I went back
Back in the studio today, I did one last thing to the poor lost soul of a painting I was working on yesterday. I have one CD that can usually start my day off right — The Drifters and the first song is “Stand by Me”. I’ve been depending on it for years. It’s a cheap CD that hit a happy note for me one time many years ago so it still brings back a feeling of confidence. I loaded the CD player and slid into a painterly mode. I spent about an hour on the piece and then put a final layer of clear medium on it. It’s parked for now. It’s not a bad painting but it has less spark than I’d like.
Rather than continue to work on it and possibly ruin the surface or make a bad decision out of desperation, I’m leaving it for now. I’ll take a look at it again in a few days and either like it “enough” or have some clarity about what it needs. I hope! In the meantime, a new piece is drawn and ready to start.
It’s an old trick of mine. When a piece has beaten me up and made me doubt myself, I start another one immediately. I never go home with an empty drawing table….and nothing to come back to. Each painting flows seamlessly into the next. Got to keep rolling along.
