Let's try this again. My thought is that we can have a challenge inspired by the Critique Club meeting each month. What I'm left with after today's meeting is a curiosity to hear more about Stephanie's dark, back, Fire Woods and the experience of making that pastel painting of them! The Challenge should you choose to accept: Post a painting to the community feed that was a profound experience to create and tell us the story.

Babayaga's manicure (jk): Figured out the logic of the light after some back and forth on my pink lamp extraction painting. As I'm removing the table/lamp character from the room it's in and floating it in the void... I realized I did not need to depict how the lamp affects the void. It can simply float graphically in the black. This was a delightful epiphany. This pic is when I was struggling with the pre-epiphany background. Pink interior: finally found a color and value for the outer room wall that worked. In the reference it's much darker and true green, but that wasn't conveying the appropriate value difference needed. I also reworked the colors and values around the open doorway many times to get satisfaction in harmony, subtlety, and mark. Culminating in the elaboration of the swirling light wafting into the room which I'm really delighted by. I find that I'm working more from imagination as I near completion, existing in my painting and its needs over the reference's. I'll finish it very soon. Small neighborhood scape: a romantic little painting I'm working on of the view from my studio window years 2015-2018. I think there are lots of images from this window in many seasons. It would be a lovely little series. Think I'll go look for them.

Took part in a local plein air festival this week! Love painting + the camaraderie but they can be so tough mentally, beyond the normal plein air frustrations. All the internal dialogue about what I “should” be painting , trying to work larger and picking more complicated subject matters etc etc and of course the whole comparison thing, I kind of worked myself into a spiral. Anyway, today was my last day of painting and I finally broke through all the chatter and enjoyed myself painting these two.

Great news! My new gallery came through. I like that the old voices about paintings that haven't sold for ages aren't worth showing can be reassured and soothed. Also that you can paint what is true for you (there are cigarettes in this one) against "good sales advice" and someone will relate and buy it anyway. It was the largest one I sent them, which is great. They texted me with genuine excitement and celebration, which I love so much.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DdBo1IrNskp/?stkn=MWthcm9meTVmZTQyag==