Enjoying the Journey
Pulling the paint across an empty canvas is kind of like taking a trip to a new place. You might know where you’re going but you never know what might happen along the way. I suggest to approach painting in this manner so we don’t lose sight of the trees while we’re looking for the forest. Painting is like any endeavor we might choose to take on, remember that it requires planning, patience, forgiveness and acceptance. Of course this experience is different for everyone but I imagine that most artist are able to relate to the trip metaphor.
In this post I want to highlight forgiveness and acceptance because perfection in painting, for me, doesn’t exist. On the contrary, most of my paintings are built around mistakes and accidents that happen while I’m working. Although some accidents that occur may seem like the end of a painting, usually they can be cleaned up with a paper towel or scraped off with a palette knife. I don’t beat myself up when these accidents occur. I accept that they will happen and in the end this painting belongs to me! If I want to scrape paint off or wipe it off with turpentine, it doesn’t matter because it’s my painting and I will do with it what ever I want. This attitude takes away a lot of fear and allows me to paint freely without judging myself along the way.
The good accidents are the ones that happen while I’m painting that get me excited and push me to continue. Sometimes I even try to replicate the accident. This can allow it to turn into a technique that will be carried on to other canvases. An example of this is the illusion created by pulling paint across paper, wood, linen or other paint by using a palette knife. Using a palette knife with different amounts of pressure will allow the paint to transfer itself in different ways. Pulling wet paint over wet paint is a lot of fun.
Recently I found myself going back into a painting that was already dry because I wanted to make a few changes. Remembering that it’s my painting and I’ll do whatever I want to it, I was able to approach the changes without any fear. While I was working on this painting, I accidentally allowed wet paint to catch on the peaks of dry paint. This accident created a texture that I had no idea was going to happen. I also learned that I could control the texture by applying more or less pressure and paint. In this case, my river rocks took on a whole new life all because I was willing to forgive myself for making a mistake and being open to accept the result.
In conclusion, embrace the journey of your painting. Accept that changes can be made along the way. Stay in the moment of the painting and remember to forgive yourself if you feel like you made a mistake.