I managed to find some time, in the hubbub of daily life a few weeks ago, to set up a bit of our studio, dust the rust off my paint brushes, and paint this piece. I went into this with a quick sketch, and just allowed it to evolve on the canvas. I intentionally tried to be less controlling, and just see what the piece became. I had no idea, when I set out, that there would be birds, or a house and a sofa. At one point there was a heart in her hair, but I ended up covering it. Sometimes, I scribbled.
It has been a very long time since I painted in this way, and it was wonderful. I found myself sneaking off to my studio for a minute here, five minutes there, to add something to it. I don’t think I have ever completed a painting so quickly.
As is the way with me, I look at it now and find all of the things I feel are “wrong” about it. I could have tried to use more realism, I could have looked at a real feather for reference, I could have composed it a bit differently, etc. But, really, whatever the outcome, the experience was so fulfilling that it doesn’t really matter. At the end of the day, art is something I do for myself, for my own personal expression. If I don’t enjoy the actual making of it, if I get to caught up in the product, than it isn’t worth doing.
“Peace Offering”
Acrylic and Pastel on Canvas
