Lately I’ve noticed that dust has settled in comfortably on my paint palette, easel and other art supplies. The  accumulated dust hasn’t gotten too deep because I brush by it with a flurry everyday headed to Facebook or Pinterest and it scatters some.

I didn’t think much about it until I noticed that someone had written “Paint Me” on a sticky note and stuck it on a blank panel sitting on my easel. Hasn’t he ever heard of painters block? Creativity is a fickle thing and comes and goes at odd times. Yeah, I’ve been told many times or read it somewhere that true creativity comes “in the doing” of the project, not in the “thinking” about it. I’m a good thinker and I’m a reliable artist…….IF I’m given a deadline to meet. I’m good at meeting deadlines and I’ve proven it over and over in my former life as a commercial artist. But give me all the time in the world and I procrastinate until all my paint tubes go dry and I have to make a trip to the art supply store for new paint. By that time the art market has changed and no one wants paintings of bluebonnet fields….at least not until next spring in Texas.

Which brings me to my new decision; I commit to do 30 paintings in the month of March. That’s almost one per day if there are still 31 days in March. For a week now I’ve tried to come up with reasons why I should NOT commit to such a thing. I even messaged a friend and asked her to talk me out of it, PLEASE! I thought she would understand and sympathize since she has done this 30-30 madness thing before but I haven’t heard back from her. I’m on my own.

Last September I actually did paint 30 paintings that month and had planned to participate in the January 30-30 Challenge, but decided to go to Disney World for a week instead, right in the middle of the month. No artist could catch up after all that time away. Right? But as some of you know, our son ran the Disney World Marathon and we couldn’t possibly miss that. When we got home my husband and I felt like WE had run the marathon, also, and promptly came down with respiratory ailments which took weeks to go away.

Here is a stack of my 30 art panels…all blank and ready to be made gorgeous with my wild acrylic colors.

You have my permission, in fact, I invite you to talk me out of it, but otherwise I’m committed. I love deadlines.