I saw a perfect crescent moon while rolling out the garbage. For Lee it’s a fingernail. I went to Bayfair to pickup the rest of my missing molecules. Now we’re together working apart and I’m doing laundry, going back and forth on two computers. She sits in the living room not working on her laptop while 80’s ninjas dance in the background. I have twenty minutes. Calendar becomes word processor. Fate becomes might. They talked about what’s taboo in space. Old people kissed in her dreams. Marine biologists discuss the three dolphin technique. Black whales are destined to be together. She doesn’t want them to kiss. I have 15 minutes. I have to pee. The blonde woman with a gun had tight jeans. The white ninja had blue eyes and set down his backpack on the lawn. They passed each other… the whales. Back to the ninja. He had no shirt and a moustache and held nunchucks like Bruce Lee. He’s no Bruce. I have ten minutes. Now I have none. They tied a man to the jeepney and did donuts in the dirt while another man chased them with a brown horse sideways. Do you know what this is? Have you seen it?

#2. Killawhale

We’re keeping with a vaguely marine theme for this one. Lee introduced a couple of whales that are furry. Furry whales. Now it’s up to me to set them free. I’m late. After going to the bathroom I’ll attend to the knife. There’s one already, I’ll put another. That’s better. Lee is “good,” she says with a far away glance, then a sniffle followed by another. We gathered oil from our faces about an hour ago using little transparent papers. What was once crushed ice in the freezer became one solid hunk of mass. They could use it there in the north. We are both in the same house but in different rooms, both typing on laptops. She looks over at me and after a second of wonder she smiles sending a sea of instant radiation in my direction.

Lee giggles,”He’s talking to his wife at the dinner table and in the background the Black Ninja is killing all his security guards—and he’s not even aware of it.”

“It’s brutal… The guards are always missing.” Silly music plays in the background. I was raised on this.

It’s a cold day and we’ve been staring at screens trying to look productive. Maybe just being on this site will jumpstart our brains into action. We’re joining forces from wildly separate worlds, visually, stylistically and culturally, creating common ground. This marks the first time for either of us to take on a project like this and also our first time collaborating together. We’re going back and forth with a blank canvas with no direction, no planning, no concept in mind. We start from scratch, experimenting and combining different media. Just thinking about it is challenging.

#1. “Tomato River”

Our first piece is a little baby weeping–because that’s what they do, right? I immediately noticed that although we’re working on the same image, we see it in completely different ways and it has a distinct meaning between the both of us. Already there’s been a tug-of-war on our exact methodology but it’s part of the process. It’s revealing and exciting. We’ll be learning a lot about each other and ourselves in the next 30 days.

- Pat & Lee:

Patrick Rafanan | www.patrickrafanan.com
Lydia Ortiz | www.lydiaortiz.net

What did I learn from this?

WOW that went by so fast! It’s hard to say goodbye because I feel fellowship with all of you, the 30 day artists who braved this experience before - even though we haven’t met. Thanks for your encouragement. Isn’t it wild that it ends right around the time you think you have it together technically?

I learned a lot from doing this and am thankful to Chinyew for the opportunity. The main thing I learned is that just because I paint every day doesn’t mean I can produce 40 good paintings in 30 days - that was humbling. Humorously, I was also forced to learn how to use my blackberry functions in a pinch and have a deeper appreciation for all of the daily painters out there who do this long term.

Finally, being transparent has helped me see a new side of my work through the eyes of others. For example, this venue is the first place that I’ve revealed those oil sketches and friends have been writing asking for more. What a surprise! If it weren’t for 30dayartist, I might never have realized that people would enjoy those as works of art.

To the December 30dayartist (and all future posting artists) BEST WISHES!

Goodbye and I look forward to “seeing” you here.

- Tricia
www.TriciaRatliff.com
www.agilearts.blogspot.com
www.TriciaRatliff.com
phone: 703.266.5433
triciasart@gmail.com
blog: http://agilearts.blogspot.com/

The grapes are washed out in red (they actually have a lot of different color which obviously needs to be intensified) 

I’ve got it!! Here are two detail/study paintings I’m working on. All of these little studies and researching other artists this month clarified what I’m going to deliver for my show in April. I’ll reproduce different still life paintings like this one (in progress) within a larger work (can’t tell you too much) - Then these still life vignette’s will be hung next to the large paintings in groupings to highlight different “meanings” within the larger paintings. Visit my website in April/May for final results.

I liked this study … although I never finished they painting … hey … at this point … I think I’m getting over the embarrassment of sharing “everything”.

- this was a useful attempt at painting a more mysterious look into my self portrait.