Daily Practice- Artist Spotlight: Kerri Fitzpatrick

Kerri Fitzpatrick is an acrylic artist living in Australia. You can find her on Instagram at @kerrifitzpatrickart. Learn more about the #20for20ArtChallenge here.

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 daily practice? What kinds of things were you considering when planning that schedule (time, energy, other obligations?)

I know myself! If I didn't plan to do the daily 20 minutes early in the day, it wouldn't have been done.

I have a busy family life and other commitments. I had to be pretty firm with myself about scheduling and prioritizing the 20 early.

I worked in small format 6x6 inch or 5x7 inch, which I found to be a good size to get a lot done in the limited time frame. I had everything set up the night before including the reference image, canvas paper, stay wet palette and water.

This was the plan but life happens, I had to be flexible and realistic when needed.

I made it okay if things didn’t go as planned, I’d pick up where I could. Some days I only had 20 minutes and other days I had to push the 20 back to the afternoon or evening. The days it did go as planned, where I had it done early, felt so good.

Did you use the 20 as the maximum or the minimum amount of time? How important was that in shaping the scope of your project? How?

I used the 20 as the maximum time…. Mostly.

Keeping to the 20 minutes helped me to get there in the first place. It didn't feel too overwhelming to know it was just 20 minutes.

Having a limited time frame forced my decisions which was a good thing in this situation.

I kept in mind these were practice pieces not paintings, this took some of the pressure off.

I gave myself extra time on a couple of the reference photos I was dreading, which helped to get me started but it didn’t really help the outcome, just prolonged the suffering.

When it’s just 20 minutes, there's a risk in expanding out the time until you’ve “finished a painting” or got something you like enough to share with the world. What is the benefit to you to really hold to the 20 minutes? 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?

Yes there is a risk and I've fallen into that trap before!

I had to be clear with myself the purpose of the 20. For me they were practice/study pieces, and this made it okay in my mind to share as I didn’t hold the expectation of finished work.

Plus, I wanted to show a side to being a painter that I don’t see a lot. There is skill building that goes on behind the scenes and when we don’t see that, it gives a false sense that being a painter is easy.

I had to train myself to stop at 20 and walk away, then come back later with fresh eyes. I was surprised by how much I liked the work and was very glad I stopped.

The benefit for me is the sense of aliveness and freshness that comes from brave quick decisions. It has an excitement to it.

It taught me 20 minutes can be enough to get you in the flow and start to consider new ways to move forward with your next one.

THE PROJECT

What were your specific goals for this 20for20? (Including any parameters you set for yourself.)

My main goal was to use the structure of the challenge to help me build a consistent painting practice.

Second, I wanted to stretch myself as a painter by exploring new subject matter using the reference pack. I knew this would challenge me.

What were you hoping to explore over the course of the 20 days?

I was hoping to explore new subject matter and lean into the awkwardness of my limitations being exposed. I wanted to improve my skills as a painter and find the areas where I could map new skills to build.

You normally paint still life from life but used the Challenge to stretch into very new territory. Was there anything that was useful to remind yourself as you showed up each day from a mindset standpoint?

Yes! I kept reminding myself why I was doing the challenge, to build skills not produce paintings. It was hard at times to separate these. I had to be very mindful when I got frustrated.

With a couple of the reference photos I had to remind myself to stick to the big shapes and if that’s all that gets done that’s good enough.

I also knew I had the support of a couple of online art buddies who would encourage my results no matter how bad I thought they were, this helped.

What did you learn about how you like to work and what you need as a painter through the 20 days?

20 days of reference photos taught me how much I love working from life. I hadn't realized how important this was before the 20. Painting from life energizes me. It’s a back and forth exchange which I did not get from the reference images. This was important information for me and my painting practice moving forward.

At times I felt restricted by the image composition. They were effective compositions, but I felt I wanted to make the decisions. Interesting to notice the insights that came up for me.

Are there any days that jump out as having taught you the most? Which and why?

Day 7 Raspberries. (See above)

I felt restricted and annoyed. It took me a little while to understand why, it was because the photographer had already made the decisions. I didn’t feel part of it.

This taught me how much I enjoy the process of making compositional decisions and deciding what is important for me to capture in the painting.

Day 14 Trees. (See below)

I was a bit overwhelmed trying to get everything into the painting. I felt like I was cramming it all in. This taught me the importance of having clarity about what you want to say with the painting.

You mentioned that working in new territory was helping you build resilience. What do you mean by that and how did the pushing outside your comfort zone help you do that?

My resilience building comes from taking a risk in a new area where I know I have skill limitations.

I practiced facing the uncomfortableness and then reframed the self talk that comes up for me when I’m learning new skills and not liking the result yet. I took what I learned from the day and move onto the next.

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?

If you prefer to paint from life but want to stretch by taking this photo reference challenge try to add in some paintings from life, even quick sketches.

Having everything set up the night before was helpful. I recommend making it as easy as possible for yourself where you can.

Be flexible and kind with the self talk and remember to come back with fresh eyes.

Have fun, it's only paint.

Learn more about Kerri Fitzpatrick here. Learn more about the #20for20ArtChallenge here.