In October of 2018, I showcased the painter at a local library fundraiser. Committing to the event gave me the motivation to finalize the algorithm and start my first paintings. The response and feedback from the event was very positive and enthusiastic. Small crowds of event attendees stood around to watch it paint four quick paintings that I had put together for the event. One attendee commented that watching it paint was like the calming effect of staring into a camp fire.  

Because one the main reasons I was attempting this project was to become a better programmer, I thought it would be fun to stay true to the classic "Hello World" initiation. I decided that my first painting with this machine would be planet Earth. I probably painted ten of them before finalizing the painting settings (number of axes, brush type and size, distance brush can travel on canvas before going back for more paint, etc.). From an aesthetic point of view it's not my favorite painting but hey you have to start somewhere.

Once I had figured out painting settings that worked reasonably well, I painting several more. The hot air balloon was my first attempt at a three color painting. The chess pawn exposed a flaw in my algorithm that I was able to fix. The pear was a great example of paint stroke placement with the longest line algorithm. Overall, I was pleased with the paintings and became more excited with the project after finally putting paint to canvas.

These first paintings also solidified my decision to start working towards a fully automated cnc painting system. I wanted a system that performed brush changes, cleaned the brushes, and dispensed paints without my help.