This is a hint of what is coming, I hope.

A sketch to work on to a painting. One of my biggest challenges is foliage, plants and nature for some reason just never look right from me. It’s not that is it bad per say, but it is just blah. Looks like bad art from a motel. Not even Bob Ross would approve. So I am working with flower studies now. This one I hope to get some nice contrast from (if you look through my flickr you might find the photo I took of this daisy so help you see where I got my inspiration from)

So I am challenging myself to break out of the box and paint this flower (these flowers). I feel that the only way I can grow as an artist is to do what is challenging. I feel that is the way to live life. If everything is easy, then it is plain old boring. I don’t want boring, I want excitement, even with my creations.

So as it is 3am and the clock is ticking later and later I am resisting every urge I have to go down to the basement and start putting paint to canvas. It feels weird to half my creating, but me working till mid morning isn’t going to help much. I should go to bed, sleep, wake up, make my work calls and then get down in the basement.

On a side note, the last painting I did, the one I did over three weeks ago still isn’t dry. I don’t get it, I used the same paint as the one I did that dried in a week. I didn’t use linseed oil or anything on this one, so why is it taking so long to dry? It irks me because it is small enough I can carry it on the plan and I would like to do this and hand deliver it to the person I painted it for as she will be in Florida when I am. So dry you painting, dry! :)