Farm Geese, Art Tip # 10

" Going Places "

Day 2

Oil

I sure felt rusty today, getting back to painting. But, like always, I just needed to focus and it didn't take long to make some progress. At least I completed the rough in of the two geese in shadow.

You can see my premixed palette. The oils were just fine after being ignored for these past few days while I recovered from a head cold. Tomorrow I hope to have all the geese blocked in!

Art Tip # 10: Nine out of ten paintings usually reach a mid point where I always have the feeling it isn't going to work and I begin to doubt myself. I call this "the ugly stage" because experience has taught me that it only means the painting isn't done and I need to keep going. Usually it doesn't take too much more to bring it to a completion. Now, I have also experienced getting to "the ugly stage" and can't think what to do next or I've lost interest. That's when I put the painting aside and come back later, sometimes weeks or months or even years later with a fresh eye. Oh, by the way, the 10% that I do finish without doubting mysef painted themselves..someone recently gave credit for this phenomenon to the "paint fairies". I always say the paint just fell off the brush and landed in all the right spots!