30 days and 30 trees done! A recap

I am so pleased with how my month of trees turned out. I thought I would have at least one day this month where I would do a stick figure of a tree and laugh about spending so little time on it. But honestly? I was so happy to take time with my trees whenever I could. I’m grateful that I had a goal to look forward to every day. When I have no project, I feel a bit listless and unsure what to create. Every day of July, I knew I would be painting trees!

Here are a few of my favorites from this month. Check out my Instagram to see the full reel with all the trees!

How my month of trees is going so far!

My 30 days of 30 trees project is nearing halfway, and I’m surprised how much I’m enjoying this time I’m spending on branches and leaves. There have been a few days recently where I almost didn’t paint or draw a tree, and I had to make myself sit down and get to work right at the end of the day.

It amazing how much time you have in a day when you really squeeze it. You think you’ve done all you can in a day (and boy, do I do a lot in a day) and then you keep your promises to yourself and do just that tiny bit more. I’m proud of myself for continuing my tree practice, even when I’m not totally feeling it.

I purposefully kept this month’s project vague and wide open enough so that I could meet it on any day- my best or my worst. Just draw a tree. Any medium, any amount of time. Heck, I could draw stick figure trees with crayons if I wanted. That would count! But I’m finding that in this practice, if I sit down to do 2 minutes of a tree, I always want to do 5. Then 10. And if my limited time allows, I’ll let myself get sunk into the leaves and branches for an hour!

Every tree I’ve made so far captures something about who I was that day that’s permanently filmed in my mind. I remember sitting on the porch while painting the apple tree leaves, my two babies playing in the dirt. I remember how much I loved seeing that tiny tree on a rock on my hike. I remember my very first tree painting this month of my parents’ maple, and how I felt like this was a “boring” subject to choose for the month. Boring! And now I’m completely immersed in it.

I may take more time next month, choose a select few from the studies I’ve done here, and finalize some larger pieces. Right now I’m thinking:

-aspen (obviously)

-willow (by popular demand)

-cottonwood (for sentimental reasons)

I wonder which trees will inspire me next?

July Challenge- 30 trees in 30 days!

I’ve loved trees all my life. I’ve loved them so much, and I feel that I’ve hardly painted them, except as background pieces. What would it be like to study the trees around me? I’ll find out this month! My rule is one tree a day, any medium and any amount of time I can spend. I already have dreams of larger pieces I’d like to try, so I’ll have to set aside a day or two to complete those. What I’m most interested in is how I’ll feel by the end of this month. Will I still love trees? Or will I be over them? I hope to pace myself enough and keep things playful, so that I can really let go and explore in this project.

20 floral sketches in one month!

One piece of my letter bundle for June that I really adored were the hand-sketched flowers I included that members could paint or color themselves! Each one was entirely unique, and won’t be copied again for anything else. A true one-of-a-kind original! It was a bit of a sprint at the end, as I ended up getting 10 orders right at the end, so I had to do 10 in one jam-packed week! I was as sketching on trails, in coffee shops, at the library, at the kitchen table, near a bathtub with splashing kids! I definitely created art in more places than ever before to finish in time. It was a good sprint for me, and I can tell that my accuracy in botanical drawing is improving.

I would like to keep this hand-sketched element for the next letter club bundle in September. I wonder what wonderful things will feel captivating then?

Greeting cards in the works

I have been anticipating the completion of these cards for a while! I have a dream of selling them not only in my shop but also in stores in downtown Durango. The local art scene here is so vibrant, that I’m sure I can find a few spaces to take them. I hope to continue my line of floral watercolors and expand this set but for now, these three have captured my heart. (The bold poppy, the luscious lupine, the layered peony). Stay tuned for the drop in my shop! I can’t wait to send them to you.

Peony Progress… and completion!

I have been working on this peony for maybe 2 weeks now. I’ve done many late-night sessions when the babies are asleep, and a few daytime sessions while they played in the mud in the yard! Summer time sure is the time to be creating as much art as I can. Sticks and rocks and mud will keep my 3 year old and 1 year old entertained for hours! I digress.

This peony intimidated me right from the beginning. I wasn’t sure that I’d be able to capture the lightness of the petals with all the detail I wanted to bog them down with. In the end, I do really like the details I’ve added to the petals, but I think I would like to workshop with making peonies that feel… fluffier, in the future. The real star of the show in this piece is the leaves! I so love how they turned out. Peony leaves are so succulent and waxy and vibrant with their red veins. They really make this piece complete for me.

As I was working on this piece today, I was letting myself sit in the awe of this flower. I cannot believe, sometimes, that we get to live on this planet where all these wild and wonderful things grow. When you take time to meditate on a flower, trying to picture every tiny cell hard at work to create the beauty you see… it’s just astounding. Peonies are a true favorite of mine. I can’t wait to paint them again.