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# Toe Dipping in Painting
- URL: https://www.mundomendo.com/toedippinginpainting/
- Published: 2026-08-25T10:32:17.000Z
- Updated: 2026-08-25T10:32:17.000Z
- Description: Who gets an irresistible urge to paint just a few weeks before a major book deadline? That's right: me ✌️
- Author: Luis Mendo
- Tags: ART

⭥

### Past July, an oblivious Luis —not me, another Luis Mendo, the dumb one— totally forgot the looming print deadline for [Book Two](https://www.mundomendo.com/books/). Got distracted by an immense urge to paint. Yes, paint. Not exactly drawing and certainly not on a screen, but to actually smear pigment on a surface.

  
Since I am mostly familiar with pixels, ink, pencils and watercolors, I went nuts and bought oil/wax pastels, solvents, primers, gouache and acrylics. Took some forgotten canvas out of my closet and started trying things out. It was not about the *what* but more the *how* I painted.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/b2/ee/b2ee4b14-1bd2-45f3-b497-8268b1806582/content/images/2026/08/Baby-Steps-01.jpg)

The last time I'd used acrylics on canvas was about 30-some years ago, and it wasn't very good. I was terrible, in fact.   
As usual, I chose to forget that I sucked back then: «You are a grown-up now. There's no reason you shouldn't be painting» a voice in my head said. «You've been such an imposter for so long… Enough hiding yourself behind the familiar ink line and the sharp pixels. You love light, you enjoy colour, go ahead and paint!»

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/b2/ee/b2ee4b14-1bd2-45f3-b497-8268b1806582/content/images/2026/08/Baby-Steps-02.jpg)

Easier said than done. If drawing is already hard, painting is much harder. A very different beast.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/b2/ee/b2ee4b14-1bd2-45f3-b497-8268b1806582/content/images/2026/08/Baby-Steps-03.jpg)

As a testimony for the future, I leave the paintings I did here for you. Theme-wise they aren't very ambitious, I just want to try techniques and see what I feel comfortable with and enjoy doing.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/b2/ee/b2ee4b14-1bd2-45f3-b497-8268b1806582/content/images/2026/08/Baby-Steps-04.jpg)

What do I care what others say? If I try, I may end up somewhere. If I don't, I will get nowhere. 

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/b2/ee/b2ee4b14-1bd2-45f3-b497-8268b1806582/content/images/2026/08/Baby-Steps-05.jpg)

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/b2/ee/b2ee4b14-1bd2-45f3-b497-8268b1806582/content/images/2026/08/Baby-Steps-07-1.jpg)

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/b2/ee/b2ee4b14-1bd2-45f3-b497-8268b1806582/content/images/2026/08/Baby-Steps-08.jpg)

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/b2/ee/b2ee4b14-1bd2-45f3-b497-8268b1806582/content/images/2026/08/Baby-Steps-09.jpg)

Thank you for not judging the above experiments too harshly.

Love,  
Luis Mendo