit her at her blog, Coffee and Paint Drips!

#24 Sunflowers Outside
© Dora Sislian Themelis
 

The painting, Sunflowers Outside, sold during a weekend class that Dora attended. During the Shameless Self Promotion class by Alyson B. Stanfield, my table mate looked through my portfolio of work and said she HAD to have that painting!!

Please Welcome Cathy Orfall!

Cathy Orfall joins us from Oregon to take on the 100 Paintings in a year Challenge! She is a watercolorist that I had the pleasure of meeting through Imaginary Trips last year. Cathy also enjoys sketching in pen and ink with an occasional wash of watercolor.

Cathy's goals for the challenge are to bring about the necessary discipline and focus needed to complete a year's work as well as to help her find her own style. (Having worked with Cathy in a couple of classes, I'd say she has her style—she'll be refining her style through the challenge!)

Please join me in welcoming Cathy to the challenge. She is in the process of setting up her blog here, though at the moment it's still brand new!

Cathy, I wish you the best of luck and look forward to seeing your growth over the coming 12 months!

A New Challenger!

Please join me in welcoming Camille Collins, our latest challenger! 

Camille works in watercolor and a little bit of watermedia as well. Like most artists I know, Camille is looking to make her creative work a major part of her life rather than something she squeezes in whenever she has time. She also wants to gain more knowledge about color, light, and working with the white of the paper. 

In my conversation with Camille, she mentioned her excitement about being able to learn from others on the blog and how they approach their subjects and art. I applaud Camille for recognizing the opportunities that come with type of challenge—we often learn as much from others as we do from our own adventures if we observant.

Camille, I wish you the very best with the challenge! 

 

Look Who Came Back!!

I am so very pleased to announce that Elva Paulson of Elva's Field Notes has rejoined the challenge and will be working to complete another 100 paintings!

When Elva and I chatted about her rejoining the challenge, she shared with me that in the past, her focus was always on the "end product" and not so much on exploring or experimenting. As she has seen more and more change in her art from that playfulness, she wants to focus in on that aspect and bring more of that to her work.

Elva will also be doing a lot of experimenting with various types of paper to see what works best for her to achieve the various results she desires in her work....sounds to me like something we could all learn from!

I invite you to check out Elva's blog if you have not—it's quite a treat as she tells a story like no one else AND there's always a story!

Welcome back, Elva! I look forward to the coming year!

Please Welcome....

....our latest challenger, Kate MacDonald! Kate has already begun the challenge as she is quite anxious to get started.

Some of her goals including, improving her composition skills, creating a body of work for a workshop in May 2012, and to begin to build the habit of production by creating for the challenge.

Kate's background includes landscape and garden design as well as some phtoography. She'll begin with a small format and then increase the size of her work over the course of the challenge.

You can visit Kate at her work website, Rebel Without A Vase.

Welcome, Kate!

A Champion Returns

I am pleased to announce the Brinda is rejoining the challenge today. Brinda completed her first 100 paintings earlier this year and has now found a new way to challenge herself....but I'm going to let her share that with you!

Please join me in welcoming Brinda Crishna back to the challenge!

Welcome, Brinda!

Introducing Our Newest Challenger!

Please join me in welcoming Kristin Link to the 100 Paintings Challenge!

Kristin is an illustrator as well as an artist working in watercolor, acrylic and digital art. Her goals include developing a consistent voice and practice in field sketching. Approaching artwork with a freedom to experiment as well as explore new techniques are also some of the goals Kristin has for the challenge. Telling stories, learning about our surroundings, natural history and landscapes are also important to Kristin as she develops her visual vocabulary.

As Kristin will be joining us from Alaska, her environment goes hand-in-hand with her goals! You can visit Kristin's blog by clicking on her link over in the sidebar.

Welcome, Kristin, to the challenge!

A New Challenger!

Please join me in welcoming Liz Cutler, our latest challenger! Liz is a painter working with oils, acrylic and pastel. She has only recently started to work in watercolors. One of the things I liked most about Liz's response to her goals for the challenge, was her candid admittance to the fact that she loved to dive in and indulge in color. I think we can all relate to that!

Liz is looking to learn discipline with regard to crafting her paintings, getting a handle on the age-old question, "Is it finished?" and seeking to develop a habit of completing work rather than leaving for the next great opportunity.

Liz, welcome to the challenge and best of luck!

A New Challenger - Cheri Homaee!

Please join me in welcoming Cheri Homaee as our latest challenger! Cheri has several artistic pursuits in that she works in acrylics, graphite and photography. You can see more of her work by visiting her art blog over in the left hand column or to see her photography work here.

Cheri's goals include improving her art, her patience(!) and learning new techniques from others.

Welcome, Cheri! I think you will find all of your goals met by the time the year is up. The patience may take further practice beyond the first year though—I'm still learning that one!

Introducing Our Newest Challenger!

Please join me in welcoming Lorrie Klosterman! Lorrie joins us from sunny California, where she works in watercolors. Like all of us, Lorrie is working at that age-old concept of partnering with watercolor rather than controlling it or being out of control. She also struggles with a harsh self-critic that can cause her to discourage herself (sound familiar to anyone? Sure does to me!).

As a biologist, Lorrie has a strong affinity for nature. She volunteers her time as a naturalist at a park about an hour south of San Francisco.

Welcome, Lorrie!

Re-Introducing A Former Challenger - Claire McFeely!

I am delighted to announce that Claire McFeely has rejoined the challenge! Claire had started the challenge last year, but life interfered for a while. She and her art are back on track and she's ready to go again!

I think you may recognize some of Claire's work as she has a highly recognizable style. Her journal pages and beautiful writing are the kind of work we all aspire too!

So once again, please join me in welcoming Claire back to the challenge!

You can also visit Claire's blog by clicking on her name over in the left side bar.

Welcome to Kelly!

I am pleased to share with you that Kelly, from Red and the Peanut blog, has rejoined the challenge! Kelly is a wonderful artist and photographer. I think she has a special gift for luring birds down out of the trees and into the open so she can take photos of them!

Please join me in welcoming Kelly!

Q & A

Some questions have come up and I thought I would share the info here so that everyone would know:

Q. Can I share the same image on my personal blog as I do here?
A. Yes, you can. Just be aware of your audience. This blog is meant as an area to focus on the making of art whereas your personal blog may be more about why you made the art, the subject matter, etc. Keep it interesting for your viewers by giving different information according to the location you're posting - your readers will love you for it!

Q. May I mention that I am doing the challenge on my personal blog?
A. PLEASE do!!

Q. Can I add a link to my personal blog within a post?
A. Because I don't want the 100 PC blog to fight for attention with your personal blog, I would rather that you did not. You CAN refer them to the participant's roll on the left and mention there is a link there. (See Krista's posts as an example.)

And one final comment from me:
As each of you get started, please do a bit of an intro of yourself, your chosen medium and a few words about what you're trying to accomplish by taking on the challenge. This can be done with or without an image. Thank you!!