Poppycock!

I have been trying to up the difficulty level of my paintings so that I learn even more. This one involved a technique using a palette knife, which is used to make your painting more textured and give a more real life feel to it. I did not have a palette knife but Cinnamon suggested that an old credit card or business card could serve the same purpose. I used a business card and it worked fine. I used it on my rocks and it really helped my rocks look more authentic. There is also a tool called a splatter brush that I used on my painting. It looks very much like a toothbrush, but since I didn't have one of those either, so I used a toothbrush. I am becoming the queen of improvising. 

I admit, I got a bit frustrated with my poppies. Cinnamon using Golden paints in her tutorial. All I had was a cheaper brand and when I painted mine were see through. I had to use a few layers just to get the colour payoff I wanted and they still din't look as vibrant as hers did. The only Golden (brand) colour I own is Titanium white and if you think paint quality makes no difference, think again. But like Cinnamon says, work with what you can afford so I do. 

His face was also a bit of a challenge as well. The thing I am least happy with in this painting however, are my clouds. I can do a lot better but because I rushed them through they turned out like this. 

All in all, as much as I complained about the bad parts, this looks quite beautiful in person. I think I will take it to work with me and keep it there. Did I mention that my regular profession is the opposite of art? I am an accountant and deal with numbers all day.