Emily Carr-Inspired Paint Party

Six days ago we went to the 4Cats Arts Studio to find our inner Emily Carr. It wasn't easy, I quickly discovered. Emily's whimsical approach to landscape is misleading...whimsy does not equal simplicity. There was a large painting on the wall that I tried to replicate - in fact, several of us in our Group of Twelve tried to paint the same scene...and each painting looks different.

I think I strayed the furthest. I started with an attempt to do the big swirling sky and the simple-looking trees...but somewhere along the lines I started dabbing with the flat side of my brush and couldn't find my way back to the swirls.   

Yesterday I was tempted to paint over the whole thing and start again.  Really, I was that frustrated. Then James and I went for a drive along the ocean, and we were amazed at all the wild daffodils we saw in the parks.  "My painting needs daffodils!"  So, a few hours ago I put some in (while Aidan was in the tub - yes, I painted in the bathroom).  Then I made some hills in the distance, and changed the sky a bit with more flat dabbing (not sure what the technical name is for this) and did one more layer of darker green over the trees.  PHew.  Not sure if I'm done yet - I have to walk by it several times to see if something jumps out at me.  Already I'm bothered by the trees...they look like a kindergartener's version of a tree (not that I'm against kindergarteners...)

We'll see what tomorrow brings.  In the meantime, life's good; paint dries, and acrylics are forgiving...or so they told me at the art store :o)