20 MINUTES AT A TIME

Pop on over to Kathy Cartwright's challenge blog to see that artists can actually paint a picture in just 20 minutes. We must set our timer for exactly 20 minutes, then begin on clean, untouched paper. It's ok to draw the pix as long as that's included in the 20 minutes allowance.

Several of my weekly classes have taken up Kathy's challenge. Comments from the artists - it is difficult to fit an extra 20 minutes into a day's activities.... but once the painting is started, it's a wonderful break from life.....finding something interesting to paint can be challenging, at least at first.

Twenty minutes of just being creative. There's no pressure that the finished (or not finished) painting or drawing will ever be hung on a wall. Accuracy is great but not required.

Some of the benefits include making time for doing something that you love to do as well as honing your observation skills. Things must be simplified into basic shapes to get a small painting down in just 20 minutes. Kathy says that this exercise will help you also see your own style and identify your own idiosyncrasies. Try it! I dare you.

These are my five paintings done over the past week, all 5x7", painted with a one inch flat brush, and most were completed in a little under 20 minutes. Some were sketched in first. The bell did ding before the paint bottles below were done, though, so they are not finished. Here's the link to Kathy's challenge blog - http://www.twentyminutechallenge.blogspot.com/

The ipod has a pure white, unpainted background that looks blue here. The hyacinth was painted because Rhonda Carpenter dared me to. And today's her birthday:-)

The fluid acrylic paints had just arrived and were the toughest to paint for some reason. My favorites to paint were the sunglasses and the electrical plugs, and I think that shows in those two paintings. Have fun painting.