9" x 11" - acrylic on paper - matted and ready to frame
Available at Bella Maison - Dallas, Tx

Okay - I decided I'm getting too "safe."  It's time for a little "wow" factor!  This is a revisit of the same photo that inspired Paso Robles Farmhouse (see 6/21/2007).  It's fun and a good exercise to paint the same scene several different ways - different styles, color combinations, etc.  For me, the bolder the colors, the more fun the painting is to do!  Often when painting on location, I'll do a painting that is fairly representational of what I'm seeing - to get a good understanding of what's in front of me.  Then I like to "let 'er rip."  Have fun and push colors and really try to simplify - capture the essence in fewer strokes and with make-believe colors.  Some viewers are more comfortable with a painting that looks like the "real" thing.  Others like the expressionistic interpretation of reality.  I never try to do photorealism - I don't have the patience and probably not the skill and, besides, I have a camera!  I think it's just as skillful to take a scene and totally change the colors and turn it into something that's a "wow!" 

I didn't do the painting trip last night.  It was pretty stormy so I decided to wait a week.  I did have a nice visit with the teacher and I look forward to meeting a new group of artists.  Most artists are so great about sharing their knowledge and about helping to promote and develop others.  So far, everyone I've met here has been very kind.  And I'm very thankful.

Have a beautiful evening - and look for some more "wow" tomorrow!  I'm working on my last page of my website - "funky landscapes" - and I need some more of this fun art.