I've been taking a painting class and did this still life.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

136. It wasn't my first, but it was my first attempt at direct painting.

This was the product of a short seminar in which we were taught how to prepare the canvas, do the preliminary drawing, given some paint to mix our own colors and then complete the painting, all in four days, without the paint ever drying. Everything I'd done before was in a once-a-week class where the paint would dry so I'd paint in layers and use glazes (traditional techniques, including verdaccio). I've been afraid to do portaits because it's so hard to get the eyes to point in the same direction.

The classes are at a small art school called The Art Academy in St. Paul, MN. If there's anybody in the area who wants to learn to draw and paint in a structured, traditional way that emphasizes learning basic techniques first, I can't recommend them highly enough.