30-day challenge: Every Accomplishment Starts With the Decision to Try

For my New Year's Resolution I set out to try new things! And this past February (wow--so long ago, now!), I  decided to try a 30 day challenge; I would do one thing every day for 30 days in a row. I decided to do something I've never attempted in my life: to paint a picture. 

Typically, my creativity is most easily expressed through my photography. I love taking pictures of people, landscapes, nature, and even abstract subjects. I've learned the "art" of photography to the extent that I can manipulate images using the camera settings, or in post production using software such as Photoshop. Snapping a picture is easy to me. 

But painting. Whoa. That's another story! 

I've never taken an art class in my life, but having acquired a watercolor set and some paint brushes, I determined to at least TRY. 

I started with a photo I'd taken while in Venice, Italy last year.

I then preceded to section off the photo into thirty equal boxes, intending to sketch and paint 1 box per day of my monthly challenge. 

And then, I just jumped right in! The first few days I chose to sketch portions of the photo that seemed easier or had less elements. And, of course, I was happy when I completed a square of empty sky or water. :)  After a while, I started to get the hang of things. To be a little more efficient with my time, I would sketch for a few days in a row and then paint (this saved time because I didn't have to mix and remix the same colors every day to paint). I enjoyed watching as the painting came together. In fact, as the days passed and my painting grew and grew, I started to feel like an artist. And, I started to believe that I could really do it! 

Eventually, I ended up with this as the finished product. It's now framed and hung up in my room so I can enjoy the art I created! 


So, why do I bring this up? Is it to brag to y'all that I'm a brilliant artist and that I will be signing autographs for anyone that wants them? 

Haha. 

No. 

I bring it up because I realized through this 30-day challenge that I can do things I didn't expect I could. I simply decided to TRY at the start of this challenge, and now that it's done, I know that I CAN!  

So, hopefully this will motivate you to decide to TRY something new. You never know whether you will be able to accomplish something until you set your mind to it and try. 

"Every Accomplishment Starts With the Decision to Try!"

Best of luck! Let me know what challenge you are going to take on. I'd love to hear in the comments below so that I can root you on! :)