Duke Gardens Flower Painting

Last week, I finally finished this painting of some flowers I photographed at the Duke Gardens. It has yet to be named.

Final Version of Flowers Painting

Up until last week, the poor little flowers have been sitting neglected and 80% done in my painting room since early May!

Eighty Percent Done Flowers Painting

The painting was inspired by a photograph I took at Duke Gardens in April.

My photo that inspired the above painting

This is why I need to be taking more community painting classes. A painting of this nature should not sit untouched for 3-4 months. With everything else going on in life I start paintings and then I don’t finish them either it’s because I poorly planned them and don’t know where to go next. Or in this case, I was just neglecting the very important detail work. I also have a difficult time with my attitude and my work. I love painting but I tend to be very self critical. To someone else it might look okay. But I don’t yet have the technical skill to implement what I see in my head so it usually doesn’t look okay to me. The problem is, if I let the frustration deter me I am not building the skills for later. It really helps to be in a supportive environment because any critique or advice tends to be more constructive than the feedback I give myself. I don’t always learn something new, but it is always helpful.

Last fall I took a class at the Arts Center in Carrboro. I loved the students and the environment, but to be honest I do not feel like I got anything out of it from a learning perspective. Also, I liked the instructor personally, but I found her advice and technique lacking. I tend to be the only person working with oils (everybody else uses acrylics) and that can be an issue if the instructor is less familiar with the medium than I am. Fortunately, this time I am taking a community class at the Durham Arts Center. I like it much better. It is a much shorter drive, the facilities are much more appropriate and the instructor works with oils and did give me some really constructive feedback. So far I am pleased. My second class is tonight, so I am trying to decide if I am going to work on something new or bring something old.