Tripping Up

 Getting a good start... and then tripping up is part of being an artist.

 Not all paintings are successful...

as a matter of fact many don't seem to turn out like we had expected or hoped for.

I started this mixed media piece as a demo for my class this week and was pretty happy with the beginning stages.  I carefully chose my papers and color palette, I knew the composition I was going to do (I've actually done this one many times before)...what could go wrong I ask?

Anything & Everything...

especially true when working on a more abstract piece.  Most times you're not actually painting a flower or a vase or anything really concrete that you're painting from a model...it's not planned out, you're kinda making it up in your head as you go along.  It's much more a process, with elements emerging as you work along, that present happy surprises...or disappointing roadblocks.  I hit a roadblock with this one!

Me trying hard to make it work...

So I thought it more important to fess up and point out that all of us artists types get tripped up, discouraged and disappointed in how a piece may be turning out...

even with our best efforts.

I think that may even be a better lesson than me showing up to class next week with a completed piece...best to learn from our trip ups and painting frailties. 

My friend GiGi suggested this piece was too busy, and maybe I should go one step 

further and add in the kitchen sink...so I did!

It's time to let it rest...

maybe for a day, a week or sometimes even a year later you pick it up one day and voila...you turn it into your next masterpiece!  Or maybe you rip it up into little pieces and add them into your next great mixed media piece of art.  No matter what you do, it's important to know and remember it's all a learning process...learning from your mistakes is often times the best lessons of all...and later you may turn it around into one of your favorite pieces of art.

The beautiful thing about painting is you can cover it up...it's just paint after all...

and the more layers, the more history, the more elements emerging and peeking through

can very often lead to a much stronger piece of art.

So this one is going to rest for a bit...tomorrow is another day.