Well, this painting was that beginning for me. This was the second painting I ever attempted; that was way back in February of 2007. After my first painting, "Summer Trees," I decided to give the same image another go. I remember thinking, "Now, I've already done this, so I'm ready to put my own spin on it. Hmmm... what exactly is my spin?" As I wondered what kind of painter I'd become, I thought maybe I'd be an impressionist. I'd always loved Monet's work, so I'd kind of blur the lines. Then I thought about Van Gogh; I'd imitate him and let my strokes tell the story. Then... I put thick orange and red blobs on top of brown bases, surrounded them with gold and green flame-like vertical strokes and realized that I was just plain Helen doing my best to make colors and shapes appear to be something recognizable.
