I fell in love with the block in for this painting. I loved it so much that it took me a couple of weeks to paint over it. I wanted to leave it as it was so bad, but it was just too unfinished. I couldn’t not finish it. I loved the loose brushwork and bright colors and was terrified to messing it up. In the end, I think I managed to do it justice.

Painting this was a bit of a catalyst for me. It made me think I should try harder on my block ins and use more paint. I mean, this one would have been finished if I had just used more paint. As a result I attempted to paint some alla prima pumpkins and came pretty close to finishing them in one sitting. Those pumpkins in turn motivated me to think a bit more seriously about doing a 30 in 30 challenge.