Here are a few of my learnings based on my experience creating during a 30 in 30-day painting challenge. I think you’ll be amazed both at how it pushes you to re-evaluate your use of time and how it makes you a better painter with a daily practice.

1. Organize your studio. challenge Before you begin the challenge, organize your creative space, gather and sort inspirations, sketches, and photographs by subject matter. Landscapes, floral, portraits, etc..
2. It motivates you to prepare and refresh their website for writing a daily blog. You never know which social platform will be the next great thing,but a blog will always be there for you.
3. Check supply levels such as canvas, paint, brushes and other necessary supplies. I leave a fresh canvas on the easel at the end of each day. I also liked having fresh water and clean brushes waiting for me.
4. It is okay to experiment. Pick a theme a week such as five or six. Think final layout like below image. I tried this a 2nd time sticking to the columns and it makes for a great recap. Be ready to shift and finesse evolving the cross pollination of unforeseen ideas.
   

   30 in 30 paintings © Sandra Mucha | Feb 1, – March 2, 2018 | Acrylic on Canvas

• Start painting 2-3 days earlier to the challenge. I came close to skipping a few days during this last challenge, and a few paintings at the ready would have helped ease the schedule’s demand. It is a deadline that keeps you accountable.
• It pushes you to paint in a different locations. Create a studio in different rooms, or on different floors in your home. Have a supply bag ready to take along too if needed. I will be writing a blog about what’s in my art backpack soon.
• Use a Journal and planner. Checking in on Monday and daily with a journal and planner to note what is working, what to stop doing and what to continue will help reset your mind set for the coming week. I set a reward for the end of each painting and or week. Reading a good book, movie, time with family, ect..
• Meet other artists and give support to each other during the process via Leslie’s site or on any social media platform. Use hashtags to help see others using this constraint, 30in30, 100in100, style, or subject matter.I have enjoyed using Leslie Saeta’s previous challenge available on her site at www.saetastudio.com. or thier are other social groups now for accountability. Another idea is to post daily to your own favorite online page or blog. You may post ever other day, or once a week with a recap if your schedule prefers.
• Ideas evolve. The process of creating allows the artist to grow and experiment with the variety of series. Trying mixing and apply previous ideas to the next piece. My ideas tend to mash up or cross pollinate. Some call it flow. See where your ideas take you and adjust your themes if needed.
• It becomes a ritual. Life happens, and one will find the creative process is always waiting there for you. I have a separate studio space. Thier is something about respecting the process and honoring it with its own set up for each department, research, sketching, painting, photographing/archiving, wiring, vanishing, displaying. I’ll be sure to write more about my actual studio setup in a later post.

In the meantime, Drop me a line at sandra@sandramucha.com or leave a comment if you are interested in the pieces created during this challenge. Check out my below socials to see how I continue to post.

Need more motivation? Join my weekly art lessons available at www.SandraMucha.thinkific.com