THE END IS JUST ANOTHER BEGINNING

YOU MADE IT, LOVE! You have arrived at the end of this book, but we sincerely hope that you feel poised at the beginning of something new and invigorating, a path of possibilities laid out before you.

If you’ve completed or even just begun your one hundred paintings, congratulations! That, in and of itself, is something to celebrate as starting is often the hardest part. If you’re reading this book all the way through before you begin, we hope you feel the bubbling excitement of what’s to come. We also want to remind you that the intention of this practice is not to finish one hundred little masterpieces. Rather, we’re here to deepen and develop our style. As promised, this book is not a tidy, step-by-step manual whisking you effortlessly towards your great masterpiece. In many ways, it’s the opposite of that.

Within these pages, we asked you to dig deep and to take an honest and inquisitive look at who you’ve always been and who you are becoming. We encouraged you to slow way down and notice the uniqueness of the world that surrounds you. We offered you a buffet of art techniques, materials, and “ways in.” Then, we lovingly told you to get to work.

Within each prompt and within each of your one hundred paintings, there are infinite questions to ask and choices to make: “What emerges when I get quiet enough to hear?”, “What do I connect with in my cultural lineage?”, “What shapes feel important enough to harvest and incorporate into my paintings?”, “What layers should I cover up?”, “What colors make my heart sing?”, and “What materials feel like a breakthrough in and of themselves?”

And the list goes on . . .

In many ways, this practice of discovering and developing a unique art style is really a practice in trusting yourself to make these decisions for yourself, one after the next. It’s about standing in your personal truths and declaring them loud and clear on your paper. It’s about beginning again and again, each time with a little more skill, information, and experience than you had the day before.

We know climbing this creative mountain of making one hundred paintings is no small feat. It takes dedication, patience, curiosity, and let’s face it, a whole lot of time. It’s likely you’ll get stuck along the way, perhaps many times over. And that’s okay. In fact, your biggest breakthroughs probably live right on the other side of your greatest moments of frustration. You just have to keep going in order to find them.

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What’s Next?

We hope that all this hard work pays off in the form of beautiful, well-earned, and unexpected gifts and that new space for discoveries open up by your willingness to show up and do this work. We also hope you will stay receptive and curious to what unfolds next.

For Lynx, an invitation to paint a large mural in a prominent retail store came shortly after she finished her own one hundred paintings. By cultivating the creative confidence and new ideas in her small paintings, she was able to say a big YES to this project. That one mural has now turned into three murals!

Flora’s breakthroughs came in the form of discovering new color palettes, fresh imagery, and unique compositions that translated directly into her larger work on canvas. She was also happy to be able to offer more affordably priced original paintings in her latest art show.

How will you take the most supportive and inspiring aspects of what you discovered here and integrate and create them into your own artistic life?

We suggest paying close attention to what feels the most alive in your art-making practice moving forward. Even if the aliveness is subtle, follow it. Get curious. Hold it tenderly and notice where it’s leading you. Remember, you do not have to know everything that’s coming next. Just follow your next craving, like you do with color.

Maybe you’ll hang all your paintings on one wall at one time and create an installation? Maybe you’ll take one thing you discovered from the course and create a whole new body of work inspired by that one thing? Maybe you’ll scan your paintings and create a book of art and poetry? Maybe you’ll auction them off and raise money for one of your favorite causes? Maybe you’ll paint one hundred more small paintings!?

There is no limit to what’s possible when you honor your unique voice, stay true to your lived experience, and create with a dedicated heart. Your desire is there. Now trust, stay awake, be gentle, keep expanding and exploring . . . and stay the course.

The world needs what you have to share.

Your time is now.

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