I have been itching to try another painting since I finished my last. Each attempt teaches me something new about how paint works on the canvas.

My first two oil paintings were inspired by Bob Ross lessons, and that is an easy place to take up the brush for beginners. However, his style is not mine. I wanted to branch out and borrow tips and techniques from modern artists that are creating art that speaks to me.

In my searches, it seems that so many today are using acrylic paints as opposed to oil. This is likely because acrylic is more accessible in terms of price. So, I picked up some black, white, and the primary colors today — keeping it cheap. I figured it would not hurt to experiment with different things this early on.

Acrylic is different than oil. Very different. So many of the things I learned in my first two oil paintings just went out the window. Some of it stayed.

For my third painting, I feel like this one turned out better than I could have hoped. I can tell you every little thing that is wrong with it, which is about 99% of the work. But, as Bob Ross always says in his videos, “We don’t make mistakes, just happy accidents.”