This challenge was strenuous for me. In the beginning I painted several times a day, before getting something worth posting. I struggled each day, as I expected I would after not having painted for months. Still, here we are at October, and it feels like September passed in no time at all. Part of the strange time anomaly that happens when you take part in a limited event.
I’m already looking forward to our February 2026 gathering!
I included one piece from last week, in the first series above. So that you could view them together. (4 x 6 inches.) I wanted the collection to be light and airy. But I can see now, I could have gone a bit deeper on some elements, to have more contrast. Another lesson learned this month!
More quick trees, 4 x 6 inches. The technique is so fun, I want to do a large version. A forest!
It will take a lot more practice to get there. 😁
To finish the month, I decided on a graphic series. I worked on them all at the same time. I started with a capital letter. I thought of faith, healing, spirit, and belief. After playing with
design elements, I thought to add more text. Tried to do asemic writing, but mine was coming out too spikey and rigid. Not the mood I wanted. For fun, I thought of a quote by Pooh. I used one in each piece. I veiled them, for a little bit of mystery. A foggy memory you can’t quite recover. It wasn’t as much about the words, as it was about letters, as a design element.
“A friend is one of the nicest things you can have,
and one of the best things you can be”
“Sometimes the smallest things take up the most room in your heart.”
“If there ever comes a day when we can’t be together,
keep me in your heart, I’ll stay there forever.”
“We didn’t realize we were making memories, we just knew we were having fun”
Of course the F could be for finie, finale, finally, or finished. And the month is finished.
Tomorrow I will share my favorites with you, and the 30 day collage. See you then!
Sheila, congratulations on your 30 days of creating! I can appreciate your feeling challenged after not having painted regularly for some time.
Your series across the top does feel light and airy; it’s light of heart and effervescent. Well done! Your self-observation that you could have gone a bit deeper on some elements, to have more contrast, might be worth exploring.
Your trees totally appeal to me in their looseness and simplicity, and the ample quiet space is very effective. I could see getting totally addicted to painting these! And, if you create a forest, I will be most eager to see : )
I’ve had fun investigating all the bits in your graphic series. Your use of capital letters in your design offers an effective anchor point, and I think your rendering hit the sweet spot between being recognizable alphabetic letters and not; they work very well as bold but not overdone linework. Similarly, I like your treatment of the Pooh quotations.
What a super month you had!
Aww, thanks so much, Dotty. 🙂 Yes, It was good to get back to painting. I missed it.
Sometimes it is hard to see, until you take a second look. without a daily deadline,
I can step away and then come back to a piece. I think that would have helped with the peach series. 😉
I will continue to practice, and work towards a tiny forest of trees. Haha. I think I know how to achieve it.
I have a plan. 😉
The graphic series was an experiment. I’m happy to hear you think it is, effective.
Thanks so much, Dotty, for your in depth evaluations! I hope you know how much I appreciate them! xoxo
All are wonderful. So delicate with the colors including backgrounds. I wanted to ask if you sometimes create digitally or are all your works done with watercolors and w/c paper?
Thanks so much Marrianna. 🙂 Most of these are a mix.
Some are just watercolor, about half. The rest started with watercolor and maybe some hand done marks as well.
Then I would add patterns digitally. But even some of those pattens were originally made with paint on paper.
From found items. The I scan them, and can use them over and over. I can change the color, size etc.
A few have areas where I painted, or made marks with brushes in Photoshop. 🙂
Congratulations.
A nice body of work.
Love the trees. The peach color.
Nice painting and collage
Thanks so much Christine. 🙂 So glad you like them.
Your work was fabulous this month! Awesome landscapes.
Keep up the awesome daily work, you can do it! xoxo
A super month Sheila! I noticed that you so often use a similar colour palette – this month there was a lot of peach tones and dusty lime – not colours I use much but they worked for you. I struggled this month too – partly because I haven’t painted much but mostly because I had to fight for interest in even going into my studio. Hopefully February will be better for both of us. Have a happy Christmas season a- see you next year!
Thank you, Val! Several mentioned difficulty this month, or lack of interest.
So maybe it is our coming together was even more special this time. I couldn’t
tell by the quality of your work this month. Exceptional as always! Your work
is always inspiring! I’m looking forward to seeing you in February!
Happy holiday season to you as well! xoxo