So I figured for Halloween, I'd talk about something that I fear!  Well, it's not a fear, but it's something that I have to work on.  It's all about NOT being timid when it comes to getting darker and more accurate values painted in a bold fashion.  For whatever reason, I have trouble jumping to accurate darks, but the darks are vital to the beauty of a painting.  I just painted a small oil study to work on this issue.  Being rough and strong in the values and with the paint is a crucial step that I'm taking from now on in my work.
  Also check out that really cool dinosaur costume that was outside our house!  Happy Halloween everyone, go out and have some FUN!

  A list of a few principles of art that I want to remember for the future:
-Painting and drawing: Broad to narrow, big picture to detail
-Presence in the moment of creation
-Don't worry too much about technique
-Just draw or paint and enjoy
-Do my best
-It's difficult sometimes but that's okay
-Let the painting tell me what should be thickly painted and what should be thinly painted.
-Be myself and keep practicing <3

  Man, it is really easy to get distracted.  Just looking at my phone can lead to a whole morning, afternoon or evening down the tubes.  How many days am I willing to let sail by me without engaging and accomplishing what I want to accomplish?  I've hit a wall with the constant checking on things, emails, apps, etc.  I took a step forwards today by deleting my email app on my phone.  Even after I deleted the app, I instinctively tapped the spot where it used to be!  That seems like a borderline addiction or something to me.  I'll check my email once a day on my computer, but that's all.
  There's enough hours in the day, but how many of them do I fritter away?  What excuses am I making that stop me?  There's no one actively stopping me from doing any of the things I want to do.  If I want to go paint en plein air tomorrow, I can, but what excuses will I make?  As my 20's are slowly drawing to a close, I'm becoming frightfully aware of how precious time is.  I don't want to let the beautiful moments of the day disappear into a smartphone, computer, tv, etc.
  I need to be hard on myself.  There's a lot of things I want to do and making lists of them doesn't help; it requires actually doing them with a level of focus and presence.  Many of these lessons I learned on my bootcamp last weekend (or was that two weekends ago? 😳)  I still need to write a review about that whole experience, but you can check out Infinite Man Summit to learn more about truly becoming your best self.
  For me, the good stuff is the real stuff.  Spending time with my mom, skateboarding, reading, writing in my journal, petting my dog, riding my motorcycle, having a beer with my friends, painting from life, etc.  That's what makes me happy.  Grrr, it's tough, but at least it's simple.

  I took a trip to the MET this past weekend and was joined by a friend who hadn't been before.  We got to see a lot and I took some photos of my favorites.  One in particularly is a absolutely amazing full length figure by Sir Frederic Leighton titled, "Lachrymae" (1894).  I first saw this painting years ago and hadn't seen it again since this weekend so it was really a joy to see.  The first sculpture pictured below is by Bernini and was notable because Bernini was 16 when he made it!  The other sculptured pictured at the end are just ones that I found entertaining.
  One thing that I took note of is how thickly Sargent paints certain works.  If you look at the photos below, you can see some details that really show this.  He wasn't afraid to apply thick paint.  This is something that I want to take onboard and use in my own works.  I painted my most recent commission more thickly, but I want to go thicker in my paint application.  Just something that I gotta remember..