I don’t do nearly enough painting although it’s something I really, really love..! It’s partly not having the time to do it and partly because I feel like I’m not as good at it as I’d like to be. Of course, the irony of painting less, which won’t help me improve at all, isn’t lost on me!
But sometimes inspiration strikes and I know exactly how I want to do something and on those occasions I grab hold of that moment and don’t let it go! Sometimes the result is rubbish and sometimes the result is decent enough. And at those times I tell myself: you have to paint more!
Wanting to be better at something but not doing anything about it because you feel like you’re not that great at it… it’s complicated! ;-)
Anyway, I did a painting a little while ago, inspired by this photo, and then I sent it to Jen. The inspiration is one of her polaroid photos, one of my favourites!
Luckily, she likes it and that makes me all colours of happy (but maybe especially orange..!).
I always (well, when I remember) take pictures of different stages of a painting.. it can sometimes change quite dramatically from start to finish. I like the almost watercolour-like underpainting, and the fluorescent pink and orange. They don’t really show in the finished painting, apart from a few specks. But specks are important. Even if it’s just me who knows they are there…
Painting is a bit like a puzzle… you have to figure out what kind of brush strokes and what colours will make up the image in your head (or photo or real life).. I like that. :-)