There's a saying in the art world that sometimes you have to be willing to kill your darlings.
A rather morbid expression, don't you think? But yesterday afternoon, that's exactly what I had to do.
As I contimued working on my dreamy fox painting, I became overly committed to the beautiful purple flower in the upper right corner. I loved the flower, the colors, and all those wonderful little marks I’d made surrounding it.
There was just one problem. It wasn't working with the rest of the painting.
And the more I tried to make everything else work around it, the more I realized I was holding on too tightly.
So, I finally painted over it. Gulp!
Was it the right decision? Only time will tell. But thank goodness for photography. At least I have a picture of my little darling!
Funny how you think a painting will be fairly straightforward, especially when you've already worked out a composition, and then it decides it wants to go somewhere else entirely.
Here’s yesterday’s progress below.
I'd hoped to have this fox finished for Open Studios in November. But the painting seems to have a different plan. And really, why am I putting all this pressure on myself? The fox certainly doesn't seem to be in any hurry!
So I'm loosening my grip, letting go of the deadline, and allowing this painting to become whatever it wants to be.
It will reveal itself in its own time.
And I'm along for the journey.
PS: If you’d like to see to see the completed painting - visit Joy Begins Here.