This was my first still life ever! It’s terrifying to try to just sketch straight onto the canvas. It’s amazing how the shift of just a brushstroke or two totally changes the look of the painting. It’s so cool how my eyes are learning to see.

On the other hand, I hate acrylics. Hate. And of course, I have no idea how to use them, so that has a lot to do with it. I was talking to the teacher about it, and she was like “If you’re used to using oils, you will find it pretty difficult to switch to acrylics”, and I was all, “But everyone tells me you can make acrylics act like oils”. Her reply: “Yeah, only people who started with acrylics say that.”

So, because oil paints are the paints that truly make me happy, I’m just going to go with it. Yeah, the cleanup with be more of a pain, yeah, I’ll have to be more careful with storing my paintings, but I think, in the long run, I will enjoy it more.

I’m pretty happy with this little painting, though. Who knew I was capable of such things?