A week ago I took a long drive to Riverside and entered a few paintings in the annual "Off The Wall" event at the Riverside Art Museum. The premise is a lot of fun. The public can walk into the museum, take the artwork right "Off the Wall," and take it home that night.

      Today, I retraced my drive to retrieve the paintings and was happy to find that one, "Country Road," had sold. This painting holds a special place in my artistic journey.

      I painted it in February of 2008 and this was the first painting I did after I switched from acrylic to oils. I remember the experience very well. I was using walnut oil as a medium. The slippery texture was very foreign to me and it seemed like I was painting with spaghetti sauce. My brush seemed to have a live of it's own and I struggled to control the paint. As I worked, I had an !aha! moment and realized that I needed to let go and allow the texture of the oil paints do the work. The richness of the colors were a revelation after struggling with the unnatural tones of acrylics. Once I relaxed with the oil paints, I knew I could never go back to painting landscapes using acrylics.

      I am very pleased that this painting has found a new home for the Holidays. For another wonderful gift, you can purchase one of the other paintings featured in my blog. Just click on the title and buy it online through PayPal or Contact Sharon. You can see more of my art at my website at SharonWeaver.com