Day 31. Riding Into the Unknown: Finishing 31 in 31 With Courage and Hope
An expressive horse and rider painting closes out my 31 in 31 daily art practice—exploring hope, resistance, and the courage to create in uncertain times.
Tag: Creative Practice
Day 30. High Horse, Good Grip: When Creativity Gives Us the Courage to Ride
On day 30 of my 31 in 31 practice, a horse I painted earlier in the month returned—this time built from leftover paint, negative space, and trust. What emerged was an abstract horse and rider painting about creativity, resilience, and staying mounted through uncertainty.
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.
Day 20. On a High Horse: Why Making Art Requires Risk
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 18: A Prothonotary Warbler at Rest: When a Daily Creative Practice Needs a Breather
“Prothonotary Warbler at Rest” 4×4, Acrylic on canvas, framed One more little bird joins this acrylic painting flock today. In the online 31 in 31 community I host each year, I’m always struck by how often a creative practice hits a wall. Several of our poets have written poems about not being able to write […]
Day 16: Held in the Pattern (Trusting a Daily Painting Practice When Nothing Works)
“Held in the Pattern” 6×6, oil and acrylic on canvas When you’ve done as many 31 in 31 challenges as I have, you learn that the day will eventually come—sometimes more than one—when nothing works. Brushstrokes feel awkward. Colors refuse to cooperate. It can feel, briefly, like you’ve forgotten how to paint at all. Each […]
Day 12. Being Where I am
“Be Where I Am” 6×6, oil on panel, framed “Look closely at the present you are constructing: it should look like the future you are dreaming.”— Alice Walker I do this thing a lot—I try to hurry the present moment along so I can get to whatever end goal it seems to exist for. I […]