My 52 Paintings Journey

Last March I enrolled in a year-long painting class called 52 Paintings with Mati Rose McDonough and Faith Evans-Sills. Little did I know how life changing this class was going to be for me. I wasn’t sure if I was going to sign up when I saw it. I was very drawn to it but was also a little hesitant. I’ve taken a few painting classes over the years but I was always working full-time and never really had the time to fully immerse myself in the painting process. I knew I would have more time now though since I had a creative business and was working from home. I checked in with my intuition like I always do when I make a decision, and it was a clear YES. So much so, that I remember seeing bright light and I felt super happy which of course was huge confirmation that the answer was YES. I had my doubts about whether it would be something I would stick to though. The old ego likes to get involved and tell me why I shouldn’t do something. This time it was reminding me of the other times that I didn’t stick with painting, so why would this one be any different? My intuitive guidance was so strong and won out this time. So I enrolled in the class! Yay!

Every month there was a different theme that we were encouraged to paint, like geometrics, nature explorations, animals, abstracts etc. I was so surprised to find that I really loved doing abstracts. I felt so free! It felt amazing! I could get messy and scribble and not worry about being perfect. After 20 years of being a designer, perfectionism and being anal about every little detail comes with the territory. I kind of doubted that I could even paint abstractly at first, but I just continued anyway and had fun. Then I started doing paintings that I really liked and over time, I started to build some confidence. We had a supportive community of artists in the class along with Faith and Mati who would give their support and feedback. I can honestly say the whole experience was life-changing. Being a year-long course really helped me to stay motivated and dedicated to the practice. There were times that I didn’t participate but I knew I could always catch up and jump right back in. I ended up painting around 35 paintings! I didn’t get to the full 52 paintings goal of painting one a week, but that’s ok… I was so proud of myself and so happy to see all that I accomplished in a year and how much I had grown.

I loved the class so much that I enrolled in the class again. This time it’s called Painting the Sacred Within. We’re currently in our second week. I’ll be sharing more about this year’s journey as I go along. I’m so looking forward to another year of class!