Paint-a-Thon/Paint4TheCure recap!

It's been just over a week and a half since my "Paint-a-Thon/Paint4TheCure"! I've been laying low for a little while, for several different reasons...partly because the "Paint-a-Thon" was an intense experience and I needed a little time to process everything, partly because I needed to catch up with all of the work I'd been putting off...and, hello- Christmas is tomorrow! What?!? Well, here's my recap of the day...

Where it all happened! Photo by Keith Spiro

Masking tape is a fun medium! Photo by Keith Spiro

I started at 10 am as planned. The front window of the Mix proved to be a supportive, wonderful place to paint! Thank you, Jill, for allowing me to be there all day long and to take over the music as well. The soundtrack of the day consisted of Iron & Wine, Chris Robinson Brotherhood, Tom Petty, Phish, Gin Wigmore, and New Earth Mud, plus a two-hour set of live music in the middle of the day from Kathleen McGee, who was wonderful. The eight hours flew by, and I was really in a zone. I only stopped to use the ladies' room, and most conversations I had included me saying, "I hope you don't mind if I don't look at you while we talk!"

Work in progress! Photo by Keith Spiro

I went through all of the ups and downs I typically experience while working on a painting. Usually these feelings are spaced out over days, weeks, or sometimes even months, but not this time. It was a day-long roller coaster ride: "Here's my idea, I know what I'm going to do." "This is going along well. I feel good about what I've done so far, and I've got plenty of time to finish. Maybe I'll even be done early!" "Hmm...wait a minute. Am I going to be able to do this?" "Holy cow, one o'clock already? I need to get the lead out!" "Three o'clock? Uh oh." "What the hell was I thinking?" "There's no way I'm going to finish this on time!" "Wait- I think it's happening!" "Yes! Yes! It's finished!" Sure enough, just before 6pm, I was signing my name in the lower-right hand corner of the 8" x 8" canvas. I felt punch-drunk, slightly dazed, and buzzing with adrenaline. In other words, it was kind of awesome. Then it was time to pull the winning ticket! Here's a video of the moment of truth (including the finished painting!): https://katch.me/KeithSpiro/v/22a3e361-030f-3d5a-9fb2-b38659f4f43c. After that, it was time for a celebratory mojito at El Camino!


Thanks to the help of so many people, my "Paint-a-Thon" was a success! Keith Spiro was with me all day long, taking photos, shooting video, and promoting, promoting, promoting. He was working directly with the folks from Carii, coordinating the online raffle ticket sales through the community page he created, Brushstrokes With Impact By Maria. Speaking of Carii, major thanks to the folks at Carii for donating the programmers and space to make this community appear overnight to help with this project...can you imagine? My head is spinning just thinking about it! Special thanks to Dave Bjork, Cancer Research Evangelist, for his support of this #Paint4TheCure project (and for not minding that I altered your Play4TheCure banners)! I feel like I can't say "thank you" enough for all of the support I received throughout my "Paint-a-Thon"! I am grateful for everyone who stopped by to say hello and give me a hug, to everyone who bought a raffle ticket, to everyone who shared or promoted this event in any way, and to everyone who sent loving thoughts my way via social media, text, or brainwaves. Know that you are truly appreciated...it really means a lot, and I will always remember your kindness. You guys are a regular dream team! No thank you list would be complete without my ever-patient husband, Terry, who puts up with my mania on a daily basis and loves me just the same. 


So...what's next? Well, I've got another "Paint-a-Thon" up my sleeve for January! I will release details later (including the date, the venue, and the cause), but if you'd like to be in the know, I invite you to join my Carii community page, Brushstrokes With Impact By Maria! It's free, and there are no advertisements. Plus, you can see all of Keith's posts from that day, including more photos and video. I hope to see you there! In the meantime, I hope everyone reading this has an awesome holiday!!!