Mission in Oil

Recently I've been rediscovering oil painting. 

It's been fifteen years since my brief introduction to oil painting in an art class in college. 

Last month I pried the caps off those old tubes of paint and started experimenting. 

And it has been so much fun!  

During a recent visit to Santa Barbara I snapped some pictures for painting inspiration. 

My mom and I walked (as we often do) up to the Mission, whose recognizable facade is usually viewed from this vantage point from the beautiful rose gardens at the foot of a wide lawn in front of the Mission.

 

  I've found that photos that are less beautiful--less picturesque--and less busy--

tend to work better for artistic inspiration for me.  

I think I feel more free to interpret when the original image is not something 

I'm trying to re-create in all of its photo-perfect detail. 

So I walked down into the overgrown field to the side of the lovely gardens 

and captured this glimpse of the familiar landmark:

And here's my interpretation:

The Santa Barbara Mission in Oil: