April Challenge: Thirty Days, Fifteen Paintings

As it's been a number of years since I graduated from art school, I'm making a conscious effort to refresh my knowledge and learn new skills.  

Every piece of art or design begins with an inspiration. For me, this means three separate factors: a subject, a colour palette and a technique.  

Each artist discovers their own voice through playing and achieving some mastery in these areas. Over time, we build an extensive library of inspirational source materials, from artists we love, to a photo of a particularly awesome colour combination we vow to use sometime. It's possible that some of this inspiration is never looked at again.

So I'm going to crack open my 'muse file' over the next month, make sketches of my source material, play with some cool palettes and study the techniques of my favourite artists. 

You will see each piece come together, starting with my initial doodles and sketches (which I'll share on social media) at the start of the day, through my thought process, practise and final painting that I'll post on this blog at the end of the following day.  

I have fifteen canvases - some stretched, some not, some with background colour - all ready. There will be successes, there will be pieces that don't quite work and I will certainly run out of time on some days, so there will be tantrums! There will be no time for perfection, no time for procrastination... I'm beginning to hyperventilate... 

I'm hoping to learn some new techniques, to better judge when to stop fiddling with a piece, how to edit myself through restriction of colour and tools and how to work quicker; trusting my instincts.

Wish me luck!