Sunday, February 5, 2012

Florence Fennel Unfinished

Today I began this illustration of Florence Fennel:
What I actually had planned to do and wanted to do today was work on another chicken painting. But I am doing these in oil, and I think I would like to do some in acrylic. Sadly, I went to paint and the colors I needed were dried out and unusable. This was particularly upsetting because I was trying to wait until I really wanted to paint a chicken before starting in on another one. Often, I get ideas for paintings and am really excited about them, but then don't get to them right away and they become less exciting and I think the paintings suffer for it. I find that it is best to just get right to it when you get an idea before it gets stale. Alas, sometimes it is not possible. So, I printed out a coupon for the local art store and will have to get some hopefully inexpensive paint tomorrow for the chickens.
Something I have recently realized is that it is better for me to not stock up on lots of paint to use at much later dates because paints just don't last a long time. They change. They dry out. The oil separates. The caps get stuck on them. It just makes more sense to buy a little bit at a time and use it up before it becomes unusable. A good lesson for me.
As for the fennel, I never knew what fennel was until working at the Dartmouth Organic Farm. It is a very unique looking vegetable that I know lots of people love, and that I love to look at. I can't say it is my favorite veggie to eat with its licorice-y flavor, but its pretty good on the grill if I am going to be eating it.

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