That Old Haunt in the Studio - Wherever the Sun Goes, early stages

I've been messing around with oil paints lately.
One day last week I got fed up with the turpentine.

I set terrible goals and challenges for myself to bring an older acrylic monster back to life.

I didn't have the skills to finish this one when I started it. 
Now? I'm making the final marks I didn't know how to make months ago.

There's a part of me drawing off the work I've done that is all around me in my studio. Some things even straight off my floor, others tucked into sketch books that have been kicking around for 20 some odd years, and I’ll look at these and think
. ‘ah, that looks like the contents of my brain strewn before me’

I often revisit subjects many many times, circling around themes that bleed into all my work, both directly and indirectly. These days, I rarely hold a reference image in my hand while I work as I used to, now I just have many references scattered on the floor, posted on the walls and let them just kind of seep into my current work in a very peripheral way.

I paint, but I also draw a lot. It’s a way of getting more information and understanding imagery - I’ll draw and copy something many times and may hardly ever look at them again, 
but they’re in the room at the same time.

I think one reason I paint is I want to respond to what I see, particularly the things that break my heart or spark me up in such a way that I can't help but also tell my own story in the paint.

Thank you for continuing to follow along.
You don't know how much it means to see people enjoy what I create.