Better late than never

[Shane13]

I've always wanted to learn how to paint. I just never did it. I started drawing with pencils when I was a little kid, and I've done lots of drawings here and there forever. All the while I would say, "one of these days, I need to learn how to paint." Well, a wildlife artist that I follow (Dallen Lambson) offered an online lesson series a while back, and I figured at age 57 I better stop saying "one of these days".

I bought all the supplies for oil painting, logged in to Dallen's Zoom lessons every Wednesday night for 6 weeks, and came away with lots of new knowledge and my first oil painting. Dallen is a great instructor as well as a great artist. He was able to get me going. I should have done this sooner, but better late than never.

I thought I'd share it here, as you guys love mule deer. And maybe there's something you have been dreaming of doing for too long too. Don't be like me and say "someday" too long. Get after it!

 

[Lou (Louis)]

Absolutely fantastic work!

 

[Shane13]

Absolutely fantastic work!

Thank you. I see all the things I want to get better at, but it's a start.

 

[Alabama]

If you had shown this without the backstory, I would have thought you have done this for years. That's amazing work!

 

[Shane13]

I've done pencil drawings for years. Some of that definitely translates over to painting, but there's a lot to learn still about color mixing, brush work, etc...

 

[Lou (Louis)]

I've done pencil drawings for years. Some of that definitely translates over to painting, but there's a lot to learn still about color mixing, brush work, etc...

Holy cow!
That is fantastic!

 

[dan maule]

Great Work! I have absolutely zero artistic ability and it amazes me how someone can draw something like that.

 

[mnhoundman]

Wow! That is awesome!!

 

[buckbull]

Impressive. I cant draw a stick person. You have a great talent.

 

[Timber Stalker]

Awesome work! You have a great talent

 

[Shane13]

Thanks for the kind words, y'all.

 

[Yell Co AR Hunter]

I would say you have spun your wheels way to long. Nice work. You know people pay good money for numbered wildlife prints. Give a few away to fund raisers and the sales will follow.

 

[mallardsx2]

Great work. It's safe to say that I will never be a painter. I can barely use spray paint. lol

 

[Shane13]

I would say you have spun your wheels way to long. Nice work. You know people pay good money for numbered wildlife prints. Give a few away to fund raisers and the sales will follow.

Yes sir. I used to sell a few drawings and prints of the originals. People will pay a lot more for an oil painting, but honestly, a drawing like I posted above takes more time than a painting. It takes a long time to cover a 16"x20" board with tiny little pencil marks, but you can cover a good bit of ground with a paintbrush a lot faster. Of course, going back to paint in lots of tiny detail adds a ton of time too, I'm finding. But still faster than a pencil drawing. That's why I stopped trying to sell drawings. I could sell an original for a few hundred dollars, but if it took 60 hours to complete it, it just wasn't worth my time from a business perspective. And it kinda took the fun out of it when it became more like a side job. I may sell a drawing or painting or two in the future, but mostly I just do stuff like that for fun. I make a good living already. I can see potentially being more open to selling art one of these days if I ever retire from my current career.