Okay, back at it. And I swear this is it.

After the last blossom picture I made I promised myself I wouldn't do another one that involved that amount of time and effort. These pictures often wear me down to nothing, and there's usually a refractory period during which I have a hard time justifying what I do when it comes to painting.

So, I've broken my promise. I've had this picture in a partial state for about two years. It started wonderfully, but something about it intimidated me. I became fearful of ruining it, and so I was afraid to do anything further to it.

Also, it's on a full sheet of Bristol board, 22 X 30 inches. I've never made a blossom picture anywhere near that size. Besides the sheer number of cells it will take to fill the sheet, it's physically demanding. The way the cells are shaded in some areas forces me to reach all the way to the opposite end of the sheet to put them in. That would be hard to explain, so I won't bore you other than to say that things are made more difficult because I paint either kneeling on the floor or sitting cross-legged, with the sheet flat on a board on the floor in front of me.

Anyway, here it is as it currently stands. It might be 20 or 25% complete at this stage. There are approximately 1,000 cells in it so far. My goal is to work on it exclusively, with the hope of finishing it within a month. I don't know what the chances are of me meeting that goal.