Daily Practice - Artist Spotlight: Juli Luckett
Juli Luckett is an acrylic painter living in the USA. After trying a past #20for20 and not making it very far, she changed her approach and learned some really powerful lessons for helping her build a daily art practice.
Learn more about Juli Luckett here.
(Click to the image to see Luckett’s finished piece on Instagram. )
About the Series: The #20for20ArtChallenge inspires artist to commit to 20 minutes a day for 20 days to jumpstart a daily art practice. See how past participants have set up their 20 days and discover pieces of insights for designing your own daily art practice.
How did you decide where in your day to put your 20? Could you talk about some of your considerations there and how it ended up working?
My daily schedule varies greatly with my full-time job, so I knew if I was going to be successful with the #20for20 challenge, I needed to choose a time when I knew I could be consistent most days.
I ended up choosing to get up 30 minutes earlier and heading straight to my studio upon rising. On days I knew I had an early morning obligation, I simply blocked off my 20-minute window in the evening after dinner.
I thought it would be really tough to change my morning routine cold turkey, however, I was pleasantly surprised that my excitement to get into the studio first thing each morning grew each day. I found myself laying in bed at night planning out in my mind how I would approach my 20 minutes of painting.
This time frame ended up working out so well, that I have continued to rise early to paint not every day, but most days. It’s a new habit that has transformed my art practice and brought a lot of joy into my life.
You held to the 20minute time frame. Did holding to it teach you anything that you would have missed if you’d allowed yourself to go as long as you needed to fully finish a painting?
Holding to the 20 minutes truly forces you to focus and develop a roadmap in the painting that you can easily pick up on and continue at a later time.
I was way more intentional about laying in my dark values, mixing good first-layer colors, and using good brushstrokes. There is also great value in stopping at the 20-minute mark and picking back up later, as you are able to see with fresh eyes if your initial roadmap worked, or if it needs tweaked before moving forward in the painting.
MATERIALS
How and where did you keep your materials the same? How much did keeping your materials the same benefit the challenge but also a daily practice?
For the most part during the #20for20 challenge I worked on 6 x 6 or 5 x 7 canvases/canvas panels, used a limited acrylic paint palette on a stay-wet palette, and the same 4-5 brushes.
Keeping these materials consistent definitely helped me to approach my painting time in a similar manner each day. I didn’t have to process what colors to put on my palette, what size brushes I needed, etc. Each day of my painting practice grew easier and more routine.
You ended up getting into a kind of rhythm with your materials prep each day. Could you talk to us about that and how did it help you show up each day?
Every weekend I would prime all my canvases or panels so that I would have enough ready for the upcoming week.
My rhythm each day actually began the evening before when I would draw or in some instances trace my reference photo onto the canvas. Having the drawing part down gave me the ability to dive right into the painting process each morning.
Because the drawing was done ahead of time, my mind would dance the rest of the evening with ideas and anticipation of adding the paint the next day. I believe that helped to spark excitement in me and helped me to show up even on days when I was exhausted or felt foggy in the morning.
You worked from your own references. Did you plan them in advance or find them day of? How well did that work (or not work)?
I chose to work from my own references, not that I disliked the ones provided by you to use, but because I didn’t want to sabotage myself by comparing my painting skills to others.
The week before the challenge, I began collecting reference photos from the Free Reference Photos for Artists Facebook Group, Unsplash, and Pixabay, and taking my own reference photos to use and saving them all in a Google Drive folder.
I planned my paintings out in advance so I knew what size canvas I would use. Having a variety of reference photos at my disposal made the process so much easier as in the past, I would really struggle with what to paint and get stuck there.
I don’t have space right now in my studio to set up a true still life, so painting from reference photos works best for me.
PROJECT
What benefits did you find working daily even if not for a long time?
I found that working daily gave me the opportunity to grow in several areas of my art practice. I noticed my color mixing became easier, my ability to see the darker values sharpened, and I learned what size brushes work best for confident brushstrokes. I also found my ability to problem solve became quicker because I was now used to overcoming obstacles daily.
The daily painting also takes away the preciousness we can feel about a particular painting. If what I accomplished on the canvas today didn’t seem to work, there is always tomorrow where I can fix what went wrong, or simply start over.
This was a game-changer for me. It was easy to find joy in what I was doing at the moment instead of stressing about the finished project.
When I painted for 20 minutes, I didn’t spend the time questioning what I was doing. Instead I just lost myself in the process. I set my 20-minute timer and just dove in. I was amazed most days at what I was able to accomplish in 20 minutes.
Any days jump out as having aha moments? Could you share what those were?
On Day 15, (see above) I painted watermelon slices on a plate from a reference photo provided by @veryberrydraws. I felt I had turned a corner by laying in my values as an underpainting, as at the 20-minute mark, the painting already had so much depth.
I have since worked on this painting and I have been able to retain these awesome values. I have also learned to be patient, as prior to the challenge I would have rushed to finish, however, I have been working on it over the past month, just a little at a time.
What benefits did you find in shifting your focus to showing up first and finish work second? How did that change your relationship to your practice?
This paradigm shift of showing up for 20 minutes gave me the ability to overcome my excuses for not showing up at all.
It also freed me from the expectation of completing a painting in one session. Now, instead of pressing in for 2 straight hours to complete a painting, I have slowed down and I choose to paint in smaller batches of time.
Also because of the challenge, I have 20+ already started paintings to work on when I go into my studio. I no longer feel the pressure to get things done in a rapid fashion, which allows me to really relax and enjoy the process.
ADVICE
If someone wanted to follow your lead and do this specific Challenge, any advice for them about what you’d change or what you’d make sure to not change? Why?
I waited until the week before the challenge to order canvases and had difficulty finding what I wanted. For time's sake, I used a combination of 6 x 6 and 5 x 7 canvas panels and some regular 6 x 6 canvases I had on hand. Sticking with the same size canvas and surface would simplify prep time and make reference photo choices easier.
I would recommend signing up for an art buddy group. I looked forward each day to seeing what my buddies had been up to and seeing their work on Instagram. It was very encouraging and also great to have their feedback daily. I still follow all my buddies and continue to encourage them in their art practice.
Putting the 5-10 minutes of prep time in (either on the weekend or evenings) really set me up for success. It was a game-changer in giving me the ability to pick up the paintbrush right away. Having that sketched-out canvas already sitting on my easel was very motivating and inspired me to set the timer and dive in.
What was the most helpful mindset for you to try and keep during the 20for20? Was there anything that was useful to remind yourself as you showed up each day? What was that and why?
I participated in the Winter 2023 #20for20 challenge and wasn’t very successful because I wasn’t prepared to paint each day and spent most of my 20 minutes getting set up to paint. If I painted 5 days during that entire challenge I would be surprised.
This time around, I made the determination to do what it would take to complete the challenge. After listening to the mini-series of podcast episodes on how to prep for the #20for20 spring challenge, I took your advice in setting goals, prepping materials, and determining my action plan.
Each day, even on some very tough days, I pushed through and showed up. I reminded myself each day that I had a goal, I had a plan to follow, and because of my prep work, I had 20 minutes of productivity in my studio.
I found that as I fell into a routine, it became easier and easier to fight off excuses and overcome any fears. Do I have 20 completed paintings a month later? No, but I do have eight of my #20for20 challenge paintings complete, and five more that are close to being complete.
This challenge has completely changed my approach to my art practice, and I am excited to see all that I am able to accomplish this year 20 minutes at a time.
Learn more about Juli Luckett here. Learn more about the #20for20ArtChallenge here.