From My Diary: What I Learned During My 30-Day Painting Challenge

Day 1. 5:06am

I’ve actually started several painting challenges. But I’ve never finished one. Don’t hold your breath too long, because I might not finish this one either.

I think this one is different.

My attitude is different.

I’m not trying to prove anything to anyone.

I’m starting with shapes so simple that a kid would do a better job at creating them. I’m keeping this simple so that it’s a bite I can easily take every day. If I paint one square every day, that’s ok. The point is do make a mark every single day for the next 30 days.

Day 4. 5:28am

What if I started? What got me thinking about doing this simple, daily painting challenge was a Haiku challenge that someone else finished and wrote about. I decided that if I committed to the smallest amount of painting every day, maybe I’d actually make it through a 30 day challenge.

Why wait until Jan 1 to start the challenge, why not start it now? Why not start walking now, so I can take off running in 2016?

For the next three days, I’ll be writing a Haiku, one line at a time, adding some paint drops. I have no idea what the second line will be. It could be anything because, I could start doing absolutely anything I wanted… So could you.

Day 6. 4:30pm

The last line of my Haiku has finished in a very simple way. I read something new about design every day, I try something new almost every day, I give a lot of time an attention to a lot of different people and projects… Every day.

What if I started giving just five minutes every day to being completely quiet?

What if I started clearing out all the noise, for just five minutes, every day?

Day 8. 6:03am

I left Denver yesterday to meet with some clients. When I drove back into my city the traffic was terrible; people were whipping in and out of lanes and honking. But if you peeked in through the windows of my car, you would have seen a giant goofy grin on my face.

This is my city.

This is my Denver.

I love you Denver. (Don’t tell Tokyo.)

Day 9

Documenting every day of a painting challenge is feeling really vulnerable. What have I gotten myself into? I’m starting to care too much.

Day 10

It’s just a paint pen scribble, it came out on its own… I didn’t “think” while I let my hand move across the surface. However, after I sat back and looked it, I realized it looked like someone looking within… Someone reflecting. Maybe she is reflecting on the power within her, maybe she is discovering it for the first time…

A river of life is within is, what would it look like to live in the awareness of that?

You can’t cross the sea merely by standing and staring at the water. —Rabindranath Tagore

(I was really touched by the way so many connected with this piece. Someone fell deeply in love with it and bought it.)

Day 12.

Today I went to a local wood shop and carved out my “Artist signature/logo” for my space at a small gallery in downtown Englewood, Colorado. Exhaling sawdust as the chips flew, I felt like I was back in my dad’s wood shop, peering up over his workbench, watching him work with the wood.

Day 13. 9:05pm

That’s it. I’m tired. Tired all the way to my bones. My body is tired. My soul is tired. I’m just being real tonight.

2016 is going to be chock full of incredible opportunities and I feel a shift happening inside of me.

I can’t choose them all.

I need to choose which ones will be best for me.

I’ve been thinking a lot about how I’m spending my time and energy. It’s time to minimalise (I made up a new word), it’s time to get focused.

Day 14

Yes. More tea. More peace.

Day 15

Just keep going…… Keep walking… Keep painting… Keep swimming. Just keep painting.

Day 18

I’ve been traveling. I have seen many things. Earlier this year I found out that I had been practicing incorrect grammar for my entire life and no one had ever corrected me. I was saying “I seen.”

Once I was corrected, I felt humiliated and I wanted to stop doing it immediately. But I couldn’t stop. I kept saying “I seen” without catching myself. Since I have good friends, they kept correcting me when I said it. One friend suggested painting the words “I HAVE SEEN” to remind myself of the correct grammar.

Eventually I changed. The day I said “I have seen” without thinking, I felt so proud of myself.

Today I’m reflecting on this little habit change and I’m reminding myself that we’re all human…. None of us have it all together. Sometimes if you are willing to accept your flaws, you might actually be able to overcome them.

Day 22

Focus. Focalize.

Have you chosen a word or phrase for 2016? Will you give yourself a “call to action” button? I’m thinking a lot about my word for the year ahead. The word Focalize means “to come into FOCUS” or to concentrate.

I’ve been thinking about how to come into focus, the action of finding it, how it looks for me specifically. There may be many design trends, but only certain ones serve the best user experience. How do I learn to see those and implement them well? There will be many new opportunities in 2016; how will I spot the ones that will be the best fit for me? And what about my relationships? How do I implement quality over quantity and how will I learn to be a more consistent parent? There are many questions I’m asking myself…. There’s plenty of reflecting going on.

Day 26.

What if you sent a postcard home and described your experience with abstract lines and colors?

I love being able to see an un-written future. -Michael Jones

Day 31. 11:38pm

I finish the year of 2015 and the final day of my daily painting challenge with a bang. I woke up and decided I wanted to paint a colorful sparkler right before midnight. Here’s to 2016!

So, what did I learn anyway?

I was so excited when I started this painting challenge. I was determined to finish a challenge. I missed a couple days through the challenge. I lost steam a couple times. I painted a lot of things that felt really stupid and looked really stupid. I questioned why I want to be an artist. I started caring too much about what my peeps were thinking about my work.

At the end of the month, I gave myself permission to finish with 70% of the days completed and maybe next time I will finish with 80–100%.

I guess I learned what anyone might learn through starting any new daily practice. For me, the lesson I took from this challenge was really simple and basic:

Practice Matters. I need more practice. Practice, Practice, Practice.

That’s right. I painted a lot of stupid things and learned I should do this MORE.

I noticed that I began to get more focused during my daily painting challenge, which must be the end result of practicing a lot. ;)

Bring on the practicing in 2016!

Follow me on Instagram to watch the progress of my next daily painting challenge.

How about you? Have you taken on a daily painting challenge? What did you learn? How did it change your perspective?