Feb 8

I am "sending myself back to school". No it is not school in the physical sense, instead it is focused self study and daily practice. My goal is to take my art to the next level. Due to being involved in our family business I have been away from my art for several months.
Now that I am able to get back in the swing of things, it is the right time to explore, experiment and practice.

My plan is to spend 4 hours per day studying and painting. My stash of art books puts most libraries to shame as I have done my part through the years to stimulate the art instruction economy. That source plus information on the web, should give me plenty of information. I might even get out the notes from various seminars I've taken or watch one of the many art instruction videos I own.

Most, if not all of the works shown on this blog will be done from life. Having been a slave to photo references for many years, painting from life gets me out of my comfort zone. Regardless of whether it is good, bad or ugly, I will post the day's efforts and a word or two about what I learned.
This act of posting all works, should spur me to constantly improve. Let's hope so!!! I hate to embarrass myself! From what I read and have experienced in the past, when trying new things one can expect to get worse before they get better. That is part of the learning curve. I sure hope it works!!

So with that in mind..... my two pieces from yesterday and one today.
Saturday's work Apple and Cosmetic Jar. It was so bad, I decided to repeat today. Apparently I didn't improve much, as they both are equally bad!

I tend to be very chintzy when it comes to applying paint. That stems from my training as a decorative artist. I'm striving to improve, but canvas grain showson both of the cosmetic jars. Even if they were done on cheap canvas boards, that is no excuse. USE MORE PAINT!!