Wishing everyone a Happy New Year and hope it will be filled with peace, joy, prosperity and good health!  I'm an organizer and a planner so I do set goals each year,  I need to be a bit better about referring back to them occasionally, but I also don't beat myself up about not achieving some of them!  Last year my goals were to improve as an artists by going to a Life Drawing session once a week and doing more plein air sketching and painting from life, which I did throughout the entire year.  I will have to say, it has made a big improvement, in my drawing and observation skills, and I feel my studio work is all the better for it!  I also was determined to read more, not just on a device or computer but actual books, I built that into my daily routine reading with a cup of tea every morning before I get on with the day.  These are things I will definitely carry into this year because they have become  habits in my life that I thoroughly enjoy!

I also have a goal  every year to paint more and try a new challenges within my painting practice, maybe try new subject matters, or try different materials and techniques.  So to start off the year, I'm doing Leslie Saeta's 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge this month.  My goal by doing the challenge is to create some smaller pieces I would like to exhibit for a show I'm doing in February, (more on that in a future post,) as well as finish a larger work.  I know going into it based on my painting style, I won't be able to paint 30 paintings by January 31!  But I will paint as much as I can!  A few other goals are to teach more workshops and create some videos this year, to share studio tips, works in progress and whatever else might be interesting.

The first painting I'm sharing  is my newest larger work, "Parisian Peacock."  This painting is inspired by a museum visit when I lived in Paris.  This beautiful gate is featured in the Museé des Arts Décoratifs near the Louvre.  I've been wanting to add this one to my gate series for a while!  I combined my love of art nouveau, art deco and the Japonisme movement in Paris, when the French loved all things Japanese in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, as a backdrop to the gate.  I was also thinking about artist Jesse Arms Botke while I was painting this.  A California Impressionist and early California Art Club member, known for her decorative paintings often featuring birds and the use of gold leaf.  There is an incredible mural done by her that was salvaged from The Oaks Hotel,  and is now featured in the Irvine Museum in Irvine CA.

So here's to a great 2016, Happy New Year and Happy Painting! I would love to hear what some of your goals are for the year.  Feel free to share by making a comment on this post.