All 30 in 30

i completed the challenge with over 30 paintings in 30 days. It was a really good challenge and I proved I have way more time to paint than I thought. Some days were hard - but I didn't give up. 

Here they all are:​

Flowers each is 8" x 10" acrylic on 1 inch plywood by Gina Barry

​Each of these started by following some of the lines in the wood grain on the wood panel. I found strange landscapes and odd shapes to the flowers by following what was already in the wood. I found I could create one of these when everything else i made was not working.

This little set of paintings all began life as portraits that I painted over. 
Free form swirly paint became a landscape as I added the details with black marker. The search for the perfect pen continues. I have archival black pens of every flavor and they don't last as long as I think they should. 

My best friend's aunt bought 3 of these paintings. I am always in awe of people buying my art. Sort of a mixture of surprise and humility that someone would want to live with something I created. These paintings become the background of our lives. And I am always honored to be in someone's background.

​

22 x 30 acrylic and china marker on wood panel by Gina Barry and daughter

This is my favorite painting of the month. 

And I didn't paint it. 

My lovely daughter wanted in on my painting challenge. She is my active girl. She created some other works but she wanted to make something big. I offered to work together. I gave her the colors and told her to paint! I put all 3 colors on the palette and she painted them in the simple rows. 
She declared she needed white and she did these wispy swirls over her blocks of wet color. I encouraged her to add a little more white. and she declared it was finished. 

I let it dry and the next night, I decided I would draw over her painting. I added all my usual shapes and lines. It was therapeutic to build on something that was so free and simple. She just makes things and doesn't think about them. She works fast and is so free. I learn so much from her. I am so grateful she is in my life.

She told me i can't sell this painting. (I love this kid)

12 x 16 acrylic on canvas board Inspired by Todd White by Gina Barry

Then, I got stuck.
I didn't know what to paint.

​I gave myself permission before this all began, to copy. This is a copy. I love Todd White. Look him up. He is a fun portrait artist. Former cartoonist. and his work makes me think of Dave Mathews Band and Jazz and sex. It's lovely. 
This painting reminded me that portraits are my first love. Before the trees, I could be found drawing people on the train to work. And before that, I would copy faces from magazines. sketchbooks filled with perfect faces. I imagine a series and will work on it at some point. 
i loved mixing the yellow with another color. I will do more of these based on my drawings from long ago. I got lost in this painting and really enjoyed making this.
​from stuck to unstuck and just needed one night to copy. Pretty good for 30 nights. 

Tiny landscapes each 6 x 6 acrylic and ink on canvas by Gina Barry

Tiny blue paintings. These just started as swirly little 6 x 6 paintings, in yellow and blue. Ruined a few more pens and got some fun doodle therapy out on these. And somehow they seem happy. 

22 x 30 acrylic and china marker on wood panel by Gina Barry

This fun painting began with Piano music - because my lovely daughter plays the piano. Two colors and white. China marker first and then I added the color. This painting took a couple of nights and can be turned to any angle. And I sat down on the third night and decided it was done.

22 x 30 acrylic and china marker on wood panel by Gina Barry

Trees. My old stand by. I started this by coping a drawing I have on the wall in the hall. China marker on wood. I got lost in the squares on this one. Some of them are alone and some all clumped together. I thought of how I put things in boxes in my mind so I don't have to deal with them. I once read a story about a ghost who would climb into a drawer in a desk and would stay in the space and fill it up. It was the only time the ghost would feel safe, because being transparent was really hard. I think memories are like that. A chest of drawers that we put our memories in and then lock them away. Sometimes, I hope they will be forgotten locked away, but sometimes they leak out.

​Feeling blue this night, I imagine. 

24 x 48 acrylic and china marker on canvas by Gina Barry

8 x 10 acrylic and china marker on wood panel by Gina Barry

These swirly paintings are the circles to my squares. The big blue one is all about forgiveness. I painted over a perfectly nice little landscape.

That all by itself, is a metaphor for my current life.

The world saw a fine little life I suppose. But I didn't like that painting. It wasn't me. I got a do over. And it has not always been pretty. I have lots of forgiveness to do and it continues to be my path ahead. Mostly of myself. Secondly of the people I loved the most. Forgiveness and letting go is a bitch. Sorry, not sorry. Just when I think I have found some space something... reminds me of the loss and pain. It has been 2 years, and yet some days it feels like it was yesterday.

life goes on. I get up every day and somewhere along the way some flowers start to grow up over those waves. 

So the blue painting was many paintings layered over in many different nights. I usually followed up by a weird flower as the blue was not ready for the world. But then one day it was and it is ok. Not great yet. But I can see the edges of greatness now that I have started over.  

The green one was the next night when I had about 20 minutes before midnight and I needed to keep the momentum of the paintings going... No matter what...

12 x 16 acrylic and china marker on canvas panel by Gina Barry

swirly fall colors. I know these need more love and something to finish them. But here they are in the series of 3 as I try to recapture the feeling of the first swirly paintings. 

more of the swirly lines and the doodles over top. I tried not to buy supplies but I burned through these marker/pens more than one per piece. Each of these are 12 x 16 on canvas panel. 

6x6 acrylic on canvas Sold by Gina Barry

a little guy after a drive in the trees. Fall is in the air.

Cards various sizes, wax by Gina Barry

A few years ago, I learned about encaustic monoprinting. Melting was on a metal plate and then pulling a print. It is lovely. I love everything about this. The waxy smell reminds me of childhood. The melting wax texture is lovely. The unknown of pulling a print from something that may be good - or may be a big blob (although with practice that is supposed to get better). I love making cards and thinking about giving them away. I did this a couple of nights during this journey. Sometimes made ugly things and sometimes a beautiful mark was made. 

"Rusty" 8 x 10 acrylic on canvas by Gina Barry

My dad's dog passed away on a Saturday during this month. I had planned to paint the entire day. But instead I got to spend the day with my dad as he started the journey of saying goodbye. Dogs are the best kind of people. They love us despite our mistakes. Always happy to see us. Love to go for walks... I need a dog. 

5 x 7 acrylic and archival pen on wood by Gina Barry

These are crazy haired trees. I like to think of my trees as portraits or characters of trees rather than landscapes. I don't get into the rolling hills and the landscapes they live in. I get lost in the texture of the bark and the crazy hair these trees are all wearing. They are about to lose it all in the fall and will spend the winter naked. (and I hope you look at all the naked trees and think of me... oh wait)

If you made it through this long post, thanks for reading.

And thanks for looking, More is coming from all of this. I can feel it.