Well, I did a painting today - but I don’t feel I achieved what I set out to do - Oh, I painted what was in my mind ….alright - it’s just that what was in my mind was very vague.

There was a couple of thoughts in my mind and a couple of lessons - so I’ll talk about that.

Thoughts in my mind as I painted this (I believe I’m guided as I paint - the ideas I have while painting often “come to me” - so I like to note them:

- I like Mike Moran’s idea of trying things quickly - may have 100 “failures” for 1 “success”.  I don’t know if this painting is a failure - but it’s sure not a “success” - but i still learn from it.

- My idea was “fuzzy” - I set out with a vague idea that objects in Second Life (IE: a Coke Bottle - Branding) are 100 times more powerful than in regular life because there’s little “noise” in SL.

- “while I had “real life” in the left and “second life” in the right - there’s no relationship in the composition that would make it work.  On the other hand, the painting shows my real state - not knowing how to integrate real life and second life yet.

What I learnt:

- An artist’s work should be evaluated by the totality of it - not on any particular work.  My work is uneven - but so is everyone else’s.

- I’m having a struggle with the materials I’m using and the size / composition of the sketches / paintings I’m doing - but judging from the other artists I’m seeing - I’m not alone in this - several other’s in my studio - several other artists, in general, have the same issue.

- Chalk Pastels, while great for freeing me up - might not always be the right medium to work in.  I find that what I gain in color I lose in control.  The best solution may be a more oily pastel.   At any rate, I think integrating oil pastels and pastels may work sometimes, but now always.

- The Energy wants to go in it’s own direction - I think it’s better to do more experimentation, as I’m beginning to do.  It’s not possible for Artists who are “searchers” to know they will succeed in every painting - for people who “search” part of the painting will be “groping for the right combinations of colors, the right composition, etc.

That’s about enough for tonight.  Yes, I did try to use text to integrate my idea that Second Life brands are much more powerful there than here - but I did not succeed - maybe I just need to work on the idea a little longer.