June 27 - john has been working on the "Bunnie The Clown" painting some more. Here is how it looks now:

July 17 - john started painting a new painting yesterday. It is of a Greek fisherman repairing his nets. His grandson is looking on. It isn't far enough along yet to show here.

On the way to art class this morning, john saw three young red foxes playing near a drainage area. He wished he had a camera.

Today, john watched a DVD he had ordered through Amazon. He had been looking for this film for 63 years. It won the Cannes Film Festival in 1946 for technicolor. It is called "The Stone Flower". john was not disappointed in the film although he last saw it when he was seven years old. It was a bit emotional for john to watch the film he had been searching for for the last 63 years!

July 23 - john has just started a new painting. He has named it already: "Elle, Papou!" (Come on, Grandpa!). Papou is repairing his nets (although they have not been painted in yet).

Here is a VERY early rendition of the painting (john often calls this stage the "pre-ugly stage"). A kinder description might be to call it "The Compositional Stage". It is where perspective and proportion matter the most.

john is worried that the windmill might be distracting. It should not catch the eye. He might be able to paint it lighter and softer, so that it blends into the background more. The focus of the painting is the old Greek fisherman.

July 26 - This morning, while john was trying to wake up by having his cup of tea ("Blackberry Sage" from Republic of Tea), he heard pecking on the patio door. He turned around to see three young ducks standing on the top step, right at the patio door, looking in at him. They were begging for food. john threw out a handful of cracked corn for them. john never realized twenty-one years ago that, if he built a pond, the ducks would come and peck on the patio door!

john has really changed the painting of the old Greek fisherman. He thought he had the compositional part done after he drew three pencil drawings, but alas, the painting is still changing. Maybe he will be able to put a new photo up this afternoon.

July 29 - The painting has undergone several changes. The boy grew to about 14 years old. john decided that the boy needed to be younger, so he completely painted him out and started over. Also, the windmill has been moved to a remote hill in the background. Even though one might think that the painting is going backwards, john does not think so. Here is how the painting looks as of today. It is still very much in the pre-ugly stage!