Transition

I'm in the midst of one of those periods where nothing I do turns out right. I don't have the magical touch right now. Part of it is that I'm in transition -- trying out new ideas and techniques -- and that always takes time to develop. And I think the other part is that I've become more critical of my work -- more demanding -- wanting my paintings to be better, perhaps in a way that I'm not yet capable of achieving. The pictures in my head are always far superior to anything I can physically produce, and that's incredibly frustrating.

I'm trying out some underpainting techniques, and working on stretched canvas, instead of unstretched. Here's something I started on yesterday:






The underpainting started out OK, but then came this:



I don't know what possessed me to use the Easter egg colors, and I hate the green in there. I was hoping to do some more detail work on top, but I think this is too dark for it. So I gessoed over it today, and I'll try again tomorrow. That's the nice thing about stretched canvas -- you can gesso over it and re-use it. Unstretched canvas gets wrinkly and doesn't work so well for that.

It's difficult to continually strive for new and better work, but I can't stay static, either. I get bored doing the same old thing, and my work needs to be fresh and exciting. I have to keep stretching and evolving in order for my work to be vibrant and alive. Just when I get really good at a particular style, it's time to change again!