A New "Emerging" Painting - Stevie

"Stevie," from the "Emerging" series, 12" x 12", acrylics on museum quality panel, starring a young Thoroughbred race horse and a smidgeon of dramatic light (and some glare in both upper corners from studio light!), $599 to the first asking nicely. Ask here! With Stevie's painting, I decided to go with a (somewhat) historical limited palette - only 5 tubes of paint were used. Which created some challenges, I agree. And I may redo this composition with different choices, but first I want to simmer with it a bit. In process pics are here - along with some great conversations about color and value. I'm officially starting year 8 of daily painting. That's 8 years of getting in the studio and creating something, mostly start to finish, daily (well, for me, at least 5 days/week). At first, daily painting pushed me way out of my comfort zone, then it became an important creative habit that fed my muse. As of late it's become more (to me at least) about production and doing a job, and less about passion (which is a blog post for another day). In a previous life I ran a software company's customer support center, and I was always cautioning upper management about metrics usage - what you measure becomes what you focus on, and that doesn't always reflect upon or serve your purpose. So all these years I've been counting up the paintings created (1613 for those who might be curious), but really, what I should have been focused on all along was measuring the growth and range of my comfort zone and staying connected with my passion. Which is something a little more ambiguous to chart, I admit. But it can be planned by taking on projects that push me to think, experiment, and dig deep. I can actively pursue my own education with workshops, classes, and group painting trips. And reflect on where I've been vs where I'm currently standing vs where I want to be. Which means you'll see more paintings like Stevie's, where I'm working a limited palette and studying value vs other color characteristics. Yes, conversely this means I will be taking on fewer commissions as a result (so if you are considering portraits as  holiday gifts, you best act now - I have 14 spots left!). For those of you who have been along for the daily ride since the beginning, thank you SO MUCH for your time and attention. I hope that my shift (which has been gradually happening, now that I look back) from primarily commission based canine portraits to embracing ideas of color and atmosphere (while still painting lots of fur and other objects) won't be too disappointing. And hopefully you'll find value in the conversations that ensue over on FB with respect to the evolution of each piece. I have 100s of in- photos sorted into albums by painting title, and if you click on any one image, there's individual comments/commentary along with them. And through this change, my commitment to adding beauty to the world through my art and actions continues. Thanks, as always, for following along, Kim