THE END.
                                                                                                (of the 30 paintings in 30 days challenge)

When I signed up for this challenge in August, I did it on a whim...I gave little thought to the reality of actually painting 30 paintings in a month.  As such, frankly,I am a little surprised (and impressed) I made it to the end... with a painting posted every single day. My "secret"  was painting ahead and work extra hard on weekend (painting up to 4 or 5 paintings over a Saturday and Sunday).  In the end, I am pretty satisfied with how the challenge turned out.  

What's next for me... ??  My October goal is to continue to paint at least 1-2 paintings per week (depending on the size) and to get my art work up for sale online (via Etsy and Daily Paint Works).  

My final painting was inspired from a snap shot I took on the BC Ferry, between Tsawwassen to Swartz Bay (en route from Vancouver to Victoria BC).  

Today's painting is inspired by the lovely fall leaves that are turning up all around us these days!

Today's painting is a little different! My sister lives in an area of Victoria called Fernwood in which there are dozens of painted telephone poles. Spurred by this 30-in-30 challenge, and a little sisterly help, my "canvas" for todays painting is indeed a telephone pole.  The design is in the style of First Nation's art and depicts a killer whale, a blue whale, and a seal. 

On a quick side note, I have just arrived home from BC.  While sad to leave beautiful British Columbia, happy to see Mark and the animal fam (especially my handsome beagle Wylan).  And I don't have to say bye to my sis just yet ... she's on her way to Ontario for a week long visit!


ONLY 2 DAYS LEFT OF THE 30 DAY CHALLENGE!!

Today's painting is inspired from our whale watching trip yesterday.  We went out with 5-star (my sister used to work for this whale watching company... they offers an exceptional tour!).  Except for a little rain (and by a little, I mean a lot!), the trip was awesome.. great whale sightings.  In addition to today's sketch, I am sharing a couple of my photos from the trip.

Today's painting is inspired from a very picturesque farm on San Juan Island, WA.  

Only 5 days left after today...

Today I am posting a couple sketches I did yesterday- both from outlooks near Lime Kiln, San Juan Island (both plein air).

Both sketches are watercolor with ink in my Arches sketchbook.

Today's painting is inspired by a photo I took at Lime Kiln State Park in San Juan, WA yesterday -- also knows as whale watch park.  Sadly, we didn't see any whales.   We did however have a fantastic dinner at the Cask and Schooner in Friday Harbor!!  We are off to Anacortes, and then Vancouver today. 

Today's sketch is one I did during my layover in Calgary.  I started it drawing from life... but didn't have time to finish.  Took a snap shop of the scene and finished it yesterday. 

Today's painting is inspired from my sister's street in Victoria (it's the house across the street from her).  A pretty challenging painting.... definitely needs some more practice on houses!

I also have one quick sketch I did at the airport yesterday (watercolour in an Arches Sketch Book).

I'm writing this mornings post from the London (Ontario) airport (5:45 am presently). I'm leaving Mark, Wylan, and the cats behind to go visit my sister for a week in Victoria, BC. I am taking some watercolour pencils and acrylic paints to ensure I complete the 30-in30 painting challenge for September.  I'm also taking some reference photos (as it is not a specific painting trip- likely not too much time for plein air)

Here is today's painting. I used a monochromatic palette for this one...

20 out of 30 paintings done! Only 10 left. The last 10 will be interesting as I am on my way to BC tomorrow for a visit with my sis (paints in tow).

Today's painting is inspired by a photo I took in Niagra-on-the-Lake a few years ago. Such a charming town!

This painting is based on a beautiful winter sunset I stumbled upon on my way home from work one day. This small woods is located on Gore Rd, near the 3M property (London, ON). I used a very limited palette... Mostly ultramarine blue and permanent orange; the is also some primary yellow and dioxazine violet!

Today's painting is taken from a photo I took in Newfoundland, in a quaint little town called Happy Adventure.  With a name like Happy Adventure, who wouldn't want to visit this town!!  In addition to this scenic beach,  we ate dinner at Chucky's Seafood and Wildgame Restaurant... Mmmmm, their fresh lobster was freakin' delicious!

Today's paintings is my contribution to the September challenge on the watermedia forum on WC. The challenge was to paint an entrance-way.  The name of the stone ruins in this painting is St. Anthony's chapel...  based on a photo I took in Scotland about 6 years ago - located on Arthur's Seat.  For information on St. Anthony's chapel... click here. 

Today's painting is based on a photo I took in Twillingate, Newfoundland.  The golden light and shadows drew me to this composition. 

Day 15... HALF WAY THERE!! Only 15 paintings to go. 

Today's painting is not a "Kathy original"... rather this is based on an online art video with my favourite artist - Stephen Quiller (Acrylics - a watercolour approach: Stephen Quiller paints a landscape).
Check out Stephen Quiller's art at his website (click here) -- his work is amazing!

The beautiful tree colours drew me to paint this scene (I also thought it would be my celebration of fall - which seems to be here in full force!).  With today's painting I experimented and practiced my negative painting skills.  

Yet another painting from northern Ontario.  This one is based on my mom's favourite photo from up North.  The calm, monochromatic colours drew me to paint this scene. 

My sister and I visited the lovely province of Newfoundland this past May.  One of the highlights of the trip was seeing real icebergs!  In this painting, you will notice floating chunks of ice.  This is from where a piece of the berg had broken off earlier.
Interesting fact... iceberg water is said to be the purest in the world.  The boat guide went "ice fishing" during our trip (and by ice fishing I mean they used a net to collect these ice chunks!)

Today's picture is from a beautiful group of trees at Mount Rainier, Washington. 

I chose this painting after watching an instructional video by Linda Kemp - an amazing artist who is highly skilled in negative painting techniques.  

Week 1 of the 30 day painting challenge... Done!  Check out Leslie Saeta's blog to see all the amazing paintings from the many, many artists participating.

Today's painting was based on a photo my sister took at Mavericks, near Half Moon Bay, California.   Maverick’s is famously known for it's big wave surfing.  While the day we visited, the waves weren't big surfing waves... they were still pretty wild.  Can't imagine what it would be like to see the big waves. 
Check out this YouTube video to see some big wave surfing at Mavericks (click here)
For more info on Mavericks, check out the following blog article (click here)

A little later in the day than usual, here is my 7th painting.
This handsome fellow is my parent's and sister's jack russell terrier, Woody.  The photo I used as inspiration for this painting was taken last year during a "photo shoot" for a  Woody Christmas calendar.
This was also my contribution to this weeks WDE at WC in which I hosted.  Many amazing artists participated and some truly beautiful art was created.

Today's painting is based on a photo taken at sunset at Point Reyes (just outside San Francisco).