First Mentor Meeting with Mike Carson

I met with my mentor Mike Carson today for the first time at his studio in Northeast Minneapolis. I brought my first residency work as well as my new paintings from the last month or so. We spent a lot of time discussing our views on art. He's a great fit for where I'm at because we both use old photos for reference imagery, and we both love to paint primarily for the purpose of becoming better painters. He was able to identify with my struggles to infuse deeper meaning, and for the first session turned mainly to painterly ways of improving my work. He had great suggestions on specific paints, surfaces, color palettes and artists to look at. He currently is working on a very large mural sized canvas for a private commission. It depicts a grand ballroom with many intricate figures. He's about a third done with it, and I got to observe his process and ask lots of good questions. In short, it was a great meeting and I have even more ideas and avenues to explore.... I have so much to go on-