August 15, 2009 - Day 5

Da Vinci watercolor and Prismacolor colored pencils on

140 lb Bockingford cold press watercolor paper

Whew! Finally done! I had originally picked this carousel horse as my subject of today's ACEO because I thought it would be quick and easy. I guess I should have known it would take longer than I thought since I really love carousel horses :)

I am finding that since I started this project of 365 days of ACEOs that I am creating some of the best work that I have done . . . and I am creating it on a consistent basis. Previously my art was hit and miss. I created some paintings that I was really happy with but then I created a lot of stuff that I hated.

I think the big difference this time is that there is no pressure to create a masterpiece. When I was creating before I was always thinking "will this sell?" or worse yet "this HAS to sell". Now though, I am not even planning to sell the ACEOs until after I complete the project. This has taken a lot of the pressure to succeed off of my mind and has freed me to just paint.

I have rarely felt this good about my art and my talent before. Whoooooo hoooooooo!