52 Paintings In 52 Weeks

In the first week of January this year, I decided I was going to paint 52 paintings in 52 weeks.

It wasn't quite that simple though - I wanted to paint every track in Linkin Park's four studio albums, using only black and white paint, and while using the same character in every painting. Why did I set this challenge for myself? At first, it just "seemed like a good idea at the time", but I actually learned a lot about time management and how to finish what I start.

However, there was a slight obstacle to overcome - I'm no painter. Sure, I took art back in high school, but my paintings were really nothing amazing. I had some great visions for each of my paintings, but not quite the skills to pull them off. Throughout this project, there were a lot of good paintings and a lot of not-so-good paintings. Despite this, I think as a body of work, this project is pretty impressive. Today I laid out all the paintings across my floor and took a photo.

Seeing all these paintings made me realize, I dedicated a shit load of my time into this project! Hours and hours of planning and work went into these, and I'm actually proud I followed through with this. I painted one painting a week for a whole year. In the past when I used to paint for leisure, I'd probably paint three or two paintings a year. So, I guess I smashed that record!

This project has left it's mark on me - particularly the fact I have black and white paint everywhere. My favourite jeans are all covered in paint, along with my desk, my camera...and my carpet. Yep, black paint on cream coloured carpet. Not a good look.

So what's next for me? I'm going to focus my energy in my back into my writing, and my new band project. There will be more Graffiti Dragons demos coming in the near future, and yes, my debut novel The Underground will be on the shelves mid 2012, and available for digital download.

Last but not least, I would like to thank those people that have followed me with this project. I hope you have enjoyed watching the evolution of Shadowy Guy, and I hope you continue to follow me with my new projects! Also, thank you to Linkin Park for all the inspiration you guys have given me throughout the years, but also I thank you for not releasing a new album this year. If Linkin Park had released a new album, man, that would have thrown a big curve ball into my 52 paintings in 52 weeks project. Ha!

Have a wonderful new year  : )

- JD