30 Paintings in 30 Days Collage

Well, here is proof that I did paint 30 paintings in 30 days.  They aren't in order because that would have taken a few too many brain cells to figure out how to do that with the program I used.  Not that the program "pic monkey" was hard, I just didn't want to spend too much time on this.

I wanted to post this on the 31st but we were traveling and the internet signal where we were didn't seem to like pic monkey so I wasn't able to make the collage until today.

The majority of these paintings are 6" x 6".  My usual price for a painting this size is $100.00 but because I consider a lot of these to be studies, the price is only $50.00 for the next month.  There are a few paintings that are substantially larger and of course that won't apply to them but if they are a little larger, then it will.  If you are interested in one, it can't hurt to ask.

To see better pictures of them, just scroll down on this blog and you can see them in the reverse order that they were painted.

If you are getting this posting by e-mail, the blog address is nancygoldmanart.blogspot.com

Dahlia, 30 in 30 - Day 30

I know this doesn't really look like a dahlia but the photo I painted from was a dahlia, hence the name.  My motivation for this challenge is over.  After I painted this a few days ago, I disliked it enough that I planned to not post it but my heart just isn't into painting another small painting today that isn't interesting to me so this little one is getting posted after all.

This is an ACEO, or artist's trading card.  The standard size for these cards is 3.5" x 2.5".  It is done on TerraSkin which is always fun to use.  I do like the watery look but that's about all I like.

So that you know that I'm not being a slacker, here is a photo of a large painting that I've been itching to work on which is probably part of the reason that I don't want to do any more daily paintings.

It is 48" x 48" and so far, I've got everything roughed in and now I'll start adding dimension to the water and lily pads and 'push' the fish under water.  Doesn't this look like it's a lot more exciting to paint than those little daily paintings?

Alaska, 30 in 30 - Day 29

This is another scene painted on a piece of plexiglass.  It had to be painted with the foreground done first and working into what would be the background.  I like the first one I did better (the end of December) but it was a little interesting working on this one.

Alaska
Image Size 6" x 6"
Acrylic

Bird of Paradise Study, 30 in 30 - Day 28

This is painted on a very rough piece of watercolor paper but it is another piece of paper that has lost its sizing.  Do I care?  No!  I'm actually beginning to learn how to paint under these conditions which tells you that I bought way too much watercolor paper quite a long time ago.

Only a couple of days left on this challenge and I'm so ready for it to be over.  I may change things up for the last two days (I've given up on the idea of going through the 31st) and do WIP photos of a large painting that I've been working on instead of doing small paintings that don't make me happy.

Bird of Paradise Study
Image Size 4" x 6"
Watercolor

Pomegranate, 30 in 30 - Day 27

This painting is done in pastels.  I've always liked the look of pastels but don't feel really accomplished in this medium.  I have trouble mixing colors in pastels.  The colors are so intense and with my love of bright colors, I tend to not tone down the intensity sufficiently.  I'm sure I will keep trying though.

Pomegranate
Image Size 6" x 6"
Pastels

TerraSkin Pear, 30 in 30 - Day 26

Here's another pear.  I'm really reaching for subject matter now.  I'm looking forward to the finish line of this challenge.  I usually paint every day but I don't usually have to finish a painting each day.  I don't know how artists do this "painting a day" for years.  I now appreciate the dedication that they possess and know that I don't have it.

I haven't worked on TerraSkin for awhile.  I love how the colors glow on this surface and it was fun to paint this little pear.  If you haven't tried TerraSkin, it has characteristics similar to Yupo but I like it much better.

TerraSkin Pear
Image Size 5" x 5"
Watercolor

Anjou Pear, 30 in 30 - Day 25

Pears have such a fun shape and I loved the color of this one.  I used the red/green complimentary color scheme again, this time reversed with the subject red and the background green.  It is another palette knife painting.

Anjou Pear
Image Size 5" x 7"
Oil

Silk Wave, 30 in 30 - Day 24

This is a silk painting that I just finished.  It isn't stretched on a board yet so the circle looks a little out of shape.  I didn't finish this in one day.  I've been working on it this week along with the daily paintings.

Silk Wave
Image Size 22" x 22"
Silk dyes on silk

Hillside Vineyard, 30 in 30 - Day 23

I found these cute little stretched canvases the other day.  They are 4" x 12" which I think is a really fun proportion for many scenes.  Here's my first try using one.

Only eight paintings to go in this challenge and I'm getting excited to work on some bigger, more serious paintings.

Hillside Vineyard
Image Size 4" x 12"
Oil

The Green Bell, 30 in 30 - Day 22

I don't like eating green bell peppers.  They taste too GREEN.  Give me red, yellow and orange bell peppers and I'll eat them all day long.  But for painting, the green ones work just fine.

There aren't many paintings where you can use the green/red complimentary color scheme effectively so I took advantage of this opportunity to use mostly those two main colors.  I love how using complementary colors will make each one really pop!

This is another palette knife painting.  Fun, fun, fun!

The Green Bell
Image Size 6" x 6"
Oil

Barbados Stairway II, 30 in 30 - Day 21

Barbados Stairway II

Image size 11" x 15"

poured watercolor

This is the last of the three poured paintings I started last week.  I've painted this photo before several years ago using oil.  That one was done on a long, skinny canvas which really enhanced the sense of climbing but I wanted to do this one in a more traditional format.

Here is a picture of the first one I did:

Burano Wash Day

Burano, Italy is such a charming place with the brightly painted building, canals and laundry hanging throughout the island.  I don't know why hanging laundry is so appealing to me when it's in another country.  I certainly don't find my laundry room charming, especially when it has laundry hanging in it.

Today is day 20 in the painting challenge.  Even though it's called "30 paintings in 30 days" January has 31 days so does that mean that I need to do 31 paintings?  That is what I'm planning to do because I set out to paint a painting each day for the month of January so with that in mind, I have 11 more paintings to do.

I put down my palette knife for this one but I think I would have liked the painting better if I had used the knife.  I like the texture I get with it better than with the brush.  I'll probably do some more paintings of Burano this week because the island really appeals to my love of bright colors.

Burano Wash Day
Image Size 6" x 6"
Oil

Paso Robles, 30 in 30 - Day 19

Paso Robles (in California) is one of my favorite wine areas.  The rolling hills dotted with huge oak trees, winding roads and beautiful vineyards make it a wonderful place to spend a few relaxing days.

This is another palette knife painting on a 6" x 6"panel.  I really like the square format.  It makes the paintings more contemporary.

Paso Robles
Image Size 6" x 6"
Oil

Laguna Palms, 30 in 30 - Day 18

I finished another one of the poured watercolor paintings.  I really like the graphic quality of this method.  These paintings look a bit like wood block prints to me.  I have one more to finish so you'll probably see that one in a couple of days.

Laguna Palms
Image Size 11" x 15"
Watercolor

Taking A Break, 30 in 30 - Day 17

This scene is very calming to me.  I have always liked pictures of empty chairs and apparently I like empty boats as well.  Perhaps this has a calming effect on me because I was really calm when I took the picture because we were on vacation.  Ah, sunny days, lapping waves and empty kayaks make happy memories.

This is another palette knife painting.  I'm really enjoying working with that knife although it still reminds me of frosting a cake and I seem to always be hungry now when I paint.

Taking A Break
Image Size 6" x 6"
Oil

Looking South, 30 in 30 - Day 15

We are having 80 plus degree weather here so another beach scene seems appropriate for today's painting.  This is another view of Laguna Beach looking down from Heisler Park to the southern part of this bay.  I have painted this scene before in oils using a brush.  This one is done with a palette knife.

Looking South
Image Size 6" x 6"
Oil

Sweet Magnolia, 30 in 30 - Day 14

The colors in this are so sweet, my teeth are hurting!  After I started painting it, I remembered having the same problem the last time I painted a magnolia.

They are such beautiful flowers and I really love them.  We have this magnolia tree in our back yard and the flowers are just starting to bud.  I painted this from a photo taken during last year's bloom.  This type of magnolia loses all of it's leaves and then blooms so it's completely covered with these beautiful pink blooms and no greenery.  It's pretty spectacular!  Too bad it's not in the front of our house.

Sweet Magnolia
Image Size 6" x 6"
Oil

A Sunny Day in Newport, 30 in 30 - Day 13

Because I live in Southern California, if you look at the title of this painting, you are probably thinking that this boat is in Newport Beach.  Actually, I visited Newport, Rhode Island a few months ago and snapped the reference photo for this painting.  That boat looked a bit more seaworthy than this one does but at least this was fun to paint.  I used my trusty palette knife again for this one.

So far, I'm almost halfway done with this challenge and it hasn't been as hard as I thought it would be but I also have only done a few paintings that I consider to be keepers.  I learned a long time ago that not every painting is going to be good and very few will be great but striving for excellence is one of the things that keeps me painting.

A Sunny Day in Newport
Image Size 6" x 6"
Oil

Kenny, 30 in 30 - Day 11

This is Kenny.  He was rescued by my friends and now has a loving home with two dog loving  humans and a dog sister.  Isn't he so cute with those whiskers and long eyebrows?  He also has a snaggle tooth which I couldn't show in this portrait but it really gives him tons of personality.

He was abused by his previous humans so he is slow to trust anyone new, but once you've gained his trust, he is a loving little guy.

Let me just get on my soapbox for a minute and say that I wish more people picked their family pets from a shelter rather than promoting the breeding of designer dogs.  There are so many animals already born that need homes that would make loving companions and it would be so much better to give them a happy home.  Also, I think that mixed breed dogs are healthier and have better temperaments than pure bred dogs.  Okay, I'll stop now or I will probably start offending too many people.  Just one more thing, if you really want a pure bred dog, I've heard that about 1/3 of dogs at the shelters are pure bred.

This is a palette knife painting.  I've had this reference photo of Kenny for over a year and have always intended to paint his portrait but was afraid that I wouldn't be able to make it look anything other than amateurish.  The palette knife helps because the finished painting has a looseness that I can't seem to achieve any other way.  I knew that it would be perfect for capturing his beautiful scruffiness.

Sam, my dog, is very jealous that I painted a portrait of another dog so I guess it's time for me to paint Sam's portrait once again so he's not mad at me.  : )

Kenny
Image Size 6" x 6"
Oil

Eggplant, 30 in 30, Day 10

I've always liked the look of an eggplant from an artistic point of view but have never found a way to cook them that I've liked.  I don't like their sliminess.  I've had eggplant parmesan in restaurants that I've liked but it's never my first choice.  I feel like I should cook this so I'll scour the internet for a good recipe.  If you have one, I'd love for you to share.

This is a palette knife painting using oils.  During this challenge, I've been painting in oils more than usual and I am enjoying it but I'm missing painting my larger watercolor paintings.

Eggplant
Image size 7" x 11"
Oil