August 15, 2009 - Day 5

Da Vinci watercolor and Prismacolor colored pencils on

140 lb Bockingford cold press watercolor paper

Whew! Finally done! I had originally picked this carousel horse as my subject of today's ACEO because I thought it would be quick and easy. I guess I should have known it would take longer than I thought since I really love carousel horses :)

I am finding that since I started this project of 365 days of ACEOs that I am creating some of the best work that I have done . . . and I am creating it on a consistent basis. Previously my art was hit and miss. I created some paintings that I was really happy with but then I created a lot of stuff that I hated.

I think the big difference this time is that there is no pressure to create a masterpiece. When I was creating before I was always thinking "will this sell?" or worse yet "this HAS to sell". Now though, I am not even planning to sell the ACEOs until after I complete the project. This has taken a lot of the pressure to succeed off of my mind and has freed me to just paint.

I have rarely felt this good about my art and my talent before. Whoooooo hoooooooo!

August 14, 2009 - Day 4

Da Vinci watercolor and Prismacolor colored pencil on

140 lb Bockingford cold press watercolor paper

Some days the paint seems to just flow easily and effortlessly from my brush. Today was one of those days. Yippeeee!

I used the colored pencils to create some of the highlights on the grassy bits and the edge of the pot.

I don't know what's up with the size of the pictures in my blog. All the paintings are the same size (2 1/2 inches by 3 1/2 inches) and the settings are the same for each post (medium size). Yet they all look a different size.

Oh well, I will figure it out later.

August 13, 2009 - Day 3

Da Vinci watercolor paint on

140 lb Bockingford cold press watercolor paper

Worked on this on and off for 6 hours. The impulse is so strong to try to justify why it is not a masterpiece. A big part of me wants to try to explain what is wrong with the painting and/or what I could do better next time. I feel almost ashamed that I spent so much time working on something that didn't turn out perfect.

I can just hear my mother's voice asking "why did you waste your time on that?"

I have to remember that creating is not wasting time. Some days it is easier to remember that then others.

August 12, 2009 - Day 2

Da Vinci watercolor paint on

140 lb Bockingford cold press watercolor paper

Day 2 - thought I would try something colorful. I have been wanting to paint this for awhile but always had excuses not to start.

I am already starting to stress out about what I am going to paint tomorrow. I have hundreds of reference images of things I want to paint but as I scrolled through them the excuses started to flood my mind.

I still don't know what I am going to paint tomorrow. I guess I will find out tomorrow:)

August 11, 2009 - Day 1

Derwent watercolor pencil (chocolate 66) on

140 lb Bockingford cold press watercolor paper

Today was a bad day to start my project. I only had 30 minutes until I had to go to work in order to create my ACEO for the day. I knew that it would be a long hard day at work and that I wouldn't have the energy to paint when I got home at 9 pm.

August 10, 2009 - The Plan

In order to kick start my art and release my artistic blocks I have decided to paint one ACEO a day for the next 365 days. The ACEOs are original artworks which can be any medium, style or subject but must be the exact size of 2 1/2 inches by 3 1/2 inches. The size of the artwork onscreen is very close to the size of the original artwork - at least on my screen anyways:) ACEOs are basically the size of a hockey or baseball card.

Here is the link to the official ACEO website: http://www.art-cards.org/

I have decided that I will not critique my paintings during this process. I rarely have a painting that I don't critique to pieces. I always can see everything that is wrong and everything that I don't like.

Since each of these ACEOs are going to be completed in 1 day they may not be the best work that I have ever done but it will force me to loosen up my style and economize on my brushstrokes.

It will also force me to overcome my fear of painting poorly. This project isn't about creating my next masterpiece but rather blowing away my fears.