Brook & Bramble Art

Let’s pause for a moment, because this one deserves it. I actually like this painting.

It’s not perfect, not even close, but it doesn’t need to be. I painted it as a gift, with care rather than pressure, and that difference shows. The turtle has personality, the movement feels believable, and the water finally behaved itself enough to suggest depth rather than chaos. For once, things landed more or less where I hoped they would.

There are still things I’d change, of course. There always are. But they don’t shout at me the way they do in other pieces. They sit quietly in the background, letting the overall feeling take the lead instead.

Ironically, the recipient promptly stuffed it in a cupboard. Which stung a bit, I won’t lie. But c’est la vie. Once a painting leaves your hands, it has its own journey, and sometimes that journey involves darkness and dust.

The important part is that it came back to me.

I’m glad this one still exists in my world, tucked away but accessible, ready to be revisited on days when I need reminding that not everything I make has to be a battle. That I can produce something I enjoy. That progress does happen, even if it’s uneven and easy to forget in the moment.

This painting feels like a quiet checkpoint. Not a triumph, not a fluke, just a solid, honest piece that did what it needed to do.