Painting progress - slow but sure

I have written before about the author's Malcolm Gladwell's concept of 10,000 hours needed to reach mastery.  Another well-known artist, Kevin MacPherson recommends painting 50 canvases to improve.  Here are 32 of the small canvases I have been working on over the last six months.  These are all smalls, mostly 5x7 and 6x8.  Not all are finished and not all will be I have seen some improve,went but, every improvement leads to greater expectations.  I will post tweaks I make of these and some of the larger practice pieces.

Wild Things Monster

This is a pen drawing of a monster from the children's book "Where the Wild Things Are."  This book was my middle daughter's favorite childhood book.  This is not an original sketch but I reproduced it for a birthday card fro her birthday on Sunday.  I have done this themed card before so she will love it.

Plains cloud study

I worked on this plains cloud study block-in.  It is easy to work on these mall studies after returning from the day job.  I will probably work on adjustments on over the weekend to these small studies to make adjustment in colors, values, and details.

Moonlight Winter tree

This is a small study I worked on this evening.  I thinly blocked in the night sky and then worked on calligraphy-ing the tree trunk and branches.  I will add some more branches and a little depth into the trunk to add some roundness to it.

Bufflehead Duck study

I have been practicing some different oil subjects and this is one, not a original design but I liked it as a challenge. It will need some work on the water and some of the feather design but it is a decent start for an interesting winter duck in Maryland.

Smoky Sunrise

Today's post is the start of a smoky sunset, like the ones you would see at Yellowstone National Park. This is the block-in details to follow.

Sunset study

This is the first stages of the block-in of a sunset scene.  I will smooth out the transition in the sky and I will add fir trees against the sky.  These are part of a series of practice studies I have decided to do to help with the improvement and the move to the level I want to reach in painting.