On December 31 I did some numbers and discovered that I created 22 paintings in 2018. Some of these paintings were mastercopies and some were sketches, like this self-portrait on the back of a pizza box.
I came across an interesting story. I read it in a book "Atomic Habits" by James Clear (his blog on productivity is amazing too). Students of a pottery class were taking part in an experiment. The class was divided into two groups. One group was told they would be scored based on the quality of the pot they produce. They did not have to make a lot of pots, as long as one pot was perfect. Another group was told that they would be scored based on the quantity; the quality did not matter, all they had to do is make a lot of pots.
So here is the result I find so interesting: the second group non only produced the greatest number of pots, they also were the group who made a pot of the best quality! They did not care about the quality, but by producing a high volume of work they became better at quality than the group who was overthinking every piece.
The story about the pottery class inspired me to finally join a movement of daily painters! Here is my first resolution of 2019: I will produce 30 small paintings in 30 days.
I will continue to work on my larger pieces, but I will dedicate one, maximum two hours a day to complete one small painting. Then in the end of this month I will have more completed pieces than what I made in the previous year. I will use "30 paintings in 30 days" challenge to get all the random ideas out of my system; to experiment, to play, and to allow myself - oh horror! - to make really bad paintings! I am curious to see what happens next.
I start today.