I love it when paintings practically paint themselves. Unfortunately, this was not one of those paintings. It seems like only one in 5 work out that well and, after a really easy painting I end up really struggling on the next one. Yet I still expected this painting to be easier. I think coming off the high of a successful and easy painting always throws me for a little loop.
This painting was a challenge. I didn’t want to paint all of the tiny details of the fur, but using larger brush strokes left it too smooth looking which didn’t look right. So I put in all the fur, but then I didn’t really like how overly textured it all was. All of the details in the fur distracted from the real focal point. So I glazed over the fur to tone down the texture of it a little.
In the end, it didn’t quite turn out how I wanted it to, but it was a good learning experience and I’m moving on. I have another cat painting lined up and I hope it will turn out more in line with my vision. I just need to keep reminding myself that the easy paintings are great, but the difficult ones are where I learn the most.
I think it would help to get the assembly line running again. Right now I’m only working on one painting at a time instead of my usual three. I’m still trying to finish a painting a week though so it’s stressing me out a little to not have one started and waiting in the wings for the next week. I also may not push to always finish a painting each week. I think the push to finish this painting in a week may have contributed to the difficulty. I would much rather post and talk about a painting I love vs. a painting I’m ambivalent about.
Also, I have a big announcement. I have officially opened my store here on the website and both original paintings and prints are available. Check it out by clicking on shop in the menu.