There's No Such Thing as Luck
"There's no such thing as luck. There's only preparation meeting the moment of opportunity.” ~ Oprah Winfrey
There is no turning back, as I glance at the materials being shipped to my house in the last week one by one in preparation for my Art20k project. Large boxes have met me at my door, almost daily this past week. I am already imagining what will be discovered on these blank canvases.
No excuses Janet, you have the materials, the tools, everything is “ready to go right now”. The excitement is palatable, as I tally the canvases: six 24”x 36”, six 36”x 36”, three 30” x 40” and three 36” x 48”. Total available square inches equates to 21,744 square inches, more than enough inches to cover my goal to accomplish painting 20,000 square inches for this year.
Sometimes, you have to work backwards towards your goals. Meaning, first I set the goal, thus I know how many canvases to purchase and materials. Taking the leap and purchasing the materials all at once is very motivating. I trust the universe to help me fill these canvases. I’m ready. I’m determined. I’m excited. I’m inspired. I’m prepared for opportunity. Wish me luck ;)
**Art20k total square inches accomplished so far: 2244 square inches
*Vintage Kauai, measures 30" x 40", museum wrapped canvas (no need to frame), Oil and Acrylic, price $3000.00.
*All art from Janet Vanderhoof’s Fine Art Gallery, maybe seen in Janet’s studio at Morgan Hill, CA. You may purchase through contacting my email jvander51@msn.com or phone (408) 460-7237. Thank you!
Exploration ART20K
Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new~Einstein
There is something to be said about knowing your strengths and weaknesses. Your strengths allow you to build one on top of the other. Color is probably my biggest strength as well as composition. Weaknesses, I have too many to mention. But that isn’t important, a couple is all I need to get by. What is important for me is to explore.
Now that I have taken the ART20K challenge, I am left with the opportunity to paint larger. As I paint larger, it allows an element of exploration that cannot be found in the much smaller paintings. Having the extra space on the canvas, gives an illusion of a much bigger world to play with. Exploration in space, is created in a two dimensional world.
Perhaps, a journey to abstraction may occur or just playing with the “Color Field”. Something will appear; I’m already sensing and feeling it. Two new words for me this year will be exploration and experimentation.
*"Gauguin in Hanalei", measures 30" X 30", Atelier Acrylic on museum wrapped canvas (no frame necessary), price $2250.00
*All art from Janet Vanderhoof’s Fine Art Gallery, maybe seen in Janet’s studio at Morgan Hill, CA. You may purchase through contacting my email jvander51@msn.com or phone (408) 460-7237. Thank you!
Feel the Fear and Do it Anyway
Fear, the only way around it is to do it.
Sometimes jumping in the fire is the only way to handle the situation. A New Year and a new challenge required. After completing my last challenge, I realized that in some way it held me back. I needed a way to have a challenge that inspired me to create larger pieces of art, not just amount of paintings and not just be limited to paint, but any medium. Painting 52 paintings resulted in over 15,000 square inches of painting, equivalent from the ground to its tip of the Empire State Building. Kicking it up a notch, I decided to create 20,000 square inches of two-dimensional for the year 2013, thus the Challenge ART 20K.
Needless to say this new challenge to create 20,000 square inches of art brought me great fear. I wanted to run, I wanted to say it didn’t matter, anything that would get me out of this situation. I knew I needed this, I knew my weaknesses. I have a difficult time getting myself in the studio. Making an art challenge, forces me to make a commitment to create. Once I am in the studio I am fine.
A woman asks Deepak Chopra, "When afraid to do something, how do you know if the fear you feel is warranted or not?" Deepak said, "You have to do what you fear, that’s all". But, she says, What if it shouldn’t be done?" "Well", Deepak asks, "Do you WANT to do it?" Thinking for awhile she says, "Yes". Then the only way around it is to do it." he says smiling. I guess it is as simple as that.
What do you want to do, but fear is preventing you from doing it?
*"I wish", measures 12" x 12", Atelier Acrylic on Vellum, SOLD.
*All art from Janet Vanderhoof’s Fine Art Gallery, maybe seen in Janet’s studio at Morgan Hill, CA. You may purchase through contacting my email jvander51@msn.com or phone (408) 460-7237. Thank you!
"I Painted and They Came"
Well, it has been a peach of a year. The #paint52 Challenge has come to an end. Not counting one Twitter Art Exhibit painting and a commission shown above, I realized that I not only completed 52 paintings but 53.
What have I learned from this challenge?
Honor your word; it’s not just for you but for others as well.
Challenges can invigorate you.
Reward yourself often.
Set manageable goals and ones that can be measured.
Goals are not an end it iself, enjoy the process or it isn't worth it.
Telling your goals out loud makes you accountable.
You may have more talent than you realize.
Others are watching you, even though it may not be apparent.
The more you paint the easier it becomes.
One challenge leads to another.
Completing a challenge gives you credibility.
A great sense of accomplishment can come from succeeding in a challenge.
You can’t do it alone.
It takes a village.
I want to thank you all for your support, without you it wouldn’t have been the same. I especially appreciate everyone who has left a comment, a suggestion, or observation. I learned from what you had to say.
*Giclees can be purchased of above painting "Underneath II", please contact me for prices.
*All art from Janet Vanderhoof’s Fine Art Gallery, maybe seen in Janet’s studio at Morgan Hill, CA. You may purchase through contacting my email jvander51@msn.com or phone (408) 460-7237. Thank you!
Through Art We Can Change the World
“Fundraising is an extreme sport!” ~Marc A. Pitman
Twitter Art Exhibit the brainchild of Swedish Artist David Sandum, is a nonprofit organization, now in full force with their third exhibit in process. Past exhibits in 2010, at the Moss Library in Norway provided books for children and 2012 also in Moss, Norway provided funds to the Women’s Crisis Center.
The next Twitter Art Exhibit, January 2013, will be held in Los Angeles at the Exhale Unlimited Gallery, proceeds will support underserved youth in L.A.'s Rampart District (ages 18 – 25) in preparation for careers in the visual arts. The goal to surpass their last event of 360 artists from 32 countries. Participate by submitting a 4” x 6” postcard size art piece, which will be sold for $35.00 ea. Please check out http://twitterartexhibit.org/callforartists for further information on participation. Deadline for Submission is Friday, January 4, 2013, so hurry Twitter aritists and create your piece. I will be submitting “Powel Street Cable Car 25”.
Painting 4” X 6” cards can be extremely fun. The following 3 paintings resulted, in desire to capture the right painting for the Twitter Art Exhibit event.
I hope Twitter Artists you can participate in the event it is such a great cause and a wonderful way for artists to have an impact on the world.
“Through art we can change the world” David Sundum