The painting process

For more years than I care to think about I’ve been blocked with painting.  For a long time I was frozen in indecision over the subject matter.  I couldn’t think what would be a worthwhile subject for a painting.  A few years ago I started doing abstract paintings and that helped for a while.  But since we've been in Mexico and I have some free time to fill I’ve had kind of a breakthrough.  By thinking of myself not as an artist but as a student I can paint just about anything I feel like, because it’s all just for learning and practice. This has been really freeing for me.  Now I can take a look at the photos I’ve taken and decide to try to paint one.  If I don’t like the result I can try again.  Or abandon it and choose something else.

Since I started doing water colours with Peggy in mid-December I’ve done several paintings.  Peggy has a saying:  It’s just a piece of paper.  And that helps me remember that I’m still learning… and always will be. Now I have a couple of completed paintings here and a couple more that are in process.  And I’m still having fun.

Yesterday I got my sister set up to paint a rooster and she’s having fun too.  She says she never thought she could paint but she's also discovering that it’s not such a big deal.

Tomorrow I’m going back to the oil painting group that I went to last Friday and I’m going to try to paint this image,

which I found in a pile of papers at Berthe, the teacher's place.  I hope I’ve chosen something that will allow me to have some success.  But even if I don’t I will have learned something about oil painting.  It’s the process not the product.  I get it now!