Beach Path

                            Acrylic on canvas 45cm x 35cm (18" x 14"ish) Circa 2007

I've had a bout of bronchitis this past week which I think I now have the better of. This is partly responsible for falling fallow with painting in recent weeks. There has also been a lot happening on many fronts - including other creative projects, so in the interim I thought I'd post something I painted years ago.

This painting was my first ever attempt at using acrylic paints. I had done several works in pastels, oils and watercolours over the years but I wanted to give acrylics a go. I attended a weekly class to get some guidance on how to use the medium. This painting was executed over quite a long period - at least 6 months or maybe even a year. I rarely touched it in-between class time.

After this painting I had every intention of continuing with the medium and had already begun preparing what I was going to paint next, but I decided to stop going to the class with the aim of relying on self-motivation and painting at home. I did continue to create watercolour illustrations from time to time for birthday cards and suchlike, but it took until the beginning of 2012 to revisit my acrylic paints - now forlorn and congealing in their tubes.

It was my 10 day painting challenge that got me painting regularly again, with no more than 2 or so weeks passing between sessions. I still can't quite believe how effective the challenge was for kick-starting a regular painting habit. 10 days doesn't sound much in the face of the 30 day challenges that others have been doing - or of course the amazing daily painting habits of some talented creatures, but it was enough to get me started.
Hopefully my experience may encourage others to realise that new habits can begin with modest commitments.