Something old, something new...

You might know that I'm in the process of taking all the paintings that are in my house and storing them off-site. You know, so I have some room to move here. It was getting pretty crowded.

I have about half moved now. The reason it's taking so long is that I'm choosing some to be redone. In addition to me trying to get some new paintings done, PLUS work on novels, PLUS work on yard, PLUS clean/organize the house… Well, it's taking some time. But here's what I've just finished. These two paintings will be hung in the Saratoga Grill in downtown Hillsborough, NC tomorrow.

The original, a style I was trying out because it was something I could do fairly quickly. Fail!

The Old County Courthouse, acrylic, 2009

I decided to try something with this, and unpacked the new batch of alkyd oils (fast-drying!) that I'd bought last November. Here's the result:

The Old Courthouse, 9 AM. Acrylic/oil, 24x18"

I think that's much better!

And here's an entirely new painting. I had thought to do it only in acrylic, but added oils. Didn't do an all-over glaze like I did the one above, but I still think this turned out nicely.

King's Street in Its Glory, acrylic/oil, 18x24"

As I was taking the archival pictures and putting the data into Bento, I noticed that this is the 100th painting I've added to the spreadsheet!

They say that it takes 100 paintings to produce a real style. It's actually been over 100 paintings for me (not all are in my formal records), but I do think I'm starting to feel more comfortable with the process. This year not only will I be getting out more to do plein air painting with my fancy-schmancy new portable easel, but I'll also be just painting more often, and likely in smaller formats. They say ("they" being everyone in the current "Painting a Day" movement) that your style and skills can really take off by doing that.

CONTEST CONTEST CONTEST

Whoops, actually no contest this time (despite the landmark #100 up there), but on Feb. 2nd the big Valentine co-op contest for a $200 Amazon gift card should be starting. They're supposed to send me a link to it, but until then I'll just provide a link to my Facebook Pro Page, where the announcement will appear once I receive it.