Embracing New Horizons: The Journey of My Landscape Challenge
I am thrilled to share with you the story behind my latest artistic endeavor – the "Nature's Scenes: 12 Days of Botanical and Landscape Art" challenge. This project was a deeply personal journey that pushed me to explore new horizons and step out of my comfort zone, blending my love for botanical art with the vast and varied world of landscape painting.
As many of you know, my artistic journey began with a passion for capturing the intricate beauty of botanical subjects. Over the years, I've developed my skills and found joy in painting the delicate details of flowers and plants. However, I believe that true growth comes from challenging oneself and embracing new experiences. This inspired me to step out of my comfort zone and venture into the realm of landscape painting.
While my main focus has always been on botanicals, I wanted to see Nature from a broader perspective. Landscapes offer a different kind of beauty and complexity, with their vast skies, rolling hills, and intricate interplay of light and shadow. By combining landscapes with botanical elements, I aimed to create a unique fusion that highlights the beauty of Nature in its entirety. I did few challenge days with landscape in the background and more detailed flower in the front as main subject.
I had an idea in my mind about how this challenge will go, but I don't prepare for my challenges entirely – I embrace every day as a blank canvas and see where each day will lead me. Also important for me is to make challenges different – that is important for my artistic soul and also I want to surprise you my dear Art Friend.
Here you can find my previous painting challenges
12 Days Christmas Painting Challenge
25 Days Watercolor Basic Painting Challenge
Each day presented its own set of challenges and learning opportunities. Here’s a glimpse into my daily routine during the challenge:
Preparation: I started each day by finding the reference photo, studying it and planning my painting process. This involved transferring line drawing and deciding on the watercolor mixes that would bring the scene to life. I tried to pick a reference that spoke to me, or maybe was a long wish to paint it.
Painting: I dedicated my time to painting, experimenting with different techniques to achieve the desired textures and effects. Some days flowed smoothly, while others required more patience and problem-solving. Especially at first day I felt “artistic stiffness”, completely wasn't happy with the result, felt really vulnerable of sharing the result – but I trusted the process and challenge in general.
Editing: After I finished painting, I spent time editing video to immediately upload to Patreon (LINK - https://www.patreon.com/KristineArt) and YouTube channel (LINK - https://www.youtube.com/@KristineArt)
Reflection: At the end of each day, I reflected on what I had learned and noted any adjustments needed for the next day. This reflection was crucial in maintaining motivation and improving my skills throughout the challenge.
There were moments of frustration and doubt, but these were outweighed by the joy of discovery and the satisfaction of overcoming obstacles. Daily motivation came from the beauty of Nature itself and the desire to see how each painting would unfold. Also great inspiration and motivation came from amazing followers and my Patreon students. Seeing their work, really nice comments, their joy of painting – that gives me energy on a daily basis!!!
Daily Motivation
What kept me going during this challenge was a combination of personal motivation and external support. Here are a few things that helped me stay inspired:
Nature Walks: Daily walks in nature provided endless inspiration and a refreshing break from the studio.
Community Support: Sharing my progress on social media and receiving feedback from my wonderful community of fellow artists and followers kept me energized.
Positive Affirmations: Reminding myself of the purpose behind the challenge and celebrating small victories along the way.
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