Day 31: last face!

I finally had time to paint today! My last face is again a girl with a very weird hairdo. I love painting these girls. You never know what's coming out of the drips. I'm sure I'll be making lots more of these.

Sooo, the challenge is officially over now. I'm kinda sad about it. And at the same time, I can't wait to go on  with all different projects I have planned. This challenge has been very good for me. It forced me to create every day, I have been trying things I've never done before, I had to find quick-fix solutions to problems in order to be able to post my daily face, it got me out of the creative slump I was in, and, best of all: I had the chance to connect with so many different creative people. I discovered so many wonderful artists, I am full of ideas I want to try out, and it just makes me happy to be part of this big online community willing to help eachother, encourage eachother and share with eachother.

And so, like I said, I have big plans. I have decided to try and make a living out of this. Just writing it like that makes me feel like "oh no, I'll never be able to do this, what am I thinking .."
It's what I've been wanting to do since I took a break from work in 2008 to take care of the children. But something always got in the way. Most of all my own thinking: fear of making myself look ridiculous, fear of not being good enough, fear of finding no one who would be interested in what I was doing, and also: not knowing how or where to start. I sold some stuff on craft markets, and some through my website, but as soon as I entered a competition or got in contact with more "serious" artists (read: with an official art education), I faced rejection. Which just fueled my fear of making a fool of myself by trying to take it further.

But now I'm thinking: to hell with it! I believe there is a market for my stuff. I believe I can make a go of it. And I'm gonna try my hardest to get there! This challenge has taught me to tackle my fears, to just step on top of them and go where I want and need to go.

Being in Australia also helps. There is way more attention for art in this country. Every little town has its art gallery. There are so many craft markets and communities for artists.

Thanks to Sandra, I found out about BrisStyle, an association of Australian artists, crafters and designers from Brisbane and surroundings. They have monthly meetings and a whole bunch of craft markets to take part in. So I joined them.

Thanks to Geri, who is always incredibly generous with all the knowledge she has, I am starting to think about selling my stuff online. Via E-bay or Etsy or RedBubble or something else.

But first I signed up for a business workshop with Leonie Dawson, starting tomorrow. I am going to be a "Business Goddess"! Sounds impressing eh!? She has a free introductory course too. Go check it out!

Anyway: before I forget it: here is my face: done in acrylics, inks and watersoluble pencils on a 20x20cm canvas. I might write a quote on her but I'm not sure yet.

 This is what I started with. Actually, at this point I could only "see" the hair ...

Thanks so much to all of you who take the time to come here and leave comments. Also a big thank you to all my (almost 50!) followers! I feel blessed that so many people show their appreciation  for my work, and it encourages me to try and take it further. And last but not least: a big thank you to Ayala for hosting this challenge. For all the reasons I've mentioned above.

I hope the end of this challenge doesn't mean the end of you visiting here ;-) I have set myself the challenge to post at least three times a week.

I'll be back tomorrow with a compilation of all the faces I have done.

See you then! Hugs, denthe