Kill It or Save It?

Memory of Magnolia ~ acrylic on paper ~ 20"x26"

Underpainting

Not quite there yet

I love all the stages of creating a new painting. I often start by laying down random color and shapes and just getting lost in the process. In those early stages, anything goes - I more or less feel my way around. There comes a point, however, when choices must be made and I can feel my brain switching over to "edit" mode....and then back again. Then sometimes I'm just stumped. 

This painting kicked around my studio for a year looking like a total failure. That's harsh - let's just say it was "unresolved." The funny thing was that I liked it at first, then - the more I looked at it the less I liked it. I stuffed it away in my flat file because it was annoying me. Mocking me, actually. 

Then one day - it was back on my painting board and I was determined to kill it or save it. Where to start? Sometimes it's just a step at a time. First step - get rid of just one thing you don't like. Slowly, everything starts to change, you respond to the changes, and now you're back in the saddle. So, today I like the piece. Who knows how I'll feel tomorrow.