Day 30 – Sea Holly
I am finishing on a simple watercolour…..ok, this was because I used all of the white acrylic in 2 towns during my challenge and could not get any more…but I also said that if the Sea Holly in my garden bloomed I would paint it – so here it is.
The final day of my challenge and although I am a little sad I am also thrilled to have achieved what I set out to do. 30 Pieces of artwork in 30 days (while still working full time in another job). Yippee!! I will post a gallery on my website of all of the pieces as soon as I get them all together.
So what did I gain (other than 30 new pieces), what did I learn?
I got so much from this challenge, much more than I ever expected:
I gained new friends and new ‘fans’ of my artwork which makes me incredibly happy. I have always said that the support I received was what kept me going. I cannot express how grateful I am to all of you.
I saw how much my artwork improved by spending time every day working on it. I surprised some of my friends which was really cool and I surprised myself.
A month ago I would have said I was primarily an abstract artist but now I am not so sure. I want to explore the animal drawings a lot more as I enjoyed doing them so much. I want to see how far I can take the detailed work including the flowers and the animals and ………..well, we will see??
I learned that I can rise to a challenge, it was tough at times, there were tears of tiredness and frustration but there were also tears of happiness at the comments and support I received. It was not easy, I was exhausted at times but I found a courage that I did not know I had to keep going and keep showing you something every day. This challenge was fun though and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
I also lost a lot of the fear I had, I said already I was often afraid to try things in case I failed….I have now tried lots of new things and showed you all, some of them worked and some didn’t, but the world did not end when I tried. It became better as I learned so much.
Yesterday I also had a session with Heather Townsend, The Efficiency Coach who helped me to work out how I would approach people at the festival, engage them in conversation and hopefully sell them some art. She showed me how to use my strengths to overcome my weaknesses and helped me put the whole thing in perspective.
It is so important in business to have multiple skills and finding the right sources to gain hose skills and knowledge is essential. I have to thank Heather again and say that I would recommend her services to anyone who wants straight talking without any jargon.
http://www.theefficiencycoach.co.uk
So now I have everything I need, work to sell and the skills to sell it. I still have work to do to finish little bits and sign everything ready to go but I am going with a new found confidence which this challenge and you have given me.
Thank you again….everyone. I will, of course, let you know how it all goes.
I will also tell you about another 30 day challenge which was inspired by mine…..another added bonus this challenge has brought.
Hello,
The Sea Holly is terrific. I DO think you should keep exploring the more detailed style of painting. You are very good at it! I love your artwork. I have on my calendar that this Friday is your big festival. I’ll be thinking of you and praying for you. Relax, enjoy, smile, have a great time! If Alaska wasn’t so far from the UK, I’d come see you and cheer you on. As it is, I’ll have to do it from here. Good luck!
Gina Murrow