Acrylics Lesson 3, Finished Painting

I just finished the third painting from the Varvara Harmon book. The take-aways:

• I am more comfortable using the liner brush, but still need lots more practice
• I need a lot more practice painting trees.
• I need to learn when to stop. For example, I got carried away with the tree leaves, and I made some changes to the distant grassy area that messed up the painting and I had to scramble to tone down the changes.

Here is the final result:

acrylic on 12 in. by 16 in. canvas

As chance would have it, I heard Elizabeth Gilbert (author of Eat, Pray, Love and The Signature of All Things) on NPR this morning. Among other things, she and the host talked about her belief that women are more prone to perfectionism than men, whereas men in general are more willing to accept "good enough" (I'm paraphrasing). When I was young my perfectionist self knew I did not have the talent to be a great artist, so I let my interest in drawing and painting slip way down in my list of priorities. I am now giving myself permission to do "good enough" and even fail. What is most important is to try. And I am having loads of fun doing it!