Keeping to schedules

If ever I thought I could keep up with the painting-a-day fanatics, I think I've learnt my lesson! OK. Their paintings are often small and dashed off, and the secret may be to use oil paints, which are more forgiving than any other medium, but even so, it's a tremendous feat to stand or sit at an easel every single day. Presumably the small paintings produced by those artists are in addition to whatever else they do! 

Link here to get an impression of the activities of daily painters.

If I had made a New Year's Resolution, it would have been to practise painting with watercolours all through 2012. Actually, I am trying to do this despite not having promised myself 366 (leap year) results, and one or two of my efforts are not too bad. I'd love to be able to paint as freely as Fabio Cembranelli, so I've been practising hard and hope one day to be able to visualize clearly enough to achieve some of what he does seemingly effortlessly.

To be honest, I'd probably get on better with oils, but I wouldn't know where to put them! At least you can stack watercolours - and recycling is an easy option for the worst efforts. Some parts of some of the paintings would make good collage components, so I'm saving them in the hope that one day I will want to do collages! I'm intrigued by them, but have never actually made any. Again the problem is what to do with them! Do people sell their collages, altered books etc.? Or is it purely the creative process that counts? I suppose it really depends on whether you are established as a professional artist, but somehow collage smacks of amateurism. After all, anyone can stick things on things........So I should be on track, shouldn't I? 

Of course that was not a serious comment. Collage is a wonderful art form I sincerely admire and here's a website dedicated to it. That's where my day should start, I think!

I managed two sketches of the tulips in the photo (see previous entry) before they capsized. Now I have a new pot of little dwarfs growing apace on the window ledge, so they will no doubt also attain immortality!

I really want to paint freely and with more imagination, but it's going to take me ages to learn how to do that with watercolours.  This is a slightly less inhibited attempt, but I did use some reference photos. I just don't have the confidence to go it alone yet.

I photographed these wonderful tulips before a background of wood surgeons chopping down the marvellous old trees that were one of the reasons I took this apartment. 

To my utter amazement, a tree surgeon (assassin) scaled the tree supported only by a rope round his waist and spiked shoes, using a power saw to cut off the branches. The two trees nearest my window were about 25-30 meters tall and in perfect health! 

To round this entry off I'll add a semi-abstract acrylic painting (60x40cm).
I called it Modigliani's horse!

Now I feel better, but I'm going to persevere with the watercolours!