So are you thinking “UM. I’m pretty sure I saw this primrose yesterday”. Well you did, but this is a different painting. I tried it one more time, but this time only using a large paint brush. It is a lot looser. I didn’t sketch it out first. I just added dabs of paint on a wet surface and let them roam where they wanted to. Here take a look at the comparison:
The biggest difference was the one on the right took 10 hours and the one on the left only five. Now the question is was it because I loosened up and didn’t obsess about any details or was it because I knew the subject matter intimately after spending 10 hours working on it the day before? It’s a good question. I don’t know the answer actually.
I definitely like the primrose from yesterday better. However I really love the spontaneity in the leaves on day two. There is freedom where the paint was allowed to run through the wet surface without over controlling it.
So maybe the answer lies somewhere in the middle. Sketch it out. Put fine detail into the flowers but loosen up as I move out towards the borders.
I’m learning. I’m definitely learning, but the largest impact on my learning curve is putting those hours in. Spending so much time on one act, definitely is strengthening my art muscles. It’s pretty cool.
I finished rather early today which is nice because today is my 12 year wedding anniversary. We are having a very lax day, sipping coffee and putzing around the house. I tell ya, we’ve been together for 17 years and we’ve never really done the whole gift giving thing. We don’t really do gifts at any holiday actually. Pretty much if there is something we need or want throughout the year we get it and on occasion, we might surprise one another with a gift on a plain old regular day. This is a mutual agreement of ours. Gifts can sometimes become an un-giving thing. There are expectations – you owe me. There are comparisons -I put more thought and effort in than you. And then there is the unnecessary purchasing of items we didn’t need just to fill a “special occasion” requirement. I am not saying this is the case for all people and all gift giving, we just mutually agreed it wasn’t necessary. So instead, we just focus on being nice to each other, being stable, making sure we are on the same page, working towards common goals or at least supporting one another’s goals. Stripping all the consumerism out of our holidays helps us see what is real and what is a false expectation created by the outside world. It works for me.
If once a year, we simply turned and faced each other and asked “Do you have my back?” and the answer was mutually “Yes” Then I’d be happy. Well, plus maybe a dinner out. Only because we never go out!!!
Enjoy your Sunday everyone and I’ll be back at it….tomorrow!
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