It's Good to Be Queen - the 400th Painting

​"It's Good to Be Queen" - mixed media on reclaimed wood, 6" x 18".  Ready to hang.

Holy mackerel.  This is it!  The moment I've longed for.  The goal I set years ago.  The 400th painting.  And she is regal, no less!  Part of a new series on reclaimed wood (i.e.: wood people throw away and I scavenge from their trash).

On the right, one of the first of the four hundred.  This giraffe still makes me smile.

So what is it about 400, you might be wondering...I'm glad you asked.   In the beginning of this journey, I was thrilled to take a workshop with one of my painting idols, Jesse Reno.  (Check him out HERE.)  To this day, what I learned in that class still influences my approach to painting each piece, but also my approach to art as a discipline.  His advice at that time to new painters was to paint 400 pieces, after which you could consider yourself a professional.  That's right. 400 paintings.

​At the time, the task seemed herculean.  But I knew in my bones he was right.  And so I started counting.  And keeping nerdy spreadsheets.  And diligently working toward the 400.  This approached helped me develop a daily discipline that has seen me through the ups and downs of painting - the failed experiments, the low mojo days, the inner critic marathons.   The number worked like blinders on a horse.  400 kept me going when I felt uninspired.  400 made me show up in my pajamas when I had the flu.  400 dragged me into the studio after a rather severe critique by an esteemed colleague.  400 made me paint when I felt I had nothing to say.  And each time I showed up, something magical happened.  

As I painted this queen, I realized how instinctive and natural the process has come to feel.  How unintimidated I have become.  How willing I am to try new things and stretch my goals.  How much FUN this is!!!  Truly.

So today I feel like I've graduated - ready to head out into the world (literally!  Ireland is coming!) and see what the 400 has prepared me to do.  But in the meantime, you can bet I will be working on the next 400.