NaMoPaiMo day twenty one

Today is the last day of the third week of NaMoPaiMo. There are only eight days left in the month.

This is no big deal to the people who've already finished...

photo by Elizabeth Hart

or those who have the end comfortably within their sights.

photo by Melinda Zeh

But for those of us who have just finally got their horse ready for paint,

photo by Candace Anderson

those of us who have just started painting,

photo by Rei Woods

those of us who are battling grain...

photo by Missy Shaw

and those of us who are waiting for oils to dry...

photo by Anne Giles

Well, it's beginning to feel like not enough time.

photo by Corina Roberts

Today, I put a fresh coat of oils on both of my horses. I'm confident that Antara will be finished before the end of the month. I'm happy with her body color, so all that's left is details and fixing a few minor boo-boos.

The same can not be said for my official model, Butterbean. He's close-ish, but he still needs another coat of oils, and at the rate these are drying... I'm not giving up, but it might take a miracle.

Kalianne Ardese is facing a similar realization. She writes: I will not be saying “I did it!” this year, and it took me a little bit to come to terms with that. But between family obligations, an out of state wedding, college classes, battles with my mental health and slow drying oil paints, time just got away from me. I’m now staring down at the last eight days of Namo. Meanwhile my horse only has two coats of oils and needs a third before putting on pigments, not to mention the relatively intricate pinto pattern I chose for him. 

Normally I would be distraught, and there would be a lot of “you couldn’t even manage to finish one horse?” “Why’d you sign up?” because my least favorite thing is failing. But I didn’t fail! And in fact, while I won’t be able to say “I did it!” officially, I have my own personal accomplishments this month. 

I’m a habitual person, so just the fact alone that I changed mediums this month and decided to try something new (that I now love, thanks to Heather’s oils class), is huge for me. It’s opened a gateway into a new world of painting, and I had FUN. 

Aside from that, I WILL be able to finish my unofficial Namo horse as he’s a SM size which I’m much more accustomed to.  I also probably would’ve put off my Levi for a few more months, but now I have to finish him, so that’s a nice plus. 

With all of that said, if you made it to here, thank you for reading. Please remember that even if you don’t finish your pony in time, just attempting is an accomplishment. You’re doing great, I’m proud of you!

As it turns out, I am proud of you, Kallianne. Your model may not make it to the Winners' Circle this year, but you are a winner nonetheless. In fact, you are the NaMoPaiMo Champion of the Day.

Congratulations, Kallianne, and gentle hugs to everyone who is running out of time. Finishing is great, but not finishing is okay, too. Keep working, but be kind to yourself.