"sunflower #4" • 24" x 24" • available for purchase at http://www.mariescottstudios.com • © 2010 Marie Scott Studios
Here's what "sunflower #4" looked like before I starting working on it this morning. It was about 99% done, but I just needed to finish the leaves and add some highlights in the center of the flower.
Here I am 2 hours later and I feel like it looks worse than when I started this morning. This is very frustrating! Maybe I should have just left it alone and called it finished.
- I’ve decided to pronounce this painting “done” before I do any more damage. I’m trying to tell myself that it’s currently better than it was this morning before I did anything to it, but I’m still not convinced. This is a perfect example of how an oil painting can get overworked. Sometimes it is tricky to know when to either stop, or when to try and take it to the next level. It’s been several weeks since I’ve worked on this series of flowers, so it will probably take some time to shift gears from the commission I’ve been painting and get back into the groove of these flowers again.
Fortunately, in a couple of weeks I’ll probably look at this painting with fresh eyes and feel good about it. (That’s been my experience in the past, so I hope that happens to “sunflower #4!”
From my limited knowledge as an art connosieurer,I think it’s great!!!!
Mom
You’re such a good mom! 🙂
Hey this is Brett. You need to watch “Six Degrees of Separation” with Will Smith. It’s a rather “artsy” movie, and one of the strong themes in the film is the idea of knowing when to remove your brush from the painting.
I love what you’ve done here though, and I think you stopped at just the right time.
Hey, Thanks!
I actually walked away from “Sunflower #2” on Tuesday thinking it wasn’t done yet. But when I walked into my studio this morning it looked totally done. Maybe elves worked on it last night??!
I think it’s perfect! And I know exactly what you mean. If only we could remove that part of the brain where we are our worst critics!
That is a great idea!!! Thanks for your encouragement. 🙂