Tuesday, May 08, 2012

Sleeper

Sleeper 
Available for purchase on my website


“Why do cats sleep so much? Perhaps they've been trusted with some major cosmic task, an essential law of physics - such as: if there are less than 5 million cats sleeping at any one time the world will stop spinning. So that when you look at them and think, "what a lazy, good-for-nothing animal," they are, in fact, working very, very hard.”
― Kate Atkinson

I am guilty of over tinkering the self portrait in the previous post.  After frustration and hateful adjustments, I conceded defeat and wiped the portrait from existence.  And I don't feel bad about it all.  I captured a moment in time and now its gone as moments do.  I will try again. We learn from each mistake and each failure.

What I have learned and continue to learn is to trust my gut feeling in painting.  I have learned that the first strokes, put down fresh and without thinking too much are the best ones.   I have learned that adjustments are very tricky and seldom add to a piece.

So despite what I learn and know, I will continue to make mistakes and kick myself for them.  I will continue to solicit advice and input from other painters and continue to ignore that and let the little voice in my head fool me into taking yet another step towards the precipice.  But I will continue to try.

So replacing the portrait on the same canvas is this snoozing cat.  Still in oils, loose and I WILL NOT make any adjustments.  10" x 10" canvas panel


2 comments:

JANE MINTER said...
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JANE MINTER said...

hope the show was a success jeanette ... your painting is as soft as this beautiful cat ... i liked the high key potrait underneath too ...