Preparing for the 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge

I am making every effort to set myself up for success. I'm very excited and motivated right now and can't wait to start painting, but it will be much easier if I am duly prepared.

It was suggested that a theme be chosen for the paintings you intend to do. In January, when I did the challenge for the first time, my subject matter was all over the place. I didn't mind that, but perhaps it wouldn't hurt to rein it in a bit. I have decided to call my paintings,

"On My Walk..."

I suppose this could have a variety of connotations, including a religious one, but I'm using it in a more literal sense. In good weather, I like to walk. Sometimes, I walk for fitness. Sometimes, the fitness aspect is just a nice benefit of the activity itself. I usually walk by myself. I like to stop a LOT to take photos when I am walking, as evidenced by the number of times my Nike+ app says "pausing workout." I digress...

The subject matter of my paintings will be many flowers, plants, and a few animals that I have run across as I walk along. The majority of the photos are from walks here in Virginia, but a few from other places have been included. I won't share the photos at this point, but they have all been put into a folder:

(As you can see, the folder includes 33 images. My thought is that some of the images that I have chosen my fail to move me on the day that I get to them, so I will have a few extra to choose from.)

Each day, I will paint a 4" X 6" watercolor. I will post it here on my blog and add it to my website, where it will be available for purchase for $50, which includes tax and shipping. I have a surprise planned at the end of the month for one lucky person who follows my progress. I will reveal the details in a few weeks on Facebook and here on my blog. If you are too curious and would like to know the details sooner, be sure you have signed up for my monthly newsletter, because those loyal fans will find out how it is going to work before anyone else. If you are not yet signed up, do so before midnight on August 31st to receive the September issue! CLICK HERE

Wish me luck! I hope you have fun watching me paint!