4 inch nail #242

Daily painting #242. 4"x6" oil on primed canvas panel 

So why a 4 inch nail you are asking yourself right? You would be forgiven for thinking I had finally lost the plot, however this little painting made me realize even more so the value of little daily paintings....

Firstly a construction company finally arrived to fix my kitchen ceiling yesterday which collapsed due to a leaking geyser....I think I told you about it...but after nearly 3 weeks of haggling with the insurance the repair work finally started! Last night after they had cleared themselves out (my house looked like a war zone for most of the day), I found this huge 4 inch nail lying on the kitchen counter...it looked like a weapon of sorts! With all the chaos I had yet to find some quiet time to do my daily painting and so my children joked about the 'lethal looking' nail being the subject of my daily painting.....it seemed rather a stupid thing to paint but I decided to give it a go....a little bit of quirky every now and again is good....

Well little did I know what I was in for....something so simple should be easy to paint! HA! Think again!!! I struggled for ages to try create the form and the subtle contrast between object and shadow....I struggled to create the illusion of the actual object as opposed to something that just looked like a stripe along the canvas! I struggled with the subtle tonal values and neutral color! Wow who would have thought a little 4 inch nail would take so long to paint! I am reminded again and again of the value of painting these little daily studies. They are little struggles that challenge my technique, commitment, perseverance and even my nerves....it is not about WHAT I paint but HOW I paint it! These little daily challenges and struggles are necessary to make me a better painter and hopefully provide more insight when I am tackling larger pieces of work. I am humbled by the little 4 inch nail in the knowledge that there is always much to learn in this journey as a painter ....one really is a constant student and as long as we remain eager to embrace struggles there is always more to learn...even if as in this case the teacher is a simple 4 inch nail!

Purchase paintings at Heidi Shedlock Fine Art
(Click on the highlighted writing to view gallery of available daily paintings)