How Hard Can It Be?
A painting, an unfamiliar skill set, and the stubborn question that keeps pushing me into new territory.
Duration
March 2024
Client
My Partner
Services
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Storytelling
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Visual arts
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Crafting
Challenge
Recreate a painting despite having virtually no painting experience.
When my partner considered commissioning an art student to recreate a painting of the Chrysler Building from his favorite show, White Collar, I couldn't help but intervene.
Without any prior painting experience, only an itch to try a new skill, curiosity quickly got the better of me, and I thought: “How hard can it be?”
White Collar, Season 2, Episode 16, “Under the Radar”
Solution
Break an unfamiliar challenge into pieces I could tackle.
“Paint by numbers" approach: Divided the reference image into printable sections, assembled them at full scale, and transferred the composition onto canvas.
Learn as I go: Taught myself color mixing, brush control, blending, and other techniques as each new challenge arose.
Iterate until it works: Reworked colors, details, and techniques until the painting came together into the result I was after.
Impact
The real accomplishment wasn't the painting. It was proving to myself that I could figure out how to make it.
What started with a stubborn “How hard can it be?” became an exercise in persistence, resourcefulness, and learning by doing. The finished painting was rewarding, but the most valuable takeaway was reinforcing a mindset I carry into every new challenge: I don't need to know how to do something before deciding to try. I just need to be willing to figure it out.