New Oil Sketch as the skies cleared in Skye last night

Managed to discipline my overwhelm and tackle the new paints last night. They arrived at the end of last week and I've found a fab wooden box for them to live in - and then left them, telling myself they needed to 'bed in'. The rubbish one tells oneself! In actuality I have a commission in oils for a lovely friend and she's selected one of my pastel landscapes for a beautiful antique frame that would really suit an oil painting more than a pastel - so I said I'd work up the one she liked in oils over the summer and that she could choose between the two when I return to the sunny south.

​Simple it may sound, but when one's knowledge and experience is in one medium that's so radically different to another, it brings up a whole pile of baggage that was unanticipated and frankly uncalled for. Oil paints and brushes have been tinkered with (see previous posts) but I wanted to work in water-based oils to speed up the drying time and also decrease the fumes inhaled (although utterly gorgeous, probably not the best, especially when I work in the same space that I live in). New paints have been acquired - never an issue, I ordering art supplies and am lucky that Jacksons happily deliver to Skye. So last night I bit the bullet, did the Susan Jeffers' thing of facing the fear and started out. This is my first go and, as always, I'm glad I did.

​What new thing will you try out on this summery Thursday?

​"Don't be afraid of your fears. They're not there to scare you. They're there to let you know that something is worth it" C. JoyBell C.