I have spent the better part of this week working on a new oil painting. It is the image of a girl/ child fishing from a dock along the densely vegetated Alafia River. I am about 90% done with it when it hits me: this is the kind of painting I should NOT be doing! There is nothing wrong with it, but there is nothing right about it either. (I will post it when it is finished.)

What do I mean by not 'right' about it? It is a piece of art that you look at, smile and say something like, "nice" before moving on to the next piece of art. It does not warrant a second look or make the viewer stop to really look at the image. It does not evoke an emotional response, and it definitely has not helped me to grow as an artist by teaching me the things I want to learn, like framing multiple subjects within a composition, painting horses and other animals or creating motion. It does not tell a story. It is just a 'nice' painting that does not speak to the viewer.

I started painting in January of 2004. My New Year's resolution was to teach myself how to paint. Several hundred paintings later, I realize that I have achieved that goal but need to re-asses them and find a new direction in my art.

Of all of the work that I have posted both here and on Blogster, what has had the strongest appeal to you?

FYI: For the fun of it, I am going to post the first painting that I did in 2004.