Day 1 of the 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge

Happy New Year to everyone. I hope 2015 will be your best yet.

Today it is cold and snowing in Colorado. The perfect day to snuggle in and paint my first painting in this 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge.

Over the years, I have acquired quite a collection of paint tubes from all of the different classes I've taken. Unfortunately, many of them are either brands or colors that I didn't really like.  So now seemed the perfect time to "clean house."

Now that I am doing mostly batik watercolors, I have found that I really enjoy using Daniel Smith brand watercolors, especially their transparent colors.

So in the last month, I started collecting all new paint, mostly Daniel Smith brand with a couple special Ametican Journey colors from Cheap Joe's.

The first thing I decided to do was create two inch square color swatches of all of my new tubes of paint.

Here's what they look like:

Then it was time to paint!  Day 1's painting is a subject dear to my heart - Pikes Peak and Garden of the Gods.  In keeping with my theme for the challenge, this "Small Gem" painting is 4" x 10".  Hope you like it!