It was an impromptu art challenge - to do 100 paintings in one single day, using various mediums to paint different things in my home. It all started as I was stranded at my mountain studio all by myself with flatmates gone on 9 days new year yachting and my car accidentally locked in a church parking lot with the only person who had the key being gone on holiday.
So at 7:30 am I was eating breakfast feeling determined not to waste this another involuntary lockdown! So I picked up a book by Corita Kent, Learning By Heart. Apparently Corita, as an art artist, educator and innovator, regularly gave her students such a challenge - Paint 100 Paintings in ONE Day - to inspire their creativity. This idea so intrigued and excited me that I ran into my studio, dug out all the scraps of canvas, paper, packaging materials, MDF, paint swatches, postis, along with oil, pastel, acrylic, watercolour, ink… I was all ready at 9 am to start my first painting like a kindergarten kid on the first day of school.
The only rule I gave myself was - I must finish 100 paintings today - no matter how late it gets or how bad the paintings become. I MUST NOT QUIT!!! From 9 am to 11 pm, I figured I had about 7.5 minutes for each painting. So there’s no time to ponder, hesitate or analyse. There’s only just do it! And a bit cheating like - at 10 pm I tossed the paint brush and oil paints and only did sketching with pencils on tiny postis so I could finish the last 10 paintings by 11 pm!!
The experience was exhilarating and life transforming. It gave me many gifts in many ways I didn’t expect. It satisfied the child in me who probably didn’t get enough mess making during a very academic focused childhood. It turned off my over active left-brain thinking and chucked away my perfectionism. The entire day was like a giant improv theatre game only I was not doing it with my voice or body movement but with paints and brushes. I looked closely at the pretty things at home that I never paid attention to. I used the mediums I seldom got to including the expensive oil sticks I bought during last year’s lockdown. I painted subjects that I usually don’t paint like sky, sunset, night lights, and my own freakish alien reflection on the window as the midnight drew near. This art challenge was so liberating, energising and the best - yes, it kept me in the flow state. I certainly want to do it again — and if possible, maybe do it with a bunch of fun-loving people as a flash mob event! Who’d like to join? Send me a text or email!!
UPDATE!!! Hey friends, this is super exciting!! *100 Paintings in A Day* is coming to Kumeu Art Centre POD as an Art Show along with my life demonstration and a workshop in September/October 2021 to teach you how to do this exciting energising art challenge at home or school. Sign in to get my newsletter or follow my FB/IG to get the update so you don’t miss the event.