#13 through #23 of 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge Finished January 30th, 2016

#13 of 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge is an original oil painting on mini 4"x4" canvas which was inspired by a trip my husband and I took last year in our fifth wheel and while camping at Jemez Falls Campground we got a permit at the Valles Caldera to drive deep into the Valles. I believe it was the second day after opening up the Valles Caldera to the public. This RV trip turned out to be our last one in our fifth wheel as we sold it to a dear friend the last part of the year. I am always so inspired by the Valles Caldera and just loved this little cabin set in it. I know that the show Longmire was filmed in the Valles Caldera though not sure if this cabin was included in that filming.

The night that I was deciding what to paint for #14 of my 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge I realized I had gotten behind quite a few paintings and started feeling a bit pressured (by myself really) and if I was going to catch up I needed to have a strategy for doing that. So ... one of the challenge paintings from "Let's Paint New Mexico" I had done didn't seem quite finished to me. I decided to use pen and ink in finishing that off. Hence #14 to the right is the detailed pen and ink to finish "Folklorico Fun".

#15 was another original oil painting inspired by the Valles Caldera mentioned in the posting for #13 above. This was further into the Valles on our drive and this painting is on 10"x10" gallery wrapped canvas. I still have the sides to finish off and wire it before offering it for sale.

#16 was another "strategy" of mine in catching up and this one is another miniature painting, an original oil on 4"x4" canvas I decided to call "Mini Muted Experiment". Even though I was doing this quickly to catch up, when finished I really liked the flow of this little painting. I etched into part of it and that was what I considered to be, on my part, a bit experimental.

While in Old Town Albuquerque one day in the summer of 2015 I took a picture of some of the beautiful flowers there against a backdrop of dark dark bluish black and #17 is another miniature painting. It is an original oil painting on 4"x4" canvas. As I finished painting this one for my 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge and hadn't thought of a name for it I learned a dear cousin, Angela, was in the hospital. She messaged me that she just loved this little painting and thought a good title for it would be "My Secret Garden" and so that became the name of this painting.

#18 was painted thinking of my cousin, Angela, and is an original oil painting finished with gold pen embellishment on 8"x10" canvas "The Bright Spot in My Life". Since painting this I'm glad to say my cousin is home from the hospital and this painting due to arrive at her home this very day. I hope the reminder there is always a bright spot in our lives, even when things seem bleak or overwhelming, will help to also know others have experienced huge obstacles and moved through and past them. You just never know what is around the very next corner in life. I'm very grateful to have the family and friends, as well as rock in my life, God, to remind ME of the places I've been and obstacles overcoming in having the wonderfully positive, blessed and creative life I do today.

#19 is another inspired original oil painting on 10"x10" gallery wrapped canvas by the Valles Caldera in the Jemez Mountains of New Mexico. This was a different log cabin in a different area than the ones painted in previous challenge paintings.  The terrain in this painting was similar to #15 posted above. This painting remains untitled for now and also needs finishing by painting the edges and wiring it to make it available for purchase also.

#20 is an original oil painting on 10"x8" canvas "Light Mountain Hue". I think because of the tightness of my #19 painting I wanted to do a more abstract painting and looser when I started painting #20. This painting was inspired by the Sandia Mountains. I see these mountains all the time as they are the backdrop of my drive from my home in Rio Rancho, New Mexico south to Albuquerque.

Before going on to my next challenge painting, I decided I wanted to finish up my #9 painting "Couse's Back Studio, Taos" as the annual "Hearts and Stars" auction and benefit event was fast approaching and I wanted to send this to Rob Nightingale of Wilder Nightingale Fine Art Gallery in Taos in time for their event the beginning of February. So to the left is my finished painting. Because I am writing this update for my blog in hindsight, I realized after finishing this that their requirement was for 8"x10" or smaller painting and this one is 10"x10". I also learned that "Hearts and Stars" was cancelled due to Rob becoming very ill. My thoughts and prayers are with him and his family and friends that he will recover.

#21 was another small original oil painting this time on 6.25"x4.75" canvas sheet "That Mountain Off Highway 550". I see this mountain all the time as we drive up Highway 550 from Bernalillo/Rio Rancho up toward the cutoff near the town of San Ysidro that takes you to the Jemez Mountains and Valles Caldera.

I guess you've probably figured out that because I was still a bit behind my strategy in catching up was to paint small. So #22 is a small original acrylic painting with pen and ink embellishment on 6"x4" watercolor postcard "Take Time to Smell the Flowers". I actually thought the title was somewhat ironic as I was feeling so much pressure (from myself) to catch up and be able to finish this challenge and was becoming pretty stressed and felt rushed toward the end (smile). I love my "pink lemonade honeysuckle" in my backyard which did inspire this little painting.

#23 "Visions of Hollyhocks of Spring" is another original acrylic with pen and ink embellishment on 4"x6" watercolor postcard. We have had a wonderful wet, snowy and cold winter here in New Mexico, although by the time I was painting this near the end of January I wanted to find bright, warm and cheery things to paint. The last two posted challenge paintings are more in the style of painting I use to paint birdhouses and somewhat folk art type paintings on gifts I give to my dear friends.