I Did 31 Paintings in One Month! (Here’s What Happened)

Last month was an emotional roller coaster. On January 1st, I committed to doing a small painting every day for the month of January. I had no idea what I was signing up for. I just wanted to start the year with a bang. And boy did I!

This series tested me as an artist (and human) in every way possible. I almost quit several days, when I just couldn’t see how I would fit a painting in. Even on those days, I always managed. There were days I felt great, and days where I went to a really dark place. My emotions were rarely even keel. If you’d ask my husband, he’d probably say I was either crazy happy or crazy moody - depending on how busy my day was.

I’m relieved my series is over, yet I’m so glad I did it. Those may seem like contradictory statements. However, the best comparison I can make is it’s kind of like going on The Biggest Loser (only for art). It’s not always fun being there and doing all the work, but the end result is incredibly rewarding.

I probably improved my skills more in a month than I have in years past. And I have 31 paintings to show for my efforts. Of those 31 paintings, I have a few I’m incredibly proud of. Most importantly, this series has increased my confidence as an artist. I know I can paint anything and everything, because I literally did. And fairly quickly too. Throughout the 31 days, I didn’t just paint subjects I was comfortable with. I challenged myself to mix it up. I now feel more confident taking on illustration projects, because I’ve done it all and I know I can handle whatever briefs come my way.

Throughout the 31 days, I really got to explore my own unique style. I always say that the fastest way to uncover your voice as an artist is repetition - quantity over quality. That’s exactly what this series pushed me to do. I produced a lot of paintings without having much time to think about how good each piece was. If I had time to be critical, I probably would have ended up with some very bad paintings. I learned that my work is better when I think less. I take more risks and my paintings are looser, which is always a good thing. I realized I need to be less critical with myself, and give myself space to play. Anytime I didn’t like how a piece was going I’d say, “This is just 1 of 31, there’s always tomorrow,” and that was reassuring. I realized I should always approach my art that way.

From a technique standpoint, this series transformed the way I work with color. I use a limited color palette, which I recommend all artists do, and I really had to push myself to create unique color combinations every day. I realized often I use expected colors, and I need to push the boundaries a bit more. I developed a swatch method to help myself find unique palettes, which I wrote a post on here. I also found that I have a habit of overdoing a piece. I’m happy with how it looks, and then I continue to add details. I need to have confidence in knowing when to stop and leave a piece alone.

I learned a lot about myself throughout this journey. Mainly, that I want to keep sketch booking every day - even if it’s just one brushstroke. That’s where my happiness came from throughout the series -getting to do what I love every day. My moodiness came from trying to do too much, and pressuring myself to finish a painting every day. I now see where the sweet spot lies between doing enough to fill my cup and doing so much that the cup spills over. Too much of a good thing definitely exists, and I think every artist’s threshold is different. I’ve always been hard on myself, saying “I should be painting all day.” I now realize that’s not even remotely realistic for me. Finding this balance has left me feeling more optimistic about my art than ever - especially now that I’m on the other side of my series.