Oils

My May goal was to start painting with the oils I bought over a month ago. New medium. New start. I am working with old subject matter--my dancing daughter. It is too early to say that I don't like oil paints, but I can say that I am beginning to wonder why I chose them over acrylics. I know that sometimes when I am painting, I wish that the paints were more forgiving. I figuered that oils dried more slowly and would give me more to to correct. They are also giving more time to make mud. I am not upset with my first attempt. It is a work in progress, and I think I'll be able to finish something that will make me happy. It just may take me longer to figure out the how-to of this new medium. Is it bad to say I like the smell. It reminds me of college and makes me feel somehow more like a real painter.

Spring Painting

I sold two paintings in February. One to an well-known area collector, the other to a newlywed couple buying their first piece of real art. It is a sweet feeling. I am moving forward in my painting. I just ordered supplies to start oil painting. I have very little experience in oil paints. A still-life class in college and two paintings of hammers I did in high school. Yes, hammers. Don't ask. My mom worked in hardware store. Up until now, I have been experimenting with latex and ceramic paints. They were free and readily available to me, so I was using them to see if painting was something I wanted to pursue and if I had any affinity for it. When I started I thought I'd be doing some abstract landscapes. I had no idea I would do mainly "people pictures" that tended toward large-textured realism. Actually, I don't know what style you'd call them. Realistic expressionism? The point is that I am now seriously into my painting. Working with the paints has awaken something inside of me. Now, I am not only painting, I am showing and selling work. I am ready to take the next step.
I want to set up a studio space. (Here again, I have been working out of my friend's house where the free paints reside.) I must admit, that I looked up oil painting online to get some advice as to what supplies to get. I even bough an introductory book. I am hoping to stick to my proven subject matter and even replicate my palette as I get used to the new properties of the paint, but I am on my way!