For Megan

I have painted this clown three times... this ^^^ is the third time.  I honestly think the last one is my best- but this one is my favorite because... It only uses the whites from the paper!  

I asked my sister Megan what she wanted for Christmas, and I had just redone the clown (just below) for practice.  I wasn't careful- I just wanted to see if I could paint him again with just the paper white.

It's clear that this one ^^^ is a little squashed and the proportions are off, BUT.  I was thrilled that I didn't use any white at all.

This clown ^^^ is the first one I did.  I painted him for my friend Karen.  As I worked on the painting, I resented giving it away more and more.  It had nothing to do with Karen!  It had everything to do with recognizing that I was growing in skill and I didn't want to spend THIS MUCH TIME in a painting just to give it away.  I knew because of that feeling that I needed to up my game and get serious.  

PLUS, I wanted to buy new paint.  I had completely fallen in love with watercolor and I needed pro watercolors.  I also wanted to get actual paintbrushes intended for watercolor. I went down the rabbit hole of deciding how to price my artwork.

I settled on the square inch model, and so far it has served me well... because some paintings take forever because I'm expanding my skill... and some paintings go quickly because I've learned so much and have acquired the skill.  Either way, I charge the same and it eliminates some of the guess work.

Every time I level up, I up my prices.  With consistent practice, I feel like I've leveled up quite a bit.  *heart  I'm VERY grateful to have gotten so much practice!