This is one that I finally finished. It's copied from a photo I took a couple years ago when we visited Washington D.C. It's my favorite picture from the whole trip.
For some reason, I became a ranting perfectionist over this one and after about 6 hours of intense work I put it aside. I was annoyed that it wasn't turning out to my taste so I kind of forgot about it.
Then one day, I picked up a couple a fan brushes at the store and decided to try and finish it. The brushes make all the difference! Next to filberts, fan brushes are my new favorite!
This next one I whipped up this afternoon. I started out having no idea what I was going to do. I get that way sometimes. No ideas, but I just want to paint. Here's what I came up with.
Believe it or not, this is my first attempt at a landscape. Well, truthfully, it's not the first attempt. However, the original took place when I was about twelve and was immediately buried in my closet for reasons that I will not go in to for the sake of my vanity. Let's just say, that it is not worthy to be called a landscape and therefore does not count. :)
Most people, when they find out that I paint, they automatically think landscapes. I guess most people do paint a lot of landscapes. Not this girl. Quite frankly, they terrify me. I only attempted this one because I didn't know what else to do. It's not as easy as Bob Ross makes it look, trust me! It may be for some people, but I'm just not that great at figuring out lighting and shading. If I am working from an existing picture, that's one thing, but doing something off the top of my head is another. Hopefully, I'll get better with practice.
But, for a first try, I like it. Especially considering that I whizzed through it. I could have done better if I'd slowed down, but patience is not one of my better qualities...
One thing I did learn: Don't spend forever on a backdrop if you're only going to cover it up with a ginormous tree!
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