I've done it! Finished the 30 paintings in 30 days challenge. Actually I painted 19 absolutely new paintings and slipped in a few painted earlier in the summer...but who's counting? Feeling very good about it...that it is over, and about my new works. Slowing they are getting framed for the selling and exhibiting season. 

This year I wrote a blog post for each of these paintings and made sure they posted to social media. Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest. I hope to continue this good habit at least a few times a week. Now I need to go plan the next series of paintings.

I have mentioned before that I volunteer on a sea turtle program with the South Florida Audubon Society, rescuing hatchling sea turtles during the nesting and hatchling season. My love of the outdoors, nature and wildlife, coupled with a sense of conservation and purpose, make this a rewarding activity for me.

People LOVE sea turtles! Which make them quite the subject matter of many of my paintings. Living along the coast, it is very evident during much of the season (March - October) the presence of turtles. And as a volunteer with a permit to rescue these little guys, I get to see and save hundreds of hatchlings. 

Day 20. 30in30 painting challenge. Ten more days of painting everyday. Luckily most of my daily schedule has been allowing me to keep up. However, if it hadn't been for my careful planning ahead of time, I would have faltered by now. In the next day or so, I will have to put in extra time to do some more preparation for the last series of painting. I am very please so far and if I stopped now, I'd still give myself a star.

This summer was my 4th as a volunteer to protect and rescue hatchlings at night on the beach. I'm lucky to live a block from the beach and to spend several hours a couple of nights a week doing something to save these guys. With the recent tropical storm blowing through South Florida, we lost a lot of nests. Last year Hurricane Irma, at the same time of year, washed the nests out as well. Sad to see. But overall, we saved a lot of turtles through the summer.

This painting is one of my current favorites. The piece stands out well even at this small 6x6" size. I actually painted it earlier in the summer but I'm using it for my "cheat" piece for Day 6 of 30in30. 

This piece will make it to my collection of sea turtle ceramic coaster tiles, which have been a big hit at shows.

I wanted to paint a vertical sea turtle painting and tried this pose. What do you think? When I am at outdoor exhibits, people will say "you like sea turtles" and then they turn around and buy something, either a painting, print, or merchandise. Obviously, I'm not the only one who likes sea turtles. This one, and my collection of sea turtles available can be seen on my sea turtle page.