There are few people who’s opinion I value more highly than my wife’s.  And she calls it like she sees it. Sometimes, she calls it way too much like she sees it, and for a daydreaming head in the clouds guy like me, that can hurt.  On the other hand, when she compliments me, I know I truly deserve it. I know she’s not sugar coating it because she’s my wife and she doesn’t do sugar coating. Whatever she says, she’s saying it because it’s true.  

That is why, when she complimented my art by saying something along the lines of “It’s amazing how good your art has gotten,” I really think I could have done a backflip.  In fact, thinking back, I realize I actually would have jumped backwards, tumbled head over heal, and stuck a perfect landing. But I resisted, because I was driving at the time.

Anyway, she commissioned me to do some paintings.  And the payment for these commissioned works is her love (yeah, baby, YEAH!!), which in this case is good enough for me, and sufficient motivation to delay my plans to paint dragons and warrior princesses and all that good stuff.  

In our bedroom, she has a bunch of prints on one wall (various types of flowers).  The rest of the decor – the furniture, the other prints, etc., are quite mediterranean.  It seems these particular prints she has on that one side of the wall are not mediterranean enough to really fit in with the theme, but she really likes the frames.  

So, she asked me to paint (1) a sailboat in a seascape (2) a lighthouse and (3) a greek house (the white and pastel colored ones you see in all those beautiful pictures of the greek islands).

I just started working on the first one.  However, I decided I should practice first, since I haven’t ever actually painted a seascape before with acrylics (I believe when I was 12 or 13 I did one using water color, but that doesn’t count).  So, above is another peak into my acrylic sketch pad.  I promise to show the final paintings once they are ready.