The What
To paint a series of Looney Tunes backgrounds.
The Why
I really enjoy painting, but I don't make the time to do it enough. The last painting I made was just over a year ago. The one before that was the year before. In the spirit of my monthly projects, I threw "painting" on the list of options not really sure what the focus would be. And there are fewer things that terrify me more in this life than the proverbial blank page/canvas.
So I needed a focus.
Nearly every Saturday afternoon, my man-friend and I frequent a bar in downtown Chicago where we enjoy beers, burgers and heckling our favorite bartender. It's become somewhat of a tradition that the bartender will change the channel on the television at the far end of the bar to show cartoons, simply for our viewing pleasure. So the two of us will sit there for a couple of hours, indulging via our stomachs as well as our eyes.
A couple of months ago, man-friend and I were discussing the artwork that goes into cartoons and he introduced me to an Instagram account that features posts of Looney Tunes backgrounds, sans the characters.
I. Love. It.
I decided that "at some point," I was going to paint one or two of these backgrounds to have hanging in my house. But it's very difficult to pick just one or two backgrounds. There are so many beautiful choices.
And I guess that's the lightbulb of the whole thing. Why do something "at some point," when March was calling!
How It's Going
It's going well! It's March 6th and I've already completed two canvases. I'm energized about the project, inspired by the art, and quite frankly, simply can't wait to keep going.
I felt so accomplished after having completed the first one (the classic "That's All Folks!" background). The part that keeps hitting me with all of this is that I could have gone the whole month or year even having not picked up a paintbrush. The total number of paintings in 2023 could have been zero.
But now, it's two. So far!
I had been afraid that if I chose "painting" for the month, I'd quickly run out of steam or get frustrated, but having this taste of success under my belt, even if the rest of the month sucks (which it totally won't), the whole thing has already been a massive win in my book.