This painting almost didn't happen. I was working on it in the evening. I had the sky finished and was very happy with it. The distant trees were done. I was so-so with them. Then I started on the brown trees in the middle. They weren't going well. I scraped them off three times. The 4th attempt was a failure too. So I scraped them off again, said the heck with it, and went to bed. Thoroughly disgusted with my work. Figured I would just throw it in the trash. But I woke up thinking about it, and it occurred to me "that paint is still wet". So I fixed myself breakfast and went back at it.
Up until now, I've just been following videos. More or less going through the motions. Not spending a lot of time on any one detail, and trying not to screw it up. I recently went into my studio with the intention of just practicing clouds. There were no preconceived notions of completing a scene. There's a lot of planning ahead when you're painting. I had none of that. All I was doing was painting clouds. Nothing else mattered.
What I learned from that practice session has changed everything. I now realize nothing on that canvas is permanent until the paint is dry. I don't have to accept anything I don't like. I can change it. Those trees in the background that I was so-so with. I changed them. Now I'm ok with them. By the way, I don't have an oval brush yet.
I'm so glad I finished this. What I ended up with is the best overall quality I've done. I'm also glad I found this site. I've learned a lot looking through the articles and the forum. And I love to see what everyone else is doing. You guys make me want to be a better artist.
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