Friday, January 23, 2026 Poor Little Owl

Sometimes I like to challenge myself to paint from a photo of a real thing, rather than copying other people’s paintings. With that in mind, I made a list of things I’d like to paint this year and owls topped the list. Why? Who knows?

I found a nice photo and got started. You probably don’t want to know what happens in my head while I’m painting, but it’s something like, “Oh, that didn’t work like I thought it would,” and quickly escalates to something like, “Why, oh why did I puff myself up with the idea that I could actually paint something?!” I worked on this poor little owl for a while and finally got to where I couldn’t stand it. I was beginning to hate the very sight of it, so far was it from what I was trying to do. I set it aside and walked away.

A few hours later I walked back in to take another look and thought, “Gee, this isn’t as bad as I remembered it. I don’t hate it anymore.” I wonder sometimes if anyone else’s creative process is that twisted.

And now you know why each blog ends with something like “I’ll probably delete this in the morning.”