Christmas Eve, 2009
Today I start a journey of learning more...I often tell my painting students that great "homework" for them after they've taken a painting class with me would be to study the master's paintings more. That is...look at the master painters they admire, choose a painting that they love and paint from it letting the hand learn by doing instead of just seeing.

I've done some of this kind of study as I have built my art career over the last 15 years and I want to do more.

So...my challenge to me is: To once a month, spend time learning from the masters, studying one of their paintings and painting it in small format, seeking their knowledge, their learning. These little paintings will never be for sale, they are just my "homework" prescibed for myself. Private study if you will, but I'll share them - even if some are disastrous. I promise.

I'll also post some of my own paintings along the way and let you know how studying the works of the masters has influenced me and if it helps or hurts.

I'm most often described as an impressionist. I resist titles in general because I always want to be open to exploration and finding new inspiration in my art. People call me an impressionist or label my work as impressionistic.

That will be my focus in this blog to select, study and work from some of the great impressionistic paintings of history; one per month. I'll have one posted soon!