Every now and then a painting takes you on some twists and turns. “With Grace” was such a painting. In the beginning these larger carnations were vibrant and bursting with life. I happily sketched them on canvas and blocked in my values and then life got in the way and I did not get back to them as soon as I wanted.
Upon my return to my easel a dreaded event occurred! My subject was now wilting and did not look so full of life! Oh dear, what was I to do now? My favorite and usually only way to paint is from life. Luckily, my subject’s values had been blocked in and they were also fresh in my mind’s eye. A few digitals added to my rescue as well. I was off and painting again with determination to capture my subject at its best!
My trials and tribulations were not over yet. When I first began my still life I had a narrow strip of ribbon tied around the stems of the carnations. After painting the ribbon in and fiddling with it a bit, I soon realized that it just looked too contrived. So off came the ribbon and on I went to restore the stems and background back to a pleasing presentation.
Although I went through some trials with this painting, I still enjoyed painting it. A nice moment occurred when I discovered a new background color. I used a greenish umber, paynes grey, alizarin crimson with touches of white and naples yellow. Together they turned out to be the color I had envisioned in my mind’s eye before I began painting “With Grace”.
As an artist one must remember to make adjustments to works in progress. Having the courage to delete what is not working is better than living with a mediocre piece of work. Likewise, life can be somewhat the same as this experience. Sometimes, we just have to reajust our position or have the courage to make a change where necessary. That is what makes life interesting; change and our ability to adjust to it.
2 Comments
Getting “there” during the painting process is a fun journey. I like to make sure a experience an “uncomfortable zone” with each painting. Not real pain and angst, but a time where I struggle a little.
Without that uncomfortable time, the struggle, the painting falls flat for me. It just needs that tiny bit of difficulty to make it stand out from just another happy painting.
Debbie, you did a great job in creating this piece and thank you for sharing the story of it with us!
take care,
Thanks so much for visiting Cindy and for sharing your experience as well. It is so true that when there is that little bit of struggle with our work it keeps us on our toes. Luckily, we can often work through it and come up with a solution in the end!