For Jay

I started painting with watercolor in winter of 2018.  I didn't have any actual paint.  I pulled out the kids' Crayola watercolors- you know, the kind with six colors?  I grabbed some water, and then... I fell in love.

I sold a few paintings for just enough money that I bought basic brushes and student grade paint.  I had an okay supply of acrylic paint... I didn't get to paint much more that year because the house we were in was old and drafty and we spent all of our effort staying warm.  

We moved into a new house and I did some painting there... but we got busy renovating the house and renting it out, and living.  

We bought an RV in 2020 and moved into that, renting out both sides of our house.  

We moved from New York to Georgia in late 2020 and that's where this gets serious.

I asked a few friends to send me a challenge- that I would paint something for free for them if they'd pay to have the painting shipped to them.

My friend, Jay Woodall, send some Native American inspiration that I played with.  I love the earthy colors in these and the shapes and textures.

I sent him the first two photos and he decided he wanted something even more advanced, sending me the reference photo for a Native American boy doing a tribal dance:

I actually want to redo this painting and not use any white- but for a beginner, this was pretty good.  I enjoyed the costuming, the textures, and the level of concentration and difficulty.  I made goals to do better about leaving room for everything, and keeping the painting inside of borders.