I have wanted to paint forever. I have dabbled a bit here and there but have never fully committed myself to being consistent. This year I am getting it done. I am painting a lot- not everyday, but close. I have no art education and no time to get any in a formal sense. It's tricky, at age 44, I'd like to get good at this and as I strive to develop skills I am amazed at the number of challenges and obstacles. Recently I switched from acrylics to oils. WOW- for me it is like the light just got turned on. But I was so overwhelmed by the color choices and mediums that I finally surrendered. My new plan is to find artists whose work I like and use their work as the inspiration and framework of study for a while. Artist #1 on my list right now is Carol Marine. Her daily paintings are so zippy and fresh. She has a great blog with a lot of tips. So here is my first work recently painted a la Carol's inspiration.