September 2020 Daily Painting Challenge

It’s September, so it’s that time of the year again! Time for the 30 Day Painting Challenge sponsored by Strada Easel. This fabulous daily painting challenge invites artists from all over the world to create a work of art, from life, every day over the month of September. The rules are quite strict, participants must work from life only, so no photo references or painting from memory allowed. This makes for a powerful learning tool using repetition and visual concentration to work towards mastery. At the same time, the challenge helps to reaffirm the important place that art making has in my life.

As with many of us, I have had a difficult year. As an empathic person, living through a global pandemic has been difficult. Hope and creativity ebb as I work to process lock down and its aftermath. Just as I was making creative headway within my new reality, I lost an immediate family member a couple of weeks ago and my world has stopped. Again. Allowing myself to lean into this Daily Painting Challenge, and creating community with painters from all over the world through shared art making, is like a panacea to my emotional wounds.

Over the course of this challenge, I might not make my most beautiful work as I work myself out of my pit of despair. No, that’s not correct. This month I WILL be making my most beautiful work BECAUSE I am working myself out of my pit of despair by doing what I love. Thank you for showing up to encourage me along on my journey!