Day 22

A quick pastel of a marsh in the settlement of Pretty Marsh, but I don't think it is Pretty Marsh.

On my Christmas List will be a proper pastel box. I have several sets, (and one more on the way) all still in their boxes and it is impossible to paint this way. I need to separate them by six different values, and then those from cool to warm. Aside from the new set of pastels, I have some Wallis paper coming too!

Just sorting them properly will be educational, and will require my brain to work hard. Artists that use pastel have the most amazing collection of colors, I can't wait to get started on mine.

Day 21, Marsh near Thomas Bay

Finally a watercolor that looks like, well, a watercolor!

So, it has been three weeks and I have learned a lot, mostly about myself. That voice that whispers, "what are you thinking, you can't do this", is still there, but she has my attention for shorter periods. Some things I have posted have been rough for me to share, but I did it. I realize now that when I did one of those "bloopers" before, I would just give up and stop painting. This commitment is helping me work through the rough times.

Day 20

Another portrait of Lilly. I intended to do a wash over this, then decided that I should just stop and not overwork it....so it is technically a drawing, not a painting. It is a good thing I make the rules.

Day 19

This is my second try with this goat, a little overworked but better than the first! Goats are very cute, and I will learn to capture that. Someone said that drawing is the ultimate learning experience, and I agree. You have to really understand how something is put together to represent it properly. I will have to spend some time with real goats to understand those feet.

Happily one of my favorite art supply stores sent a Holiday Sale Catalog today, I started out by making a Christmas List for my holiday wishes, and ended up ordering some things I can't wait for. I will be tracking that package!

Day 18

A camp on Webb Lake that caught my eye during yesterday's walk.

My studio is slowly getting organized, and I have been painting 2 to 4 hours a day since I started this project....much better than the 2 to 4 hours a week I was managing. It seemed like when I finally had a chance to paint, I would go to my studio and need to sweep and organize before I could create, and by the time the cleaning was done, my creative energy was gone. Now I can walk in and get to work anytime. I am using up all the lesser quality supplies I have stashed, and will only replace with the best I can afford. Yesterday's painting claimed a fan brush, all of a sudden my work area was covered in hair, then the ferule just gave up the rest in one big chunk.

Day 17

This is a scene from our Sunday morning walk, Parlin Brook here in Weld. I am finally getting a little looser, I think it is because I have been doing still life. All that painting between the lines makes me feel a bit like a rebel I guess!

The leaves are almost all on the ground now, soon all those crazy Fall colors will fade away.

Day 16

The box is working well, but still needs to be painted inside...I must figure out how to add cloth to spice things up.