Painting 40

Daily paintings—great concept, people make good money, great warm up, and you learn quickly. So why not paint everyday? I'm sure many artists ask themselves that same question. I would say it's because I have a full-time job, but then there's Qiang Huang who is a master at it and he works as an engineer and he doesn’t let that stop him. I admire him greatly. Another Daily Painter is Carol Marine. She doesn't have to work another job and she has a studio at her home, so she has it made. Both artists live in Austin, my birthplace, and I think that's just cool. When I discovered Carol on the Internet, I was so excited to share her with my studio mates, who were only too quick to remind me that they had been talking about her for years—so much for listening while painting. We discussed hosting a workshop for her, but we were going to have to wait a year to do so and then a workshop in Salado Texas came open and we all signed up. No excuses now, daily paintings are in my future.

 I purchased some melamine cups on Ebay because my grandparent used these at their lake house when I was a tot and I'm a nostalgic guy. I fondly remember being with my grandparent, especially my grandmother who was so sweet, even if she said I was messy behind my back. I was, and still am. The dishes were just a way to hang onto those memories a little longer. Anyway, cups, impending workshop, daily painting. That's how this little 5x7 painting came to be. Painted it from life, and the results were okay, as my quick paintings usually have been, but good practice. (I always say that when a painting doesn’t turn out well. It was good practice!) I never have liked the background color and another issue is the rendering of the inside of the top cup. I just didn't achieve a good result with getting the nice round interior, but it’s never been worth my time to make corrections. I guess because it would no longer be a daily painting. The point is to learn to get it right the first time. 

So begins the daily painting for a while; although, for me, it painting Alla Prima. I’ll never do them daily, but they are finished in one sitting, and I can live up to that expectation. I'll let these other artist pick up my slack.