First Birthday Cupcake - Daily Painting A Day by Darren Maurer

6" x 8"

This is slightly late but not by much. Today, March 28, 2007, is exactly one year to the day that I started my Painting A Day blog. At that time I decided to try and paint one small oil painting everyday and have fun with it. I found out that the pressure of getting one done everyday wasn't fun and I didn't want the quality of the work to suffer so I switched gears and changed the rules. Now I paint them on a very regular basis but don't complete one everyday. I didn't miss very many days at the easel during the past year and this is 145th small oil painting I have finished. I still had the normal work load and commission paintings to keep up with also. My main motivation for starting this blog and painting wasn't and still isn't to sell the paintings. I wanted to stretch my ability and be a better painter. I think I have made progress and plan to keep moving forward and continue learning with each new piece. It has been fun seeing who buys the paintings and where they are from. Out of the 145 paintings I was fortunate enough to have sold 105 of them. It always amazes me which paintings appeal to people and which ones don't get as much attention. I still say some of the best ones are still available.

I have met so many new friends, both artists and art collectors that I can't even begin to name them all. I have had galleries and people wanting commission paintings contact me that would have never known that I existed before. I have shipped paintings to collectors in Europe and Asia and to almost every state in America. Overall it has been an extremely fun and productive year and I'm looking forward to the next one. There are so many more ideas and compositions to create and friends that I haven't met yet.

This painting is a cupcake with one lit candle in it. I used a dark background to make the flame stand out. A happy birthday painting for my blog. This is painting 145 in my Painting A Day Series. Painting Sold. (Click Here to See Auction Results)