I have been fortunate in recent years to travel a great deal and have some wonderful experiences with fellow artists. As I always have my camera and am gathering reference photos, I have accumulated a great deal. Many have stuck in my head for a painting, a series, a competition....you know what I mean! Anyway, I have been paring down my closets, Christmas decorations, just STUFF!
It feels wonderful to start putting some of those finally down on canvas and getting rid of some of the clutter in my mind. I think the fear of failure is my worst enemy. I am trying to get beyond that and if a painting is a failure, that's okay. It just puts me that much closer to the next good one.
Using the same surface for a number of paintings in a row is also teaching me a thing or two. I am growing in my knowledge of what surfaces work best for me and my statement.
Although I need to go back and tweek a thing or two, not a bad effort for today....
