I hope to be able to share with you my journey and joy of painting.  I began painting in January 2001, by taking some tole painting classes at our local craft store.  I quickly discovered that "craft" painting really wasn't my calling, however then I found landscapes.

I began my landscapes using pattern books but I had some trouble with the palettes that were used.  I noticed that I strayed from the pattern more than I stuck with it.  I have truly enjoyed doing my latest landscapes based on photographs taken of locations that we have visited.

I began learning to paint in January of 2001.  I started by taking several classes under the direction of Alois Ellis at the local Ben Franklin Crafts store.  She really worked on the basics and the proper brush strokes.  Our medium was acrylic craft paint, usually Ceramcoat or Folk Art

After successfully completing several �crafty� projects.  Our classes turned to landscapes.  Although we worked in acrylics there were no projects that suited our taste and therefore we learned to convert the oil palette into an acrylic one. 

We first started out with The Grist Mill, which had some real issues.  But, plug along we did and in the end I was happy with the results. 

I had always wanted to try my hand at oil painting, but was really turned off to it because of the �mess�.  I didn�t want to have all that turpentine, thinner, and wet paint hanging around all the time.  I didn�t think that they would be compatible with children and pets.  Too much mess and expense.  But then one day�.

I saw an advertisement for Genesis Heat Set Paint.  These were oil paints that never dried out until you heat them to 265� for a period of time.  These were what I was exactly the answer to my painting dilemma.  I could do blending techniques and other more subtle work because they behaved as normal oils would but with the added bonus of being able to dry the painting at anytime that I was happy with the way it look.

Judy Smith