This was the first go-round when I started. Laying in the basic idea of what I wanted.

I've put in some colour and light direction now, and will start building up the textures bit by bit.

This is the table I work at whether painting, drawing or writing. It's a perfect spot for me as I can see the trees across the road, mountains in the distance and get lots of light. It gave me a great view of the storm.

If you are wondering what the box on the corner is, that is what I use for a light box. If you are thinking it looks like a drawer, well, that was how it started life - I drilled a hole in each side for air flow and electrical cord, have a heavy piece of glass that fits over top, and a fluorescent light that sits in the bottom. Works perfectly and didn't cost me a dime. It gives me a good sized working space - 16" x 21" which is much bigger than many light boxes that I have seen, and functions well for the sizes of paper I use.

But to get back to the painting - I am feeling very tentative about applying the colours - uncertain about which brush I should be using - how thick should the paint be.......... all of the questions of a beginner again because it has been so long. I am trying to let all that go and just play like I do when using other tools, but for some reason there is this nagging feeling in the back of my brain that I should do something realistic and precise. I find the oddest thoughts entering my brain that never occur to me using any other medium. Must be old teachings coming back to haunt me. There were several oil painters in my family, and when I first started painting, acrylics had not come into popular use yet, so my basic education was in oil and realistic work; drawing the intention on the canvas first and planning colours and direction of light.

Somehow, these things have really stuck with me..... and it is proving itself to be very difficult to move past them and get some emotional content on the canvas. I would love the paintings to be emotional....... bright and cheerful or dark and foreboding....... something!!!!  I don't want them to just be a depiction of beautiful scenes. I want more in there. So I keep playing and looking and thinking and it is taking me forever to get to the bottom of all these things that are holding me back from just letting loose like I do when working with acrylics.

I'm sure it will make an interesting future post if I ever get this accomplished!!