25 Small Still Life Paintings, No. 1

I read an article that says that because painting is a difficult skill to acquire, the first 25 to 50 paintings you do are seldom very good, so you might as well get them over and done with! 

I like that idea - in 25 to 50 paintings, things are going to get better - I might as get those ones done!

So here is the first one of my 25 Small Still Life Paintings

It was a painting of an onion in a bowl, but I could not get the bowl to work so I painted it out. The background remains unresolved, but I am happy with the onion. I have used cheap acrylic paint in my sketchbook. (See photo below.)

10.2 cm x 10.2 cm

acrylic on paper

So why am I doing 25 Small Still Life Paintings? 

Although I have been painting for years, in various different styles and in different media, I always feel that my painting technique could use some improvement. Currently, I feel that my observation skills could use some attention and I would like to get back to painting directly from the real object as opposed to painting from photographs. I love still life, so I have challenged myself to complete 25 small still life paintings. 

To make it easy, and to ensure that I get going (I often need a big nudge) I have used cheap (my daughter's) acrylic paint (acrylic is fast drying and does not mess as much as oils), and painted directly into my sketchbook. I might change to oils on board as I go along.

 I will be posting all of the 25 paintings that I do, so that you can follow my progress - watch out for them...