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Painting is a process not a destination. You have a plan, a vision, but the creative mind and hard work either make a mess or magic; if a mess, an opportunity to create something else as equally beautiful.
An FAA artist recently sold a painting of two beautiful koi fish; striking white and red koi on a dark background. The artist admitted that the original painting had been of two Flamenco dancers dressed in red, but that the end result was less than satisfying.
The real magic occurred when the artist’s eye saw the potential to create something totally different. Accidents happen, sometimes for the best. I’ve discovered some unique and amazing color combinations by chance and experimentation. I prefer to mix my colors on canvas (except for skin tones). You get some interesting, eye-popping mixtures on canvas, and sometimes you get mud. Learning what works and what doesn’t is important.
What if I make a mistake? I simply wipe the paint off quickly and start again before it dries. Currently I’m reworking some of my old no-sale canvases and analyzing why they were not successful. Sometimes the reasons are small and I’ll see potential for reworking them. The painting featured today is one of those. I’m showing the original, and in another blog, I'll upload the "reborn" painting.
The original version has an egret perched on the forward bridge rail smack dab in the middle of the painting. Why I didn’t notice that in the beginning is beyond me. I covered up the egret with river water and placed a new egret more to the left. This decision gave me a new title for the painting: “Leap of Faith.”
The original painting seems blah, to me. I’m trying to pump up the temperature of the colors by adding more yellow and pink to the mix. By the time I’m finished, the painting will have a richer glow and a more interesting composition (I hope).
What I learned is this: never give up on a painting. There is always hidden treasure waiting to be found. Some of the most unique and beautiful abstracts have come from this source. So next time you have a failure of any kind, remember: it’s not the end of the road. It may be just the beginning.
