I painted a commission today, a painting of blackbirds and a still life, also a commission. Again, I don’t feel like I’m one hundred percent back in the zone but I have a clearer vision of what I want going forward. I feel like I have worked hard at realism, relaxed and became a bit more expressionistic and now I am back to basic skill of capturing images correctly.

I’m not saying I want to be super realistic but I do want more quality in the initial rendering. I want the feeling to be the strongest element of the painting but I still want the details to be evident to the viewer. I am planning on doing more en plain air painting in the near future as I believe there are so many elements you miss when you paint from memory or pictures.

On that note, I tried to paint a still life without any initial layout. It really is a freeing feeling to just paint without any guides. The image is in my mind but it is not completely clear. It is an exciting feeling to watch it become out of just a vague idea of a painting.

I’m looking forward to continuing to allow more time to paint and as I increase frequency I will get back into the zone where painting just seems effortless.