Nature's Still Life #20 - The Grand Finale!

If you are just reading my blog for the first time, this is the 20th (and final for at least awhile) painting in a series called "Nature's Still Life". These paintings were done over a 13 week period for Mike Bailey's Beyond the Obvious Class. All are a full sheet size: 21"x 29".

The class was once again wonderful and inspiring. Mike's lessons and the other artists in the class always keep me energized and wanting to try new ideas. Even though this is my third time taking the class, I feel like this time I've really grown as an artist, and my last painting is definitely far from where I started (and I think, "beyond the obvious"). My goal when I took the class was to stay fairly realistic, but still try to apply the design principles in different ways. This last painting is very abstract (for me) but my leaves, rocks, and twig are still all definitely there. This uses the same technique I've described in previous posts and I think it really works for me as a way to loosen up. I'm anxious to try it again for future subjects.

I haven't been very steady in updating my blog, so the last 10 posts were all done this afternoon, even though the paintings were done over several weeks. It probably makes the most sense if you start at Nature's Still Life #1 and read forward instead of backwards. I've learned alot. I hope you enjoy sharing my journey....