So, I kept “swimming” or, one painting a day.

 Twelve months, one painting a day and not quite sure where I’m going after this. I started on copier paper with a big pallet from Walmart with a water filling brush that I was given as a Christmas gift, then I changed to cold press 9 x 12 inch paper in a pad from Walmart and bought some finer brushes at Ross. My big goal was just to stop avoiding ever starting because I knew the finished product wouldn’t look like the image in my mind,  plus I didn’t want to add another thing to my craft pile in the storage room I’ve been ignoring for years. So I kept it inexpensive and quick, mostly about an hour a day.

Over the year I gave away a few paintings, sold a set of 4 to a Mexican restaurant, and won four ribbons in the county fair. Looking back some of my favorites are still from the first few months and I don’t think I can actually judge my progress fairly. The first pictures I often traced of my iPad to get proportions right but I no longer need to do that. My weaknesses are more evident to me than my strengths but it has been good for my mental health anyway. The very first was the killer whales based of a boxed painting kit I saw advertised and the last was using photos from the Denver aquarium that were posted on the page of photos free for artists use. Also of course, Dory’s quote that keeps me from giving up some days.