There's nothing like it -

- taking a class in January, that is.  This year it's Tracy Verdugo with her Jump Into Abstract Painting  class, and it's already a good deal of fun.

I'm a hit and miss learner, so I watched all the videos and then cherry-picked some things.  I really liked the colour and line segment and went to town on it with paint brushes, gel pens, coloured pencils and every other thing in the studio that made marks.

It was most interesting to deliberately go against my own grain, making marks and using colours that were not particularly appealing, and I found some interesting bits to show you.  I'm loving the hot pink against the lime here.

This segment looks really fun in a vertical format,

and I noticed how much I preferred it to the horizontal.

These candles pleased me, but what's with those black flames????

Apparently I have a thing for making waves.

These flower pots with fledgling plants really speak to me, especially with those tangled roots below.

And of course you knew there'd be hearts somewhere in the mix.

I'll really enjoy the next part of the videos, I'm sure, and will keep you posted.