I started work on a small painting of a dutch barn while I was still in Holland. I want to do the same picture in big, so this could be considered the “study version”.

But for a short time I thought I wouldn’t be able to paint at all, hence the drama: I thought I had lost my paint brushes (the set in the picture) in Holland. It’s not that I don’t have more brushes, but this was my complete set of oil painting brushes. They are firm, sturdy and also quite expensive. So when the canvas and paints showed up without the brushes, I was left a little worried. Luckily my dad found them this morning. When I asked where he’d found them, he said they had been in a trash bag in the car. Don’t ask me how they got there!

Lesson to be learned: Don’t leave your equipment unattended and realize how stupid stuff can “throw off your groove” real easy. Planning is good, but it isn’t everything!