Redefining Your Expectations

One of my goals this year has been to be ruthless when it comes to evaluating my own work. 

It's not easy to evaluate accurately, or summon the courage to take a moderately successful painting and re-work it.  But that is my challenge.

In a previous post I talked about my thought process as I worked on the painting "Early Light."  I had been focused on issues in the middle ground around a center of interest.  When I finished the painting, I thought I had achieved the goals I'd set for myself, but after studying it for several days I concluded that the painting, while pleasant, did not communicate the experience that inspired it.

Early Light, First Version

There were several areas in the first version of Early Light that bothered me. 

I truly felt the line of yellow trees appeared staged - which of course they were. 

I also felt I'd not achieved sufficient light in my shadowed bank, and had not left enough *air* in the painting as the trees move back into the distance.  Some of my edges were not skillfully rendered, particularly  where the water meets the rocks.

There was not enough variety or unity in the trees or the foreground, in that some surfaces were very uniformly painted (something I'd intended but which didn't work) and the trees - well, there were some beautifully rendered trees in the first version, but your eye jumps from tree to tree and they were so perfect they could have been painted at a tree farm.  I wanted to convey the wildness of the area.  In the second version I think you take in "trees" in one glance - enough information to inform while allowing imagination to take it from there.

The painting over all was cooler than I wanted, a consequence of my inexperience in painting on a very warm ground, and I hadn't captured the sense of light visually the way I remembered it emotionally.  I tried warming the foreground, but as we learn one way or the other, once you start messin' with the color you're messin' with the entire painting.  No *just one bravura stroke* in my bag of tricks yet. 

Early Light Second Version

So this is what I ended up with, after moments of complete doubt about my decision to repaint, as well as confidence in my ability to *fix things.* 

But, after letting go of my apprehensions and believing in my ability to do what I intended,  I am much happier with the second version of this painting.  The color is warmer, more earthy.  The water and the rocks along the bank create a sense of solid ground, while the edges (lines) help move the eye back into the painting. You can see into the shadows to find suggested form.  I hope I've captured enough mystery and unpredictability now to engage the viewer.  But what to you think?

Comments

[TracyWall]

I'm a little late in responding; still catching up on e-mails....
Thank you so much for demonstrating your thought process and results. Only you can be the judge as to which more closely expressing your intention. But I thank you for showing how you can let go of the fear in being unsettled with a work and having the fearlessness to do something about it.

Thank you!!

[Jo-Ann Sanborn]

The first is delightful but the second is far more deeply grounded. Good for you for looking for more.

[sue smith]

This feedback is very valuable to me - thank you, Suze, Maureen, and Vicki. My husband was asking me this morning "why did you do it?" While I knew the first painting was 90% close to what I wanted, that remaining 10% of the brush strokes and color choices were lacking impact. One of my personal goals this year was to just not accept a certain quality in my work anymore. The market being what it is, I took this opportunity to listen to my own advice, which was to take this slow time as an opportunity to really push myself toward a higher mastery of my medium. I knew the painting was not good enough to get into the major shows that appeal to me so there was little to lose by going back into the painting and re-working it. I discovered that there is something free and exciting about giving myself permission to do that - to just work for the sake of the best painting I can do and no other outcome. Like another blogger said - some men paint to live, and some men live to paint. I'm in that second group.

[suzemyst@nycap.rr.com]

I really liked the first painting, but the second version is outstanding. I admire your ability to see what the first painting could become. Well done!

[Maureen Nathan]

You are very brave and it definitely paid off. The 2nd painting evokes much more emotion and makes the viewer enter the landscape. Wonderful work

[Vicki Greene]

I took the time to read your comments before I looked at the redo and found myself not whole heartedly agreeing with you. I kept thinking that the original was beautiful (and it is) but I understood once I looked at the redo painting. It is a much stronger painting. You should be very pleased with yourself. Great job.