It is only 7 degrees Fahrenheit right now at 11:00 am this February morning.  I have an unfinished beach painting on my easel.  The snow that fell a week ago is still on the ground.  Usually it would have melted away by now but we've had a bit of extreme cold here in Central Illinois.

I just returned from 2 weeks in Houston where, even for Houston, there were some chilly days.

The painting that is on my easel is a simple scene.  Nothing too complicated here.  For some reason, though, I have been at it in starts and stops.  Would you believe I started this in November 2023!  I put it away for a while, then pulled it out again last summer.  I took it off my easel again months ago.  And today I've pulled it back out yet again.

This time I'm determined to finish it.  Whether it's a good painting or not, it deserves to be finished.  Besides, it is challenging me now to do just that!  

I'm giving myself 40 hours to wrap up this painting.  That is basically one week's work.  I won't be able to work on it every day due to other things that require my time right now, but by, let's say, February 28 it WILL be finished.  If it isn't, I'm going to gesso over the thing and start something completely different.

I can't recall any other painting giving me this much trouble.  Maybe one has, I just don't recall.

Such is life for a painter!  

I'll post at the end of the month what the outcome is!