On Second Thought…

A few weeks ago, I had a bad outdoor painting day.  I can’t remember if I told you about it.  Probably not, since the three watercolors I came out with that day seemed so horrible.  This was the first of the three.  I buried all three in a pile of little watercolors on my drawing table, hoping out of sight, out of mind.

I came across the little pile yesterday, and seeing this painting afresh made me think again…not so bad.  Actually I like it a lot!  This just goes to show that our first blush assessment of a painting is not always right on.  Sometimes I absolutely love a painting right after completing it, only to have its greatness diminish after a week or two, the weak spots glaring at me upon second look.  This one is the opposite.

I remember what my difficulty was:  everything was turning out far darker than I had anticiipated.  I was sitting in the shade, completely in shade, so neither my paints nor paper were in full sun.  But outdoor light on a sunny day is definitely different than any indoor lighting.  The other two small paintings from that day are definitely dark globs.  I also remember that I did not like how the tree “top” seemed to intersect exactly with the roofline.  Would’ve rather one be higher than the other, but oh well.  I like it even so, now that I’ve looked again.

I think I should make a practice of putting paintings away for two weeks and then pulling them out and looking at them with fresh eyes.

0 thoughts on “On Second Thought…

  1. Expressions of grace says:

    Ahh, but it is good to know that you are not over on your side of the world painting with both hands and two easels as fast as you can with each piece being the brilliant ones we see on the website. 🙂 It is good to see the “struggling” side of the artist and to know that just like me you have some art that you have to give a second thought to. Having said all that, I do like the stretching tree and the white roof. I am not sure if you were inviting constructive criticism, so I hope this isn’t offensive, but the bottom seemed a bit heavy and confusing to me. It seemed to compete with the lightness – lack of weight – of the tree branch and roof line, which I liked. Lisa R.

  2. Cathy says:

    I like the house behind that you can almost see but not quite. Often paintings look better after a few weeks, or if there’s a problem you suddenly see what you need to do!

  3. Sandra says:

    I agree about taking a look later. I’ve looked at some of my old journals and say, “hey, you were on the right track!” I mean, just look at the wonderful piece YOU did.

  4. Lisa R. says:

    I have looked at this painting over and over and every time I have the same thought. It reminds me of a greenhouse or hot house. The sensation of the floor level thick and dark with plants steamy like the jungle. Rising up in one’s imagination, the air is warmer, but less dense as light filters through the branches finally breaking through to reveal the sky.

Leave a Reply to Timaree (freebird) Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *