Day 1 - On the Way to Lunch

Acrylic on board 15 cm x 15 cm (6" x 6") 

Yay! One down, 29 to go!! I hadn't had a chance to do any preparation at all prior to this morning, so the first hour of the day was spent deciding on what photo to use for art reference. It took a while cropping various options from several different photo shoots. I had decided yesterday that I'd begin with an ocean scene, but which one? I'd taken some great shots the week before when walking along the coast to a cafe for lunch with a friend. I had actually done the same walk to the same cafe 3 days in a row - with different people each day! I was catching up with friends before locking myself away to get on with my writing. Conditions had been so divine on the first day but I hadn't taken my camera, so I made sure to take it the following day. The photo below was taken on day two (which was a carbon copy of the day before) and used as the reference for today's painting.

Then I cropped it into a square to make it easier to paint from.

Hmmm, probably not a good idea to compare my painting with the photos as it doesn't do it any favours. All I can say is that the painting looks better in the flesh than it does above (I hope!).

I was thrilled to get the painting finished in 2 hours as I had a busy afternoon ahead - being Father's Day today in Australia. Once I'd cleaned my brushes and had a bite to eat, I spent the afternoon visiting my dad and dad-in-law. I even got a chance to spend half an hour or so in the garden as I didn't need to organise dinner tonight. My oldest daughter is doing the honours tonight for her dad!! It's smellin' good!!!