I bet you thought I had forgotten about this particular painting, didn't you? Come now, you know I never like to leave an artwork incomplete - it would be like writing a story and not providing a conclusion. Hardly satisfying for you the reader, or me, the wannabe artist.
You may recall I first posted about my acrylic still life painting in early January. At that point things seemed to be going relatively well. Things were going *really* well in fact - until for some unknown reason, I hit the wall (artistically speaking).
You see, despite all my attempts, I just could not get this painting to look how I wanted it to look. It was like the image in my head could not transfer via the paintbrush in my hand onto the canvas. No matter how many hours I spent, or different techniques I tried. The situation became so dire that by mid January, for the first time in a long time, I was starting to feel like maybe I just couldn't do it and that perhaps I should scrap the painting and just start again. Yes, I will admit, I felt like I was a bit of a failure.
Rather than throw in the paintbrush at that point, I left the painting in a sad and sorry state on my easel for a few weeks until my resolve returned to try and salvage the painting. I tried again over the past few days and finally felt like maybe I was starting to have a break-through.
There are still a number of areas where I am still unhappy with the work. At least however, there are finally a few things that I am satisfied with - including finally achieving sheer curtains that almost look sheer; a vase that is looking relatively translucent; and lemons that hopefully look like lemons. Oh, and I think my little butterfly is a rather cute and whimsical addition too! (I'm setting you a challenge to see if you can find it...) I'm still very unhappy with the branches and leaves, but am hoping I can resolve this issue sometime this week.
I'm crossing my fingers that from now on, this painting will continue to improve and finally emerge as a work of art I can be proud to say I created myself.
I think this artwork was designed to teach me that sometimes my most satisfying paintings aren't those which emerged easily off the paintbrush, but those which have taken me to the brink of my patience and have tested my ability and fortitude. I like the concept that I'll one day look at the finished painting and know I gave it my all and I didn't give up.
I look forward to showing you the finished painting, when it finally reaches that point - whenever that may be.
Until I see you again, I hope you have a wonderfully creative week!
Kate
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