I am Making Progress

Yesterday afternoon I worked on my Jack the Beagle painting and really made good progress.  Again, typical of me, I was afraid to get started on the painting, afraid that I would "ruin" it.  My self-asteem is pitiful as I don't recognize what I do well until after the fact.

Instead of using a rag and paint thinned with turpentine, I used a paint brush and thinned the paint with linseed oil.  When the brush strokes seemed too obvious, I simply rubbed over the area with a bare finger to smooth it out.  In the smaller areas, I used a q-tip.  The painting is starting to come together and it really does look like Jack.  I was suprised this morning to find that the paint is already dry enough for the next layer.  I guess this occurred because I used a high ratio of linseed oil to pigment and the oil simply dries faster than the pure paint.....faster than I realized it would.  That means I will be able to continue working on Jack the Beagle today instead of waiting until next weekend!  How fun!