100 Paintings Challenge: champions

Quantity over Quality

Sounds odd doesn't it?! Quantity over quality………

The purpose for quantity over quality is because most of us strive to paint a quality painting each time we touch brush to paper. We sometimes get too caught up in the quality of our paintings and don't finish them for a myriad of reasons including "it's not good enough," "it doesn't look right," and "it looks nothing like I thought it would."

By focusing on quantity, we set aside the search for perfection and begin to paint for the practice of it, to learn what works, what doesn't and to keep going - no matter how good or how poorly a painting is turning out.

Giving/Receiving Encouragement

One of the things that can help us to grow quickly is encouraging comments - it keeps us motivated to continue painting. We are often “too close” to our own work and someone else, with more distance, can easily see areas to be improved.

Giving Encouragment:

• Be positive and upbeat!

• Use constructive criticism if you offer a critique.

• Be specific about what works well and why OR what does not work well and why.

• Re-read your comments BEFORE posting to make sure they say what you want them say!

• Be kind and courteous.

• Consider that you may not know what the artist’s “vision” is for a particular piece of artwork.

Receiving Encouragement:

• Try it on for size - if it fits, great. If not, disregard the comment(s).

• Take the comment in the spirit it was given - to be helpful.

• Do not fire off a comment in anger or hurt.

• Do not retaliate by being hurtful in your comments back to someone who has hurt you.

If you feel someone is being unfair on a repeated basis, contact me directly so that we can discuss it off-line.

PLEASE NOTE: As moderator of this blog, I reserved the right to delete any and all comments and/or posts offensive or harmful to other participants. This includes excessive negativity. I reserve the right to remove a participant from the blog if offensive behaviors persist after a written warning is issued. All decisions will be final and not open for discussion.

Friday, January 21, 2011

An Interview with Elva Paulson - Part 1

Once again we have another successful challenge champion! Please join me in congratulating Elva Paulson on finishing 100 paintings in well under a year! Elva's journey is as inspiring as her art and she's been gracious enough to share it with us. It has been a long and twisting road, and yet, it is evident that art remained firmly entrenched in Elva's heart as a way to share nature and her beloved Yellowstone!

Foggy Woods
by Elva Paulson
Acrylic

Laure Ferlita: Congratulations, Elva! Wow! You're finishing up with time to spare. Thanks for taking the time to discuss your journey! I'm not sure that many people know your background and that you've painted for a long while now. Would you share a bit with us about your journey "before" you came to the challenge?

Elva Paulson: Yes, I've been an artist for a long time. It has been a windy path. I took one art course in college which almost made me hide all art materials forever. My husband didn't even know I liked to paint when we got married. Other than a three year correspondence course through Famous Artist School and a few workshops, I'm largely self taught. If learning by looking into a bunch of books and studying other artists' work can be called "self taught." We can learn so much from each other.

After our twins were born I began to take my art seriously. Some illustrating for free and some painting for the local art festival gradually morphed into a career. It was also a wonderful job in that it moved gracefully with my husband's U. S. Forest Service transfers. By the time he retired (early), I had illustrated four books, had a little notecard and bookmark business, and was selling most of my paintings through galleries.

But life took a difficult turn. A year after his 1994 retirement my husband became seriously disabled. All too soon he was walking with two canes. For nearly 15 years my priority was keeping life running smoothly for the two of us. Fortunately, he was still comfortable driving. We spent a great deal of time exploring by car, photographing nature, and I kept filling one journal after another with words and sketches, but there was no time for painting. My one big project was illustrating Birds of Oregon: A General Reference with approximately 100 line drawings and a full color cover, published in 2003. The cover was the only full-fledged painting I completed in over ten years.

To be honest, I didn't miss the gallery painting as much as I thought I would. Too often, I felt I had to keep the market in mind; and often I never got to meet the person who bought my work. I was ready for a change but never thought I'd quit.

By 2007 we were grinding to a slow stop. I questioned whether I'd ever see my beloved Yellowstone again and Dale was wilting before my eyes. Then he was diagnosed as diabetic. What a blessing!!! That may seem like a very strange comment, but that is the day life took another turn. He ate properly, lost 80# and found a doctor who thought new hips would help some of his problems. In 2009, Dale got two new hips, six months apart. Pretty soon he could walk a half mile, then walk without canes for half a mile. and get his own coffee, wash dishes, find a missing book, etc. He got better and better and is still getting better. He still uses canes for fast exercise, but he can do it. He can walk for a full hour, carry his own camera, and disappear over the rise and into the woods. It is wonderful!

Amanita
by Elva Paulson
Watercolor

LF: Some folks reading this interview might find it odd that a tenured artist decided to take on the 100 Paintings Challenge. What prompted you to tackle it? What did you hope to gain?

EP: After Dale began to get better, I had time for art again. I was in need of rediscovering myself and kicking a lot of rust out of my veins. It is hard to reach a certain level of expertise and then start over several steps back of where I had been, and I really didn’t know where I wanted to go. I was looking for a new path. I was amazed one night to find artists posting on www.flicker.com. Through Flickr, I discovered Teri Casper, and through Teri I discovered the 100 Paintings Challenge.

At first, I brushed the challenge aside – quantity over quality. Ha!

But a little voice kept niggling at me. Here was a chance to jump in with no one judging the results. It was wonderful motivation to quit worrying about just what I should paint and to get started! In the past, it has been a fault of mine to try to make sure every painting is a success, and yet I know that practice, experimenting, exploring are all part of becoming a good artist.

I figured the artist was still within me, but it was going to take some nurturing to bring it out. Here was a goal where every step was progress towards the end goal—finding myself and growth as an artist.....

Please be sure to come back by for the second part of the interview with Elva!

Sunday, January 9, 2011

An Interview With Kelly Riccetti

Besides being a very talented artist, Kelly Riccetti is also a fantastic photographer with a passion for birds! I'm convinced she has some magic spell she casts over them! Kelly has recently finished the 100 Paintings Challenge and we took some time to discuss the challenge and what she's learned over the last year about herself, about painting and where she's going next....

LF: Looking back over the last 12 months, what have you learned from completing 100 paintings?

KR: That quantity is sometimes more important than quality, and every painting you paint doesn't have to be a masterpiece. You have to make room for experimentation and mistakes, and you have to leave perfectionism behind. It is so freeing to just paint...not to paint for a reason. Before the challenge, every painting I did had a "reason." It was either a card for a friend or a gift. I rarely just painted to practice. It's so obvious...practicing is the only way you can get better and break through barriers, but it wasn't obvious to me!! Now it is...

The other thing I learned from the challenge was courage...courage to show inferior pieces to other people. Basically...you learn to quiet the ego so you can learn and grow.

LF: Painting 100 paintings in a year is truly a challenge—what made you decide to undertake the challenge? What did you expect or hope to achieve?

KR: I limited my 100 paintings to birds because I wanted to be able to paint them better. I'm always out photographing them and writing about them, but I wasn't able to draw or paint them quickly in the field. Since I had been away from painting for so long (almost 30 years), I needed to immerse myself in painting their physical form, their postures...their movements. I hoped to leave the challenge with the ability to accurately capture a bird's personality quickly.

I've gained a lot of ground, and I'm so happy with the progress I've made. If I had not joined the challenge, I wouldn't

be as far along as I am, but I have so far to go, so I'm going to do the challenge again. Another 100 paintings in 2011. My goal is to do 100 paintings a year for five years. 500 paintings should get me back on track in the art world. The other day I told my mom I wasted so many years not painting--not letting all those paintings I could see in my head out. She

said, "Don't look at it that way. Just remember the past has led you to where you are now, and you're where you're supposed to be. Now don't stop painting!" My advice to any artist is take the challenge! It's the best thing you can you. Freedom to paint for painting's sake instead of for a reason will take you to the next level and let you live your art.

LF: Staying with a year long commitment, along with having an active family and work life is bound to cause some stress and occasional friction. How did you overcome obstacles and the stressors that might have easily derailed you? Any particular strategies you found helpful to keep you engaged with the challenge?

KR: Hahaha! This one makes me laugh. I'm pretty lucky. My husband and son are so easy going that nothing really bothers them, but I know one time they got a little irritated with me when I got a little behind in the challenge and had to work really hard to catch up. It was when I first started using acrylics, and I took over the kitchen with my paints and brushes and other art supplies. I spread newspapers everywhere because I didn't have an easel and needed a surface to paint on. Since I'm not very good at putting things away when I'm really busy, we went about a week without being able to eat in the kitchen (or do much of anything in there except open the fridge and microwave). I finally got a utility bucket to hold all the paints and supplies...and I also bought a handy little table-top easel so I don't have to spread newspaper all over the place. The sad part about the kitchen thing was I actually have an art room. I remember Rick saying, "Why aren't you using your art room?" I replied, "Ummm...there's more "life" down here so it's easier to paint, and...I can't move up there because it's a mess." (I'm sooooooo lucky I'm not dead.) From that I learned to set mini-goals and milestones--and stick

to the plan!

LF: What do you see as the biggest difference in the paintings/work you did at the beginning vs. the paintings/work of the

last few paintings?

KR: ...speed and freedom. My last painting is the largest I've ever painted at 18x24, yet I painted it in two sessions in just hours. The bird is convincing and I didn't even draw him on the canvas. I just "sketched" him in using raw sienna and a smallish paintbrush. At the beginning of the challenge it took me a long time to create a bird. It was almost a painstaking process to get the proportions correct. Now they come almost naturally. I'm glad you asked this question because I hadn't paid attention to how much easier it was to render my birds now!

LF: Kelly, what advice would you give to anyone who was thinking about starting the challenge today?

KR: ...without a doubt, do it! Don't think twice, just jump right in. A year from now you will be so glad you did it.

LF: Any last thoughts you'd like to add?

KR: Don't be afraid to take on the 100 Painting Challenge. Doing it will wake the artist inside you up and will keep you from burying your talents in they everyday "busy-ness" of life. It will help you believe in yourself as

an artist...

LF: Thank you, Kelly!

I am also pleased to tell you that we'll all get a chance to look over Kelly's shoulder as she goes for her next 100 painting in 2011! Please visit Kelly's blog to see some of her awesome photography.

Artistic Development

• This blog is dedicated to artistic improvement. It is a venue for the committed artist to receive ENCOURAGEMENT while taking on the 100 Painting Challenge.

• It is a place to discuss struggles with the challenge.

• It is a place to celebrate milestones, accomplishments and breakthroughs.

• It is a place to offer encouragement to others.

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• It is NOT a place to share negativity or any off-topic subject. This is an art blog.

• It is NOT a place to lurk. The expectation is that each artist will be posting at least 4 paintings a month, one per post.

• A painting may only be posted once.

• The painting should be posted on this blog and not direct participants to another link.

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• Up to two paintings may be posted by each artists for critiques and feedback each month.

About the Challenge

The 100 Paintings In a Year Challenge is intended for artists that are dedicated to the growth and development of their style as well as their artistic voice. The challenge also provides a means for overcoming areas in need of improvement.

The paintings should be a mix of small, medium and large pieces, some sketches, plein aire, and studio work; work from life as well as from photos. The variety is meant to push the artist out of any rut, to provide ample opportunity to create no matter what other time obligations are going on, and to challenge the artist if they do not create in one of these categories. The work can be done in any medium, but it is strongly advised that the artist consider choosing one medium in which to do the Challenge as this will help facilitate faster growth than trying to master multiple mediums.

DO NOT JUDGE the artwork! When a piece is complete, set it aside and move to the next piece of work. Learning to suspend judgement of our work is a major step forward in the development our skills.

Once committed, the expectation is that the artist will fully participate in the blog by posting on a regular basis as well as leaving encouraging comments of others' artwork through comments.

The challenge may be started at any time.

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