My February Newsletter

It seems that winters get longer the older I get.  I think that  we have had a decent winter this year - so far.  A short spell of very cold temperatures, a few minor snowstorms, an ice storm that disrupted power for a few days, but nothing compared to some of the other states.  After all, this is winter in Maine.

Today is a beautiful day, clear and crisp, temps in the 20s, with a cobalt blue sky and a bright sun shining on newly fallen snow.  I wish I was hardy enough to paint outside on a day like this, but I don’t like the cold and would rather paint in my nice warm studio. Looking forward to spring on this sunny day, I cleaned out my plein air gear, repacked my supplies and I’m ready to go as soon as winter is gone.

The January Challenge of 30 Paintings in 30 Days was very interesting.  I completed 22 paintings.  The last week of January was just too busy to allow any painting time except for my Tuesday class.  We had errands to run, appointments to keep and we picked up our new puppy on January 25 – an eight week old Golden Retriever named Ginger.

The 30/30 Challenge was interesting because I could definitely see a day by day improvement in my Alla Prima technique and in my energy and concentration.  I had made the commitment and was determined to see it through.  Knowing that I had to complete a painting each day, photograph it and post it over the Internet that evening was a driving force.  I’m glad that I participated and would like to do it again – but I would only commit to 4-5 paintings per week.  It was almost impossible to continue that pace for the whole month, as I had other chores that needed my attention – like housework.

I did find that all the postings increased the traffic to my sites and a good number of the little paintings sold through my Ebay page. Over 400 artists participated and it was fun to be a part of this larger artist community.  I met many nice people along the way.  A big thank you to artist, Leslie Saeta, for giving us this opportunity and sharing her knowledge with us.

Thank you for visiting my Blog. I currently have 46 posts and will continue to add more on a regular basis.  All my 30/30 Challenge paintings are shown.  I explained my goal for each painting, my thoughts and my painting steps.

Some of my other paintings are also featured with my thoughts and pictures of the step-by-step procedures and I share our classroom discussions on different aspects of painting theory.

If you wish to automatically receive my new posts through your email, there is a sign up link on my Blog in the right hand column. You can opt out at any time, but I hope you will enjoy these visits to my studio.

If there are specific art questions that I can help with, please let me know.  Your comments and questions are always welcome.  I look forward to hearing from you.

Thanks for visiting.  Stay warm and happy painting!

Celene