Inspired by my year in France and subsequent visits to Paris, I’ve made numerous oil paintings out of my collection of photographs. I’ll be posting some of them here to share with friends, family and readers of this blog. All images subject to copyright. Permission and sales inquiries: parisartclub@gmail.com.

I’m thrilled to say that my painting skills continue to develop and improve each year. No matter what I thought as a young artist, you’re not just born with a certain quota of genius. You have to have some basic level of talent, but it is up to you to develop it. You study, you work, you learn and you grow. You learn how to accept and adapt to criticism. Your eye becomes more discerning and observant. Your drawing becomes more accurate, you finally understand how color theory really works on your palette, and if you’re lucky, you get a sense for creating a painting that feels alive, as elusive as that can be sometimes. And hopefully you get better and your paintings suck less and less.

I’ve taken studio and plein air classes from some really good teachers, including Marge Hall at the DuPage Art League in Wheaton, Illinois, Jose Agustin Andreu at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and the Marco Bronzini Art School and Studio in Naples, Florida. Which just goes to show you, you CAN teach an old dog new tricks.

Here’s to THAT.