12 Artists Magazine April 2020
Prime CREATIVITY CHALLENGE
d
uringmyartjourneyintooil
paintinga fewyearsback,
I createda 100Meadows
ProjectforwhichI paintedonehun-
dredsmallmeadowlandscapesonoil
paper.I learnedsomuchfromthis
projectanddevelopedthedisciplineto
paintona consistentbasis.Manyof
myonlinefollowersparticipatedinthe
projectalongwithme,andtwoofmy
artistfriends—PageEllisandMarian
Parsons—andI regularlysharedand
critiquedoneanother’slandscape
work.Thissuccessfulendeavorledthe
threeofustocollaborateonanother
creativeundertaking:theIndexCard
ArtProject.PREPPINGFORSUCCESS
FortheIndexCardArtProject,weeach
purchaseda setofvintageindexcards
numberedfrom1 to31.I gotmine
onlineatEtsy,buttheycanalsobe
foundatotheronlinesites,suchas
eBay,andatthriftshops.Becausethe
indexcardsetsarenumberedto31,
theyservedastheperfectsurfaceto
usefora monthlongprojectdevoted
tocreatingonesmalloilpaintinga day.
Toprepthecards,I paintedthefull
setwitha fewcoatsofwhiteacrylic
gesso,usinganoldbrush,andthen
letthecardsdryfora day.Havingthe
foundationpreppedinadvancemade
it easiertobeginworkeachday.I also
setupa smallvintageeaselwitha
repurposedpaint-tin-turned-palette
inmyartstudio(opposite).Theded-
icatedsetupgreatlyimprovedthe
likelihoodthatI’dcompletemydaily
paintingbecauseI didn’thavetoset
uporcleanuptheareaeverytime
I satdowntopaint.It’s in the (Index) Cards
Michelle Wooderson challenges you to a 31-day painting commitment.
It’s easier—and smaller—than you think.
A list of ideas and
guidelines, some
inspirational books
and copious amounts
of coff ee are the fuel
for a monthlong
creative project.
PHOTOS BY MICHELLE WOODERSON