Final thoughts of the month

Written 08/07/2025

This month was... interesting. It somehow felt really long and also kind of short? Plus it was hot. It's hard to do lots of art when it's hot. Next month might be even hotter... joy... :/

I definitely had a better time than last month, although I did had the same almost 'intimidation' about it where I was measuring myself against such a lofty target. I actually researched the methodology earlier in the month though so I wasn't flailing around anywhere near so much.

Of all the projects I've done so far, this is one where I really wish I could have given myself more time. Of course I COULD have done that theoretically but having these soft deadlines helps me keep going and at some point something just needs to be 'done' regardless of how one feels about it. I do think that aspects of the painting would have benefitted from practising painting those aspects individually (like the eyebrows and the mud which looked a bit flat) which is something to keep in mind for later projects - practising drawing something is NOT the same as practising painting it!

I was curious to see the comparison between my draft and the final piece (like last month) especially because the draft was on a white background compared to the black background of the canvas

To be honest, I think the compositon of the draft is better (dang, that's annoying) - it's more expressive and the owl frames around them better. I think I was trying to make my final one smoother so that it fit my 'ideal' better but I think it lost some of it's expression? Probably because it's harder to draw on an A2 canvas than A4 paper as well, something else to consider (push myself to be more expressive rather than smoother lines). I am definitely more of a drawer than a painter. At least the colouring in the final version is more coherent and actually looks 'dark'.

In conclusion, I do think I learnt a lot this month (scumbling, the benefits of using a black background, taking advantage of the medium of oil painting) and I will try to take these things forwards in my future paintings but also strive for expressing MYSELF and not so desperately try to emulate someone else at my own expense. This has also given me and idea of something to do next year...