I started a new painting class this week, entitled Paint Better, Looser, Faster. It’s a year-long course where we commit to creating 100 paintings over the next year. In addition, each painting is to be completed in 20 minutes (with an extra five minutes for touch-ups/details once we’ve taken a moment to step back and analyze our work). When I first heard about the idea, it sounded like a whole lot of paintings. But really, that’s only two paintings a week for the next 50 weeks - and if I stick to the program, it means I’ll be finished two weeks ahead of schedule??

The purpose of this class (which I’m taking through an online painting community called Mastrius.com) is to help artists paint more loosely and confidently, and, if they’re like me, to overcome procrastination caused by the irrational desire to make every painting a success. One of the mantra's I've got tacked to the wall in my studio is, "If you're not failing, you're not learning." Hopefully one of these days I will be able to fully internalize that belief.

I’m looking forward to see how this helps me progress in my painting practice.