FINAL PAINTING BEGINS!

The final oil painting, in progress, of Brita. Her head is 8" high from chin to the top of her hair.

ANOTHER MILESTONE IN A LONG VOYAGE HAS BEGUN. I am going to repeat what I said on Facebook a few days ago  I started this painting three days ago with a head cold and cold feet about this painting. The first day - disaster! The second day I scraped the paint off. Today I felt a lot better physically and thought about my many teaching situations in a painting classroom when I was helping a student (just like myself) lost and heading nowhere. So I said to myself, "Start over from the beginning - right color, right value, right place, right shape, right edge. Eight hours later I can breath again and have backed away from the edge of the cliff - carefully.  The first head is done - not done done! No single element can be really finished until all are at the same level of completion. There will have to be a tweak here and there to bring everything together. 
          I must add that I asked the Lord for very specific help for my heath and mental attentiveness this week. The start was especially difficult and daunting. God knows my heart and the skill He has guided in me along my path in life. The mystery of His divine guidance is deeper each day I live. I don't expect or plan to fail on this project, but I don't want to go it alone in my own strength and understanding. When I stumble, (and I will), it is in this very human experience that I don't want to miss the peace and deeper joy God provides in the learning experience.
          This coming Monday, after a weekend with family, I will mix paint again and continue on with a little more confidence than last week. I think I will work on Brita's dress and jewelry first. I will post the progress. Thanks for your interest and encouragement on this journey.
          On the technical side of painting, I am using Walnut Oil in my paint to keep it from drying too fast. This gives me time to work through an area and then go back and carefully blend the edges that are too tight and break long line-type elements that are distracting to the focus of the painting. The Walnut Oil has been a great medium in preserving the softness of my brushes from day to day as well.