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101 artworks in 101 days – mission accomplished!


Falling Apart, monoprint made with acrylic paint and oil paint on bristol paper.
Size: just a little under A4 (approx. 8 x 11 inch).

Woohoo, I did it! On June 1st I took the challenge to create 101 artworks in 101 days, and today on day 101 I finished it!! *doing a little victory dance*

It’s been quite an adventure. Before I started this challenge I thought it could be a great way to help me loosen up my creative process, to build my portfolio, to let my own style emerge and to have fun with like-minded people who are doing the same challenge. I also wanted to blog about my experiences on a regular basis to share my journey.

Looking back now I think that all these goals have been realized. My creative process certainly loosened up. I was ‘forced’ to make new artworks regularly and put them online, and so there was no place for my inner critic to decide whether or not they were ‘worthy’ enough to show to other people. The beauty is that I got so many positive comments, over and over again, that I now feel a lot more free to just show my work.

I also definitely have expanded my portfolio! When I started the challenge I had given myself the possibility to also make small, fast artworks, such as scribbling and doodling drawings, if I wouldn’t have enough time to create bigger pieces. But during the challenge I felt that I just loved to create and didn’t want to just scribble something. And so almost all artworks are the real deal, pieces that I spent some serious time on creating them.

I started out making a number of paintings which would later become the Nightscapes series. These fourteen paintings in blue and red colors have a kind of dreamy, mystical atmosphere. The process of creating these paintings was one continuous inner exploration, an inquiry process, of learning to listen to my ‘inner voice’, finding out what wanted to be painted, how I should paint it, which symbols to use. Just learning to follow the flow during the painting process, letting go of things if they weren’t applicable any more and being open to take new steps.

In that same period I got the flu, so when I felt better I created five pen drawings, quicker artworks which I called ‘catch up doodles from the couch’, just to not get too far behind. These are the only artworks that are done faster and more ‘scribbly’, so to say, but I like them anyway:

Then it was time for something else. I wanted to try other techniques and colors, and so I created eight artworks that were made with collage, different colors and a lot of texture:

And then it got silent on my blog. For almost three weeks I didn’t create any new work, and was almost invisible on social media and the internet. Behind the scenes though I was working like crazy on a new project. Since I was posting so many new artworks on a regular basis, more and more people started following my adventures on my blog and on Facebook, and more and more people got interested in buying my art. So I decided to open an online shop. In these three weeks I learned all I could about how to build my own shop, which I opened on July 14th.

In that same period I also participated in a so called blog hop. I was asked to write a blog post on my own blog answering several art related questions. This was a great opportunity for me to reflect on my art and my creative process and write about it. You can read the article I wrote here.

It certainly wasn’t always easy to continue with the challenge. There were definitely times that I felt the pressure of having to ‘produce’ artworks, of not wanting to fall behind. The challenge had brought me so many positive things, that I didn’t want to give up and also didn’t want to take any easy way out, making only quick, small pieces. The period that I created my online shop was so busy and intense that I wasn’t able to create any artworks (except for the shop itself, which in a way was an artwork too! 😉 ) and so I had to find a way to catch up. However, I also wanted to keep making real artworks and not produce something just for the sake of catching up. I started out by creating drawings on a smaller scale than I was working on until now:

But then I remembered that a while ago I had bought a gelli plate and started to create monoprints. Monoprinting has nothing to do with printing on a digital printer, but is a technique where the artist uses paint or inks on a plate to create unique, one-of-a-kind, handmade prints. You can use various types of printing plates to make monoprints, such as glass or gelatin plates, but I use a gelli plate.

And that’s the technique I used to make all the remaining artworks for the challenge. I love making monoprints! It’s an intriguing mixture of mastering the techniques, while at the same time there is always an element of surprise when you lift up the paper and see what the result is. I make my monoprints with many layers of acrylic paint and then on top I often add details with oil paint, marker, pencil and dye inks. All in all I created seventy-one monoprints for the challenge, so I will show them below at the end of this post.

It was amazing the response I got on my monoprints. I got featured on the Facebook page of Gelli Arts, the makers of the gelli plate, which lead to many new people liking and commenting my work on my blog, on my Facebook page and on Pinterest. Many people also asked if I could make a tutorial or even an online course to teach the techniques I use for my monoprints. I would love to do that, so this is definitely a new development that I am looking into. If you are interested in such a tutorial or course, you can subscribe to my newsletter and I will keep you posted on any new developments.

So that’s where I am at now. I expanded my portfolio, I explored new techniques, I opened my online shop, I wrote a lot about my art and my creative process. And most important of all: I got to connect with many, many people, made new friends, and felt an amazingly huge support for me and my art journey online. Many thanks to Stephanie Cant who took the initiative for this challenge, my online art buddies of Art 101 who are also participating in this challenge, and everyone who liked my artworks on Facebook, who gave me feedback, support and positive comments online and in real life. And last but not least thanks to the people who are buying my original artworks and reproductions in my shop. I feel truly blessed!

And now?

Now I will just continue as I did the last couple of months. 🙂 It’s good that the pressure of having to make a certain number of artworks in a certain period is now off my shoulders, but I will definitely continue to make art and write about it on my blog and other social media. I will continue to make my artworks available for purchase in my online shop. I will explore making tutorials and online videos to show my techniques. Lots of things on my to do list! I really feel that this challenge has opened new doors and created many new opportunities for me. If you want to keep following me, you can subscribe to my newsletter.

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This Post Has 9 Comments
  1. I love, love , love your work, I hope you will offer an on line gelli printing class. I cannot get enough of playing with the gelli plate. Jinx Engstrom

    1. Thanks so much Jinx! Makes me really happy to hear! I am in the process of learning to make videos and such, so I can make online videos and perhaps a course as well in the future. If you’d like to keep up in touch you can sign up for my newsletter and you will know the latest developments.

  2. I have only known you for a few weeks….from the Gelli Enthiusiasts Facebook page, but your work has inspired me and has influenced a major change in my approach as I try to use the gelli plate. I am now even more impressed with your work as I see the progression in your work, both on the gelli plate and as it relates to your painting. Thank you….and keep working!

    1. Wow, you can’t imagine how happy your comment makes me! Thanks so much for your support, Marcia. Love to see your prints too, especially the ones with the chairs!

  3. Well done Juna, great to ‘meet’ you on Art101. Love your work, those prints are a real inspiration to me – I have a new larger gelli plate en route, hope I can create something close to as good.

    1. Thanks so much, Lynda! I look forward to seeing your large prints! I too have a large one now, but haven’t used it yet. Curious to see how that will go! Keep me posted!

  4. Congratulations!!!! What beautiful collection of art works came out of it…. and also, I like to mention, your interesting and well written blog posts are fun to read…. All in all a succesfull project!

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