10 Minute Challenge

I took the painting challenge today at the Daily Paintworks. (Click HERE to see the other entries.) I've never entered these types of challenges before, because I'm usually not inspired by someone's random photograph. But today the challenge piqued my curiosity: Choose an object to paint and set a timer for ten minutes. Paint like crazy until the timer goes off. Stop painting! Then do it again. And again. And again.

I prepped nine 5 X 7 boards before breakfast, and when I put the baby down for his morning nap, I went to work. I chose a slice of cantaloupe we had for breakfast. I always love to paint something bright on a drab winter day. (Today fit that description well enough.)

The first painting I gave myself an extra two minutes to choose my colors and figure out what I was doing. (Is that cheating?) But after that I stuck solidly to the ten minute timer. It was tough! I haven't worked in a short time frame for quite a while, and I found it to be quite freeing.

Here is my reference and palette:

Here are the nine paintings:

I learned a few things by doing this exercise:

- It helps me work a lot faster to have a value scale from my palette out in front of me.

- the Ampersand pastelboards are worth the extra money. (Two of these were on the pastelboards, the rest on mat board painted with texture.)

-I don't need as many colors as I think I do.

-I tend to over-work detailed areas.

-I paint slower when listening to music.

-It makes a world of difference if I clean up and organize my work area and pastels before starting a painting.

I loved this exercise, and hope to repeat it often. Maybe weekly? We'll see how that goes. My nine "ten minute" paintings took nearly all day because of the distractions in-between.