12" x 12" oil on board
This is the miller's house, located at the historic Colvin Run Mill in Fairfax County. The mill was built around 1811, and it still works. I painted the house as part of the Paint Great Falls outdoor painting competition. This was the first time I've entered into a painting competition, and it was a lot for me. If I do anything like this again, I will probably wait until summer because I wasn't able to devote the time to it that I should have. The competition went on all week long, but I was only able to give it three days, and I completed three paintings. Meantime, I'm juggling a major garden project at my school, working full time, attending my kids sports and practices and generally running myself into the ground.
Despite all of that, I put way too much weight on earning a ribbon. When I didn't earn one, instead of letting myself feel good about putting myself out there, painting in front of people for the first time, having the chance to hang my work in a gallery for a month, etc., I felt discouraged. I know that's ridiculous, but I still feel it. But maybe that feeling is necessary when you really care about something and you're determined. Let it drive you or let it stop you. That's the choice.
Also, I chose not to enter this painting - I was allowed to enter two, and after much polling, this one did not make the cut...maybe it should have?
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