This little piece, just 5×7″, is a happy accident. I’m not being modest or oh shucks, playing the I couldn’t possibly have any talent game. It really is a fun accident that I’m very pleased with. It’s a painting process that’s new to me, one I used to loosen up, to switch gears in my process, a combination of changing brushes and style. And it worked. For this one. Now the reality. I did about 5 this way, all botanical still life, all a combination of this freestyle method and my own fairy dust and 4 out of 5 sucked. Like bad. Except for this one. This one has a certain charm for me and I’m sticking to my story.
The moral of this particular creative adventure for me, because I tend to need art takeaways in order to not put my head in the oven thinking I’ll never improve is that only by painting a bunch of random cringe worthy flowers in garage sale vases do I get to walk away with a little gem. And I’m ok with that. Don’t get me wrong, I’d really like every piece to have that clicking sensation when you know it works and it’s done. That’s just not the case with me and I’m pretty sure it’s not the case with most artists, writers, cake decorators. The reason I can celebrate the four out of five “bad” ones is that I’m getting braver. It’s ok to make mistakes in art. It’s necessary to make mistakes in art. It’s amazing to make mistakes in art because if I am, I am stretching and growing.
For no particular reason, this little piece reminds me of my infamous cat-turkey painting. It was a cat. But was recognized and identified by a loving friend as a turkey. Because it resembled a turkey more than a cat. Fair enough. It was the early days. But I didn’t give up. For sure, I was deflated my skills couldn’t even pass the cat/turkey identification test. Here I am, several years later, still plodding along, turtle style, but without a doubt, there are signs of forward motion. Today I give thanks for both the happy accident striped vases of the world and cat-turkey moments, add them together and it’s a beautiful patchwork life. xo
