I'm no Van Gogh or Monet

but by Jinkies, I'm trying!

When I was growing up, my dad would sit down at the dining table and paint these beautiful landscape scenes. He had no kind of instruction, but he had sheer talent. I have several of those pictures hanging in my house, and they are among my most treasured possessions. I can remember wishing that I could paint like that. I've always wanted to be able to paint the images I see in my head.

Over the past few years, I've tried my hand at painting different things for the house (my daughters' dressers, little decorative things for the bathroom, etc.) but they just aren't great. They're just okay, and I'm not happy with "okay".

Recently I've started really paying attention to the brush strokes, shading, etc. in different paintings. I decided to give it a shot with a little wooden frame I picked up at ACMoore. I'm still not as good as I want to be, but I can see my progress, and I'm proud of myself for it. Whaddya think? I know I still have a long way to go, but just maybe you can teach an old dog new tricks. ;)