Every commissioned oil painting begins with a conversation. From there, it progresses to photographs. After photographs, there is an editing session. Then, a decision, which requires more conversation. Eventually money changes hands, and the job begins.

In the olden days, nothing began until money exchanged hands. Now, I don’t have to pay for film or developing up front, so sometimes the order of things gets a little scrambled. With friends and locals, I’m flexible. If you are a stranger, things are more structured.

A friend asked me to paint her house. Being a smart-aleck, I told her that wouldn’t be possible, since I hadn’t finished painting my workshop and garage yet. She is a lovely person with a great sense of humor, so no harm was done by my buffoonery.

I took photos in the morning, and again in the afternoon. She chose the afternoon light, the size of the painting, and we discussed some details.

After ordering the canvas, I began waiting for the photos to arrive. Silly girl, you have a printer! Who cares if the colors are wrong when you first have to get the shapes on the canvas?

Remember that the beginning stages of an oil painting are rough and scary and may shake your confidence in my abilities.

Oooo-eeeey. This is rough. It is 24×30″, larger than I usually paint (unless it is a mural). I painted this, let it rest a few days, and then realized that I can paint the sky too.

(Got a bit thrown off by the coloring books, which are still coming, this time printed on ONE side of the paper only. Ouch. Expensive mistake. No, I won’t pass that on to you.)

That’s enough for today. Thanks for reading along. Try not to be scared that I’ve lost my ability to paint, and thank you for your concern. Please forgive the visual assault.