Before I lose you altogether, at least hear me out, okay? Painting is a learned skill, meaning you can learn to do it and get better and better as you practice.  Even just a couple of years ago, if you had asked me to paint an apple on a canvas with oil paints, I would’ve laughed and told you I could never do that.  I’ve never been confident in my drawing abilities and I’ve never thought of myself as a “fine art” sort of person.  You might want me on your team in a game of Pictionary, but the drawing talent stops there. A large part of the problem was that I was looking at art produced by people who had been painting for years or decades and thinking my first works had to look as good as theirs or I had no talent for it.  That’s just ridiculous!  We

If you follow my on Instagram, you know I have started my next art challenge!  I am much more focused when I have a challenge before me, so when the 100 meadows project ended, I needed a new one.  I initially thought I would paint faces/portraits, but I realized I would be painting off of photographs again and, after painting 100 landscapes from photographs, I was starting to see (and experience) the issues and limitations that come with painting with a 2D image.  This led me to still life.  I can set up a scene in my studio, control the light, look at it, and paint it. Here are the first twenty paintings in the series… (The ones that have a “buy here” link underneath are for sale via auction.  The rest have already sold or have not been listed yet.) No. One I knew the benefits of painting a

I have had mixed feelings about selling my paintings from the 100 Meadows Project.  I knew I would be embarrassed by some of them.  Many of them.  Would I regret sending them out into the world?  Would I regret that my “practice” is hung on someone’s wall? I haven’t found a definitive answer to that question, but, while I may someday regret it, I am glad I sold them.  Yep.  Gladness and regret mingling in oxymoronic fashion. It made me think back to the first few years of my business and I realized that I’ve been selling services and created goods while refining my craft all along.  Even as I was just learning to paint murals, I sold them to people.  My early upholstery pieces, with all of their puckers and imperfections, were sold.  As I was learning which paints and stains and finishes I liked, all of those guinea

Well, the 100 meadows project has come to an end!  When I first started, I didn’t think there was any way I would make it to 100.  It’s not that I doubted my ability to discipline myself to do it, but I know that I can be easily distracted by other things that are more interesting or exciting to me and I will abandon something else to pursue them. But, I have found that oil paints have captured and claimed a piece of my creative soul and I cannot help but nurture it. I also realized when I was about 30 paintings in, that this was a gift I was giving to myself.  Every time I set aside a part of the day to create with my paints, it was nourishing.  That didn’t mean I always created something I loved or I felt like I improved with every painting. There

When I made the half-hearted commitment to paint 100 meadows, I didn’t think I would make it this far.  I was planning on not making it this far.  But, this challenge has been a surprise and a gift.  I never expected to see this much progress or to experience this much growth.  I didn’t know I would start to feel at home in front of an easel and working with oils, a medium that was so foreign and intimidating, would become a preference. Above all, it’s shown me that artistic ability, which most of us stand back and watch people who possess it with some element of wonder and envy, can be learned, practiced, and improved.  Seeing that truth play out at the end of my own brush has encouraged me to challenge myself even further and not shy away from subjects that intimidate me. I hope some of you

I can’t believe I’ve made it over the halfway mark in the #100meadows project!  When I started, I was pretty sure that I wouldn’t even make it this far, but now it looks like I will easily reach 100 and beyond.  I’m already thinking about what my next art challenge will be! I still have a lot to learn, but it’s so encouraging to see how much improvement I’ve made just by daily discipline, practice, and reading up on oil landscape painting. As usual, I’ll share each painting, some of my notes on them, as well as the inspiration picture. No. 41 I was excited about painting another barn, but the shape and color of this barn had me a little apprehensive.  I like how the sky turned out and the overall color and composition, but this one ended up lacking value and depth, so it looks a little flat. 

Well, I’ve been sticking with the 100 meadows project and I do believe that I will make it to 100!  I am almost halfway there and I found myself getting emotional when I completed #40.  I have grown so much and learned so much.  This has been such a worthwhile artistic undertaking on so many levels and it has pushed me to explore oils and practice them almost daily. If you’d like to see my progress from the beginning, you can check out 1-20 HERE. I’ve also shared about the 100 Meadows Project HERE and what I’ve learned so far about working with oils in PART 1 and PART 2. In this post, I’m sharing paintings 21-40… My second group of 20 was kicked off with a yellow-flower-filled meadow in Switzerland.  I struggled on the tree and the composition of this one, but I was enjoying skies more and I

I shared all about the paints, brushes, and painting surfaces I’m using in PART ONE of this series following my oil painting journey.  The post was getting really long, so I split it into two posts.  I would suggest reading the first one, if you haven’t, so you hear the story behind this journey.  I also want to restate that I am new to oils, so I’m just sharing what I’m doing and take it with a grain of salt.  I hope that I communicate – If I can do it, you can do it.   And I don’t mean that we’re going to be good all the time!  But we can have fun learning and expanding our horizons. So, let me share about inspiration… I am regularly sucked down the rabbit hole of oil painting tutorials on You Tube, painting blogs, forums, etc. and I’ve picked up a lot just