Why am I so slow when it comes to painting? I always have been. In art class in high school, I would take five times as long as everyone else when it came to getting pictures done. So with that I bring you the status of my art pact.

I was able to finish the leaves over the weekend. I know, the whole thing doesn’t seem like something that should take as long as it does, but trust me, there is depth in these leaves! I may add a few more, but I want the focus of the picture to be the flowers. I plan to add those during the week.

My friend Michelle finished her picture. She used watercolor and I think her picture is beautiful. She’s also a great photographer so I always enjoy the stuff she captures.

I’ve always enjoyed working with acrylics. Long, long ago I worked with oils, but got a really bad chemical burn as I was cleaning up once and switched to acrylics. I’ve been using them ever since. I like that they are easily washed out, and dry faster than oils. You can’t get the depth with acrylics that you can with oils, but they are practical, a bit cheaper than oils, and also a bit brighter. I like that, too.

It’s funny that we started this art pact now, because I’m reading this great book called Claude & Camille: A Novel of Monet. The book is filled with descriptions about that entire impressionist movement, and how they lived and breathed painting. The book is great and makes you want to just grab a paintbrush. Thanks to the art pact, tho, I already did!