A Monthly Painting Challenge

I've invited a group of fellow painters to join me in a playful creative Challenge for 2009. We'll be taking turns each month naming an subject for the group to paint. The project was inspired by a similar idea at Jelaine Faunce's blog.

I liked the project so much that I wrote an article about it for the May '09 issue of Art Calendar Magazine. The article explains the idea and gives guidelines for starting your own group.

I'm really excited to see how each member artist responds to the Challenge. Today I sent out notice to my group of what we'll paint for our first one in February.

These talented artists will be joining me in this venture; Mike Beeman, Robin Cheers, Silvina Day, Marie Fox, Dianne Mize, Michael Naples and Vicki Ross.

The Challenge Object (chosen for its creative potential) is announced to the artists but not the public. It will be a surprise, as will our paintings. The idea is for each of us to paint this chosen subject (something we might not normally choose) have fun with it, and give our creativity freedom and exercise.

We're to keep our ideas a secret and work alone until we all reveal the paintings to each other. On the 15th of each month (beginning in February) we'll unveil all the Challenge Paintings at our blogs. I hope you'll stay tuned for the fun!