THE CHALLENGE IS OVER, NOW WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED

Here are my two favorite paintings:

 What makes this one of my favorites are the strong composition and values, and the abstract treatment of the shapes.  Were I to paint this again in a larger version, I would probably add one "alien" color in a cool hue for just a little contrasting pop.


SEE ALL 30 PAINTINGS TOGETHER  AT:  HARDAGEART.COM

 My final painting did have a contrast of warms and cools (yes, this black is a cool black) and I think it helped to enhance all of the warms.  Again, this painting had strong composition and values.  Intentionally placing the focal point right in the middle meant I had to work hard to move the eye around the rest of the painting. 




Thirty paintings of the same subject is the longest series I've ever created.  Doing this series in only thirty days has taught me a lot.

• Focus is more critical with a daily deadline
• It is necessary to really stretch and get outside the comfort zone when there are so many of the same subject
• It's okay to create some works that aren't very successful -- they show areas of weakness but they have areas of strength
• It's an opportunity to accept ideas from others but interpret them in my own way (Posted Palettes)
• Working with the same subject creates an intimacy with it that doesn't happen with a single painting or a short series
• It strengthens design and compositional skills
• It creates the need for quick self-critique and immediate improvement of  each work -- no time to put the painting aside and come back later
• It requires organization because it's not just painting the works, it's posting them on the challenge website and on the blog and Facebook too
• MOST IMPORTANTLY -- it creates a wonderful opportunity to engage with frequent viewers and new viewers and with artists around the world.
• The next challenge is in January 2018 and I'll be back!

 Here are the two paintings I consider my weakest with a brief critique of each:

 This painting is crowded and it's not clear where the shadows are and where the real branches are.  I used a patterned paper that I wanted to show through in the final work which took away my freedom to paint opaquely behind the blooms.  The composition could have been stronger if I had made the small  branch on the bottom left come in from a different place and not crowd the main bloom.  I do love this color scheme though.

This is a beautiful color scheme that takes the usual white magnolia to a different place.  The biggest problem with this painting in my mind is that the main blossom is too 
centered  and needs to be a little larger.  There is too much vague background.  Also
The blossom needs more distinct shadows to create more dimension.  This one could
definitely use more work. 




A BIG THANK YOU TO ALL OF YOU WHO HAVE SUPPORTED ME DURING THIS CHALLENGE. 
I HOPE YOU HAVE ENJOYED FOLLOWING THIS SERIES AS MUCH AS I HAVE ENJOYED  PRODUCING IT.  PLEASE CONTINUE TO FOLLOW MY BLOG AND VISIT MY WEBSITE:  HARDAGEART.COM.  LOTS OF NEW ARTWORK TO COME.