Nadine J Walters – My Life

Question for myself: What’s new—what have you been up to?

My answer: Honestly, I have been busy with all sorts of things! It feels good to finally be back at the keyboard after almost a month away from my last post. I’ve thought about writing, but never felt like I had a story worth sharing. Now I realize there’s always a story. Even the “same-same” parts of my life that feel a little boring to me might be interesting to whoever reads this blog.

On my mind today is that at Day 95, I only have six more posts before I finish this project and move on to the next one. I did complete my art project of 100 faces—though I still need to photograph the last few and upload them to the website. That feels good, but it will feel even better once I give my procrastination gremlin a swift kick and just get it done. Maybe today will be the day. Knowing that both projects a close to completion has be thinking…. What next?

I’ve been painting—a lot. Practice really does make progress and I am seeing it. I’ve been pushing myself not only to keep at it but also to try new things. If you’ve been following along, you know I love the idea of doing something 100 times. It’s motivating, but it can also trip me up because 100 days in a row isn’t always realistic. So this time I gave myself a challenge that feels bold but achievable.

Here it is: 90 paintings in 60 days – which may not be easier, but it seems like I can see the end a little more visible. To give myself a little grace, if I don’t make the 90 in 60 then I can just be done.

The rules are simple: I can paint more than one piece a day, and anything goes when it comes to medium, size, or surface—oil, watercolor, gouache, acrylic, paper, panel, canvas. But it has to be a finished painting, not a sketch or a work-in-progress.

I dreamed up this idea on Saturday, September 6, and already have eight works either finished or underway. Not a bad start! Tomorrow I’m heading to a two-day workshop on painting Southwestern botanicals in acrylics, so that will add to the count. My end date is November 6, and I’m crossing my fingers I’ll make it. With a new baby joining our family in early October, I want to get a jump on things before grandma duties happily take over.

It might sound a little silly to write all this down, but putting it into words makes it feel more real—like a commitment to myself. And now, with an acrylic painting waiting on my big easel and an oil one calling from my tabletop easel, I’d better get back to work.