The hardest part of painting was to relax and stop fighting the medium.
I used to draw and had plenty of trouble making a pen or pencil do what I wanted it to do. Keep in mind that those instruments only have one point at the end. Controlling a brush seemed harder because it has more like one hundred little points at the end, plus sides and a top and bottom. Beside that, the paint clan clump, mix with other paint on the canvas and create unintended results.
But then I realized that my lack of control and the surprises I got from the canvas were really something to enjoy. So I let go and enjoyed them.
It also helped that I got private instruction from Anne Sutherland, who is a great painter on Nantucket (and also Amanda's mother). She is a great teacher of sketching and painting so next you plan to be in Nantucket, reach out early and try to get an appointment.
BTW, the painting is of Brant Point Lighthouse and Beach, where Amanda and I got married.
