a dress a day

In early 2013, I had fallen into a bit of a rut with my painting. I needed to infuse my work with more love, more whimsy, and more simplicity.

So, because I really wanted to get more comfortable with all of the ways that one can use watercolors, and because I've always LOVED painting dresses (the love goes back years, as you can see here), I decided to paint 1 watercolor dress per day for 100 days. I started on June 10th, 2013, and continued for 100 weekdays, finishing the challenge on November 8th, 2013.

Here are the rules that I set up for myself (because if you're a Type A , OCD list-maker, you like to make up lists of rules):

Daily paintings only took place on weekdays, so that I could still have weekends "off" from everything (mentally).
I posted each day's dress to the blog in the late afternoon/evening, in order to give myself a full day to find the time to paint.
If I was out of town, I did not paint a dress that day, but that day did not count towards the 100 days (obviously).
I could not spend ANY longer than 1 hour per dress. [This was often hard.]

You can read more about the project and see the progression on my blog, here. All of the dresses, organized in the same order in which they were painted, are shown below (click on a thumbnail to enlarge and view gallery).

Each image was painted on 6" x 9" watercolor paper and you can purchase Limited Edition Prints (10 of each dress) and/or the originals in my Etsy shop. All originals that have been sold are marked below.

Thanks for joining me on this colorful, girly adventure! I hope you have as much fun looking at the dresses as I do painting them :)

DRESSES #1-50

Dresses #1-50, in order:

1. Striped Dress from The Loft
2. Wisteria Bridesmaid Dress from David's Bridal (Original SOLD)
3. Red Polka Dot Dress from Goodwill
4. Grey Cover-Up from Forever 21
5. Turquoise Dress from The Loft (Original SOLD)
6. Magenta Figure Skating Dress from Goodwill
7. Little Black Dress by Cynthia Rowley
8. Emerald Dress from H&M
9. Leopard Print Nightie from Victoria's Secret (Original SOLD)
10. Yellow Sundress from NYC Boutique
11. Striped Maxi Dress from The Loft
12. Light Blue Sundress by Neesh
13. Black Sequined Dress from Goodwill
14. White Eyelet Dress from Forever 21 (Original SOLD)
15. Coral Ruffle Dress from The Loft
16. Navy Bridesmaid Dress by Bari Jay
17. Black and Taupe Dress from Target
18. Tan Strapless Dress from Forever 21
19. Orange Ruffled Dress form The Loft
20. White Lace Dress from Macy's
21. Blue Abstract Cover-Up from Zara
22. Brown and Pink Flowered Dress from H&M
23. Black High-Low Dress from Forever 21
24. Green Striped Dress from The Loft
25. Brown Striped Dress from Forever 21

26. Black Keyhole Dress by Esley
27. Pink Negligee from Victoria's Secret
28. Light Yellow Halter Dress from College Graduation (Original SOLD)
29. White & Red Polka Dot Dress from Anthropologie (Original SOLD)
30. Retro Green Dress from Goodwill
31. Black Lace Dress from Express
32. Orange Beach Cover-Up from Forever 21
33. Grey Chiffon Dress from Goodwill
34. Yellow Ochre Sundress from Gap
35. Dark Grey Nightie from Tarjay
36. Bright Blue Flowered Maxi Dress by tfnc
37. Spotted Pastel Dress from Loft
38. Red Sleeveless Wrap Dress by TranquiliT
39. Handmade Bright Green Gown from Goodwill
40. White Slip from Goodwill
41. Tie-Dye Dress from Target
42. Black Jersey Dress from Loft
43. Navy & White Striped Dress from J. Crew
44. Grey Sequined Dress from Forever 21
45. Orange and Black Polka Dot Dress from Anthropologie
46. Flowered Turquoise Housedress from Goodwill
47. Tan Cowl-Neck Dress from Forever 21
48. Patterned Maxi Dress from Target
49. Light Pink Lingerie Jumper from Victoria's Secret
50. Brown and Teal Dress from Target

DRESSES #51-100

Dresses #51-100, in order:

51. White Tank Dress from American Apparel (Original SOLD)
52. Striped Black Dress from H&M
53. Jade Dot Dress from Anthropologie (Original SOLD)
54. Bubble Skirt Nightie from Victoria's Secret
55. Black and Grey Circle Dress from H&M
56. Bright Green Strapless Dress from J. Crew
57. Light Blue and Orange Bird Dress from 3 Sisters Boutique (Original SOLD)
58. Red One-Shoulder Dress by Max & Cleo
59. Black and White Polka Dot Dress from Ann Taylor (Original SOLD)
60. Lavender Ruffle Dress by BCBG (Original SOLD)
61. Cream and Red Dress from Anthropologie (Original SOLD)
62. Royal Blue Striped Dress by Elle
63. Silky Taupe Dress from Banana Republic
64. Grey Flowered Dress by Miss Me
65. Red and Pink Flowered Halter Dress
66. White Stretch Sheath Dress from Express (Original SOLD)
67. Black Tweed Dress from Banana Republic (Original SOLD)
68. Red Sunburst Dress from Banana Republic (Original SOLD)
69. Jean Shirt Dress from Forever 21
70. White Dress with Black Polka Dots, Handmade (Original SOLD)
71. Black, Turquoise, and White Dress from Macy's
72. Grey and Navy Nightie from Target
73. Coral Dot Dress from Banana Republic (Original SOLD)
74. Black Sequined Halter Dress from Forever 21
75. Gold 70's Dress from Goodwill

76. Blue Ikat Dress from Loft
77. Pink and Navy Dress from Forever 21
78. Taupe Nightie by Calvin Klein
79. Sheer, Sleeved Dress from Tarjay
80. White Dress with Turquoise Details from Loft
81. Black Frilly-Collared Dress from Loft
82. Multicolored Dress by Aqua
83. Short Trapeze Dress from Forever 21
84. White and Peach Abstract Dress from Loft
85. Blue and Black Wrap Dress from Banana Republic
86. Black Sundress from Gap
87. Striped and Patterned Dress by Aqua
88. Flowered Dress by Eight Sixty
89. Black and White Halter Dress from H&M
90. Striped Mustard Yellow Dress from The Limited
91. Bohemian Maxi Dress by Angie
92. Handmade Paper Dress by Whitley
93. Light Pink Maxi Dress made in Nigeria
94. Orange and White Dress from The Limited
95. Empress Garden Dress from Anthropologie
96. Rust Paisley Dress by Venezia Jeans Clothing Co. (Original SOLD)
97. Black & White Chevron Dress by LeifNotes
98. Yellow Shirt Dress from Anthropologie (Original SOLD)
99. Handmade Vintage Dress (Made by a Reader's Grandmother) (Original SOLD)
100. "Gull Wing" Striped Dress by Savory (from Anthropologie)