Today I allocated some hours to paint...after I was done with teaching a knitting class. I thought the class was would take 2 to 2-1/2 hours the most. It went on for 4 hours. I was a tired puppy.
It took an hour to put away all the knitting stuff and then collect myself in front of my canvas and arrange the paints, palette knives, and miscellaneous art stuff. This blank canvas stared back at me:
I've been collecting pictures of stuff to paint (e.g. flowers, blueberries, our beloved beagle, some buildings, etc). I pulled out a picture of a pink rose and thought it would be an interesting challenge for me. So, here's my sketch in a thinned yellow ochre wash:
I have to tell you, my heart was not in the mood to paint. I could tell as I was mixing the colors for the pink rose and then for the green foliage (lack of) and background...I just wasn't happy with the colors. So, I trudged along and applied the paint to the canvas panel and this was the so-so results of my efforts:
I decided not to touch the painting anymore and let it sit and dry for the next few days. Was I trying to tackle a subject that was way over my head? Not really. I've done several pencil sketches of roses and other flowers...it's not a new subject for me. Was it because I was using a cheap canvas panel? That may have something to do with it...it was from Walmart. Was I too tired to paint? Yes!
Lessons learned: (1) not to use cheap art materials. I'm using good paint and great brushes. What was that? You get what you paid for? I know, I know. No more cheapie canvas panels. (2) Not to attempt too many hobbies in one day. (3) Stay on target and focus on the hobby (e.g. painting) that I want to work on.
Back to the drawing board....
