I've been oil painting for about 2 years now and I still haven't figured out how to ration out my paint!  So I end up with mounds of extra paint that often just dries up and goes to waste.  I HATE having my money go to waste so I have decided to make paintings with my leftovers. This will be an ongoing process where I use just my palette knife and my leftover paint.  

These experiments took place week 1 of grad school. The focus was on using colors in the skin tone that are not just tans browns etc. Pulling in blues purples etc.  Also focusing on thicker brush strokes. Not blending everything.

I struggle to say "I am an artist."  I'm not entirely sure where this comes from but I often get shy or almost embarrassed talking about my profession.  I didn't grow up around working artists and I think this idea of making art as a career has always been a bit dreamy and far fetched.   As I begin the MFA Program here at MCAD and live in the city of Minneapolis I am surrounded by creatives. I am starting to realize that yes I am an artist and there is nothing wrong with that.