Week 7 of 100 Days of Wonder 2024 /  by Jen Kievit

Can you believe we now halfway through 100 days? That means this week I will have completed 49 tiny paintings of wonder. It feels really amazing to have committed to this practice. Our lives are so busy with work and life and somehow I made time to do this. I’m so grateful to have found this challenge by D. Michele Perry. Thank you for creating this for all of us.

I think one practical way to signal to myself that my creative practice is sacred space is to set boundaries around my practice. i tell myself, this is important, show up, get in the studio and work. Do not compromise for something that doesn’t align with your self. If you are a creative you know that you cannot ignore the urge to create. It is in our soul, it makes us whole, it gives us the air we breathe. We live to see and feel and express our true selves and emotions through our creative work. Not everyone has that or understands what that feels like. I think about creating art every second of the day, every time I look at the sky or a tree or sunset. It’s there, it’s always there. The only way to feel balance and peace is to cultivate my creative practice.

Weeks 4, 5, 6 of 100 Days of Wonder 2024 /  by Jen Kievit

WOW i can’t believe how fast the weeks are flying by! As I type this, (I’m a little behind on posting here) it is now the beginning of week 7! That’s nearly halfway through the 100 days.

My approach to these prompts is to just see where my creativity takes me. I choose to use watercolor and 100% cotton paper in a sketchbook. I divide most pages into 2 because watercolor sketch books tend to have about 25 sheets. This helps me get more out of the book and focus on small 3 x 5 inch paintings that usually take about 30min or less to complete. I just go for it and let my creative mind and brush do the work.

Overall I’m delighted with the results. This practice was something I didn’t know I needed until last week (week 6). To ponder what I have learned so far about my creative practice, I would say, the weekly wonder has helped to strengthen my skills and practice by letting go of expectations and accepting the outcome.

Some of these I’m really happy with, some bring joy to create, some are a train wreck and look nothing like what I expected. All of this is ok and necessary for my personal growth. Being uncomfortable is where the magic happens.

Week 5 brought some challenges but I was still able to show up for my practice and enjoy the process.

Week 6 brought a challenge I didn’t think was possible. I was so excited to start a new sketch book however, the paper was not the same! Not sure what the issue is but when I wet the surface, it pilled. I thought well, maybe it’s just my imagination, maybe it was just that sheet. It wasn’t, this new book just threw me a curve ball. I was expecting the exact same quality and paint handling and it just didn’t perform the same. So, I am patiently waiting for new sketchbooks to arrive before I start week 7.

I find sketchbooks to be really confining and I rarely use them. Part of why I am doing the #100daysofwonder2024 project is to get out of my own way on my sketchbook phobia. Last week I did some poking around and found that Jackson’s Art carries a Saunders Waterford Rough 25 page Fat Pad. I bought 2. Saunders Waterford rough paper is 140lb cold press and the paper of my choice for my watercolors. I love it soooooo much, so I am super excited that they are making a sketchbook and I can’t wait to try it out.

Week 3 of 100 Days of Wonder 2024 /  by Jen Kievit

Week 3 recap of the 100 Days of Wonder 2024 project is here. This was an interesting and fun week of prompts. Once again, I had so much fun making these prompts come to life. If I had to choose, Blossom and Cozy would be my favorites. Both of these are painted from photo memories of two of my favorite girls, Tonka with the Cherry Blossoms and Cher in front of her favorite spot, the fireplace. See below for the prompts and my interpretation.

Studio Vibes Part 2 Spring Cleaning /  by Jen Kievit

I love my cozy corner studio but it needed a tiny reno to make it even better. A couple of days ago, before work, I decided now was the time to make my space better.

First off, I wanted to be able to sit while working instead of standing, since, I’m on my feet at work 40hrs a week. Second, I thought it would be really nice to mount my monitor on the wall as it was currently balancing itself on a shoe box–ridiculous I know. Third, it freed up my entire table so that I could paint a full sheet (22”x30”) of watercolor paper, YAY!

After that, everything else just fell into place. I was able to mount my 12” ipad next to the monitor, use the shelf above to get my junk off the table and mount my ring light in an area that is useful not blinding. Take a look at what I did below.

Today I took my setup for a spin and I approve!

Here is the painting I did today. Cedar Bonnet Island marshlands, Manahawkin, NJ 11x15” watercolor on paper. I love the clouds and this is the first time I’ve painted birds in a watercolor.

Week 2 of 100 days of Wonder 2024 /  by Jen Kievit

Week 2 recap of the 100 Days of Wonder 2024 project is here. This was a fun week of prompts and joyful little paintings. My favorite 3 prompts from this week were Journey, Butterfly and Meadow.

I just love how these came to life. See below for the prompts and my interpretations.

Studio Vibes /  by Jen Kievit

This is my favorite corner in our house. it’s comfortable, cozy and the place where magic happens. Everything I need to be my 5’ tall creative self is within reach.

I love to display my own paintings and artifacts from the past as inspiration. If you look at the top shelf, there is a canvas wrapped panel on the left with the word “canbord it’s new, it’s different, it’s better”. I’m not sure where this came from, maybe an estate sale of our neighbors who were prominent artists with The Art Student’s League in NY, but I love this ad for a few reasons.

  1. This is a print on canvas wrapped foam-like board. It looks hand painted, so maybe it is?

  2. When I see the word CANBORD I see the word can as motivation.

  3. The other 3 words, new, different, better, are kinda my mantra to my practice.

The other cool and interesting artifact on that ledge is the very first sales receipt from my Dad’s shop in Nutley, NJ called The Art Store. It’s for a sketch book. He had the shop in the early ‘80’s which sold supplies for artists and framing. I remember as a young kid, hanging out there eating liverwurst and mustard sandwiches on rye bread.

I LOVED liverwurst sandwiches as kid, wonder if I should try it again?

Forest + Daydream /  by Jen Kievit

Days 1 + 2 100 Days of Wonder 2024

This was just pure joy to make! I feel a little giddy about it. Honestly, I didn’t think I would like it that much or feel so accomplished after. I was so inspired after going through the process and seeing these tiny but mighty paintings come to life that I started this blog!

I’m using the Indigo Art Papers Handmade 100% Cotton Spiral 6 x 9 Book. You can get it on Amazon.

Day 1 / Forest

This forest painting was inspired by a photo taken of me on a training run through Brainard Lake Recreational Area in Colorado. My friend Katie took this pic and I’ve always wanted to paint it. If you want to see the original, go check it out on my about me page.

Day 2 / Daydream

My almost daily Daydream is fueled scenes like these. Inspiration for Daydream came from a random photo I took on a snowy hike a few years ago.

#100daysofwonder2024 /  by Jen Kievit

Forrest + Daydream

I MUST be crazy, not only am I committing to D. Michele Perry’s #100daysofwonder2024 project, but I’m also going to document and blog about it. Let me tell you why I am committing to this.

For those of you who don’t know me or my background I’ll give you the quick version. I’m an artist, currently obsessed with learning watercolors and painting in the wet-on-wet style and I work full time as a Team Leader for Whole Foods Market, managing one of the largest Whole Body departments in the company with a team of 8.

I took over the Whole Body team a couple years ago right in the middle of the Pandemic and boy it was a challenge. I poured my heart and soul into keeping the team a float and making it successful, but during that time, I knew that the way I was working was eventually going to burn me out and shut down my nervous system. Something had to change or I would not survive.

As a Self-care tactic to help balance my stress, I decided I was going to start painting again after a 10 year hiatus. I told myself I would paint or make the attempt to paint at least once a week and just see where it goes. Back in the day, I was into oil painting (and still am) but this time watercolors sparked my curiosity. So watercolors it was!

See, I told you I’m crazy (or I like to dive into the unknown headfirst) ! I knew absolutely nothing about watercolor, not one thing. I struggled too, almost gave up, but I didn’t. I read books and tried all kinds of paper and paint and sketchbooks and then one day, something clicked. I found my paper, my preferred paint and brushes and then I just played. If you want to see my early watercolor attempts, just scroll to the bottom of my IG and you will see.

Fast forward to 2024 and I have been painting about 2-3 times a week. I am obsessed with landscapes and the wet-on-wet technique. I’m part of Andy Evansen’s Watercolor for All Seasons Mentoring Cousre and Matthew White’s Watercolor Community and have completed nearly 80 paintings and have been in 3 juried shows in 2023.

I wasn’t looking to add more onto my plate but somehow The 100 Days of Wonder project caught my eye. You can find all the info and details here on D. Michele Perry’s website if your curious and want to join in. I’m super excited to embark on this project!

Stay tuned for my next blog post where I showcase what materials I’m using and how it’s going.

Jen