Daily Practice - May 2026
Finishing 100 paintings!
This month I painted the final paintings for my 100 painting project! YEAH!
Some thoughts on lessons learned over this 7 month project:
I like looser brush strokes but I also like developing a pattern with shadows and light.
I like pushing the limits of greens with various blues, yellows, and reds.
I like branches being sort of squeezed by the sky.
When it starts to feel overworked it probably is and with these the final piece may not be my favorite. Need to sort out the logistics before it gets to the point of being overdone.
Some images roll off the brush, and I think I can identify those now. Do I love them all? No, but I learned a lot from this!
The complete collection is now under “2026” on my website.
For the final 12…
As for two of the favs that I painted larger…
Rocky Coastline, 16”x16” oil on cradled wood, will be in ‘Coastlines and Tree-lines’ at The Gallery at Trade Millis, Amesbury, MA during June 2026.
Chesapeake Bay, 16”x16” oil on cradled wood, will be at the Art In the Barn annual Essex County Greenbelt Fundraiser along with a selection of other works from this project, both framed and just in mats and plastic sleeves, for sale on June 12 and 13 at Cox Reservation in Essex, MA
Also, this month, I started playing with gouache on toned paper (the front and end papers of my current sketchbook) and loved that!
And did a bunch of value studies in preparation for the final paintings…
Thank you for reading!
Oh my goodness I love ALL of them, those big, loose brushstrokes are gorgeous 😍
I love the grid in your sketch book. These all turned out really nice.