Day. 29: Treading Lightly: What Happened When I Revisited an Old Abstract Painting
What happened when I revisited an old abstract painting during my 31 in 31 challenge was unexpected—less about fixing and more about listening.
Author: Denise Hopkins
Day 28: Ready for What Comes Next
As day 28 of a 31-day painting practice, this red-bellied woodpecker emerged with its head lifted and chest forward—ready for whatever comes next. A reflection on posture, pattern, and approaching the end of a daily creative rhythm.
Day 27: Finding the Music: Painting Jazz Musicians and the Practice of Paying Attention
During day 27 of my 31 in 31 painting challenge, I returned unexpectedly to jazz musicians—exploring attention, negative space, and what it means to be fully locked in while creating art by hand.
Day 26: When the Muse Lands
In today’s painting, inspiration takes the form of small birds finally coming to rest. A reflection on creative practice, patience, and what happens when the environment is right for ideas to land.
Day 25: Love Thy Neighbor with Thick Paint
On Day 24 of my 31 in 31 project, I painted thickly out of uncertainty—scratching the words “Love Thy Neighbor” into the surface while thinking about mercy, the Good Samaritan, and Mary Oliver’s Franz Marc’s Blue Horses.
Day 24: Returning to the Feeder: Painting the Tufted Titmouse Again and Again
What we lose when we make art is infinite possibility—but what we gain is something real. A reflection on risk, creativity, and why getting on a high horse might be exactly what making art requires.
Day 23: Traveling Musicians & the Joy of Sharing Art
What we lose when we make art is infinite possibility—but what we gain is something real. A reflection on risk, creativity, and why getting on a high horse might be exactly what making art requires.
Day 22: Dear Oil Paint: Coming Home to Texture, Time, and Trouble
What we lose when we make art is infinite possibility—but what we gain is something real. A reflection on risk, creativity, and why getting on a high horse might be exactly what making art requires.
Day 21: Hitting the Wall: Finding Creative Fuel in a Daily Painting Practice
What we lose when we make art is infinite possibility—but what we gain is something real. A reflection on risk, creativity, and why getting on a high horse might be exactly what making art requires.