This morning I attempted to paint an orange that was sliced in half, but I ended up wiping it off. I set the timer for an hour in an attempt to keep it nice and loose. That didn't happen, and there's a reason. I'll start at the beginning.
I have three wonderful daughters. Now that they are grown, they all like each other and me. (Not always the case during the teen age years.) One of the fun things when we all get together is all four of us end up sitting on my bed, laughing and telling stories. Sometimes I learn things that I'd rather not know about, but that's another story.
One of the things they laugh about ME is that they inherited my Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. I say they didn't get it from me, because I still have all of mine.
Anyway, if I do have OCD, they all benefited from it. I like things neat and clean. I would move through the house picking up, putting things away, wiping and fluffing and dusting, putting the chairs back under the table, stuff like that.
Let's see, I had a point here. Oh yes, why I wiped off my painting. When I paint, I find if very hard to suggest things. That's why so far my paintings are very realistic. I don't WANT to paint like that. But my OCD kicks in, and I find myself trying to paint Every. Little. Segment. of that sliced orange. When the timer rang, I stepped back and looked at my painting and I didn't like it. So I wiped it off, and I'll try again later.
Anyway, this afternoon, I have my second class with the ladies. I'm supposed to do a value study of an apple. Maybe I'll post that.
I think everyone has to find their style, and it comes with time, and plenty of painting. If you don't look for "perfection" in every painting, you'll find yourself enjoying one step or another.
ReplyDeleteYour lemons and glass look very nice.
I'm compulsive, too, and if I don't keep my aim of being loose at the forefront of my brain, I forget and end up being too literal, too. It's like wandering into some tunnel you didn't intend to enter and realize it too late.
ReplyDeleteYour transparent apple study does have some very nice qualities---an iridescent quality.
Caladh, you are right, I think we all are trying for "perfection" in our paintings. Of course that's just setting ourselves up for failure. We are all our own worst critics.
ReplyDeleteLorraine, it is exactly like a tunnel!
ReplyDelete