Opportunity Cost— the loss of potential gain from other alternatives when one alternative is chosen.

My birthday is tomorrow, and that’s got me ruminating…

Since my time painting with Richard wasn’t a true “class”, I got to choose how to structure our days. After spending Day 1 paintings acrylics on paper, for Day 2 I chose acrylics on Canvas, and Day 3 I did watercolors on paper.

Late this March I made a trip to England. I shared some online about my time at the RI watercolor show in London. But my real reason for going was so that I could study with Richard Thorn, after many years of wishing I could do so.

In this demo from April, I paint start-to-finish this lovely fall scene that I captured down on the Russian River.

In this post I share about the process I often go through with a painting, after I think I’ve finished it… but haven’t. I’m always ready to learn and push paintings as far as I can take them. And sometimes, that requires me to set the painting aside and come back to it weeks, months, and sometimes even years later.

I have three upcoming activities to check out. A free online demo with the California Watercolor Association, and two in person weekend art sales. Click to read more.

For this post, I wanted to share about another “experimentation technique” I’ve been using- deliberately trying to take on the aesthetic approach of another artist. I call it “Masking” because it requires fewer words! :P Of course, you choose an artist whose work you admire, or there atleast needs to be an element of their work that excites you and piques your interest.

Despite re-dedicating myself to studio time last October, I felt a growing need to explore and get back “in the lab” and stretch my limits. I’ve spent the last few months systematically digging in. Follow along with me as I share some of the specific processes I’ve used, as I try to grow through experimentation!