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The first 6 months of the Pandemic last year, I, like most of you, panicked! I went from 25 students having a party every day, to being alone in my studio listening to Silence. Many galleries closed their doors and some artists tried to teach classes on zoom. I decided that zoom classes were most unsatisfactory so I made projects for myself. One project was entering a Facebook "30 paintings in 30 days" Challenge. I sold some of them cheap but many I decided were not good enough to sell so I painted over them. The grapes below were in that category but I thought this one had possibilities. I changed the shape of the bunch to be more interesting, spent time scumbling the lighter surface of the skin, painted the light that passes through the grapes a warmer color, added high lights, and changed many of the grapes' shapes. Also used more paint on the background to suggest a stucco wall and added stems. In other words, I took my time to paint a more realistic subject. I know there is much to be learned from forcing yourself to paint fast, but sometimes it's important to slow down and really observe what is in front of you. One bit of knowledge to pass on. When light passes through an object filled with liquid, the backside where the light exits the object will often be warmer. Check it out for yourself!

(Incomplete painting below)