Here's what I've been working on for the last two days. This painting is called BAIT STAND, from my series called VACATION. (The sign on the top of this piece will say Live Bait when it's completed--thus the name!) Below are photos of my progress from yesterday and today.

DAY TWO: Today I began working on the wooden slats which make up the bait stand. I had to let the sky and water dry for a week or so, otherwise I would have been smearing blue paint everywhere. I spent my day working on the top horizontal boards.

DAY THREE: The first thing I worked on today was the lower horizontal board that goes behind the tall, thin vertical boards. I did this first, so that the vertical boards would be nice and crisp-looking when I paint those, as they intersect the horizontal board. I always paint in layers, going in order from painting what's the farthest back first, to painting what is the closest to the foreground last.

When that lower horizontal board was done, I started on the vertical boards, working from left to right so that I would have a dry place to rest my wrist on the canvas. A few times I still got my hand in the wet paint from the horizontal board and had to go back fix the smeary mess that made everywhere. (UGH. I hate having to re-do a section of my painting just because I wasn't paying attention to where my hand was resting.)

More vertical boards. These are taking a long time. I need to pick up the pace.

I am adding much more yellow paint into the highlight areas than my photo actually shows. When it's all done, I want you to be able to feel how strong the sun was shining on the day I snapped this photo. I create this effect by using LOTS of yellow.

I'm half-way done with the vertical boards. I'm really looking forward to painting the signs at the very end... that's what's going to make this painting super cool. More tomorrow....