Shannon Larratt is Zentastic

I always cringe at these “in progress” entries because I'm afraid that people will see this, think I'm incompetent, and not ever see the final product, which will still look radically different… But if you've seen a few versions of this painting I think you know the level of flux it's in.

You can see the previous version a couple entries down from this one, but this afternoon while Saira was helping with Nefarious (bathtime), I filled in a nicer background to work over for the top half of the painting. It will still darken a ton as I work it over, and there's an immense amount of detail and texture to build up, but this gives you a general idea of the tone and shape of the deep background.

I guess the thing that's probably becoming obvious to you if you have followed my paintings is that while I do have a traditional fine art background (so I can do a realist-style portrait if I have to), my theory of art is pretty much have fun and focus more on getting something inside you onto the canvas rather than trying to be technically skilled… I don't think that what makes a good painting has much to do with how high the skill is (although certainly there is a “minimum standard”), it has far, far more to do with how much of yourself has been invested in it.

Yes, this pretty much means that “what's inside Shannon” is cartoonish, childish, and simplified fantasies of my view of the world and the way I wish it looked and felt…

PS. Other recently completed paintings:

• Yeah, but you're both still reptiles
• Moses of the North leads his people to safety (PS. Artists aint Zoologists, Southern Elitists)
• Tater Joins A Mexican Circus

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