That workshop was tempting, except that it is two weeks which would be hard for me to do. But my son, who is in the Coast Guard, is stationed two hours north of Seattle. I will be eager to hear how you like his workshop.

Jeff,

I just wanted to say that I am jealous that you only have to drive a half hour to get art supplies! The closest for me is an hour and a half.

I wish I had the money to invest in supplies to stock/sell in my studio. I have people coming in every day asking for them. Could be a good extra money maker. Of course, then I would be ringing up orders instead of painting.

Jeff, I just finished commenting on your nice sketch of Janice. I suggested there, and I suggest here, that you focus on the accuracy of your lines, each line, more than the form. Make each line correct, and the form will come along. Take care of each line, its dynamic, its angle and length, its value. The form will take care of itself. Most people worry too much about the form and lose focus on the quality of the lines they make to get to the form. A drawing is made one line at a time. Make each line count. I call it "line first." Not that form is not important. It is. But you arrive at the form by drawing good lines. Don't fall into the trap of only thinking that good form is the answer. It most certainly is not. The line is.

If a line is wrong, it will make the next one wrong, and so forth, and the form falls apart the moment that bad line was drawn. If you have a chiseled point, you maximize the quality of your lines since you can change their dynamic so easily. A good chisel gives you control. If a drawing has beautiful lines, as Janice's drawing did, it will be pleasing, even if the form is not perfect. It will still be artful.

:)

Jeff,

Be aware (be afraid) I am about to express an opinion. Viewer discretion is advised.

I think you should begin to paint! Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against drawing, some of my best friends draw. But it is my opinion, and it has been my experience, that the art of painting is different enough from drawing that whatever time it will take you to become a proficient painter will not be reduced substantially by continuing to hone your drawing skills.

This opinion, and there may be many horizontally opposed, is specific to you. To others I would say - draw first, show me your drawings. But you presently have good drawing skills and I would guess that you can draw better than a lot of very good painters.

Painting is drawing with a different medium. If you enjoy the activity of drawing that

Erasing is necessary at times, I agree. It is just a a habit that can be used too often to allow ourselves bad lines. You have tell yourself that this line is going to be good, and that you will not let yourself erase. It is an attitude. If you erase alot, you promote bad lines. It is not so much about erasing or not erasing, as much as focusing on the line quality. Yours is good already. I am just talking.

:)

Mike,

I'm considering starting to paint soon. I appreciate your assessment of my readiness.

At WetCanvas, they're doing a project using Zorn's limited palette. I was intrigued by this, and am thinking about taking the plunge.

Not to get all Kung-Fulish about this, but in my experience there are a couple of ways to reduce the amount of erasures. Whether working by sight-size techniques I