"You're gonna ruin it." 

Those 4 little words are the artist's constant companion as they work. It tends to happen toward the middle/end of a piece, when most of the decisions have been made, when you've gotten it past that awkward teenage phase every painting goes through, and when you're starting to think you might really have something with this one. It's close, but it needs more. But....what if now you ruin it? 

Often times you could actually stop at that point, and people would accept it as finished. You could call it done, even though your eye sees things that could be improved. Do you dare? Knowing that the way these things go, a small area that needs attention usually results in the re-working of a large surrounding area? Knowing how you struggled to get that color mixed just right, scraping it down & painting it over again multiple times? Can you match that color again now? Do you feel lucky, punk? 

The voice in our own heads is often what stops us short of greater things, of pushing past our comfort zone into less familiar waters, even if we've been yearning to get to that point. 

With this painting, I finally let go of some of those fears and waded in. I had a painting that was acceptable, even quite nice. I was very pleased with.... most of it. I set it aside for 3 weeks before I decided I wanted more. The additional work resulted in going over the majority of the piece again, adjusting colors and temperatures. I actually did ruin it a bit, but found I had enough steady steeliness in my heart to wrestle it back. 

Learning to trust your skill is a huge part of making forward progress. And you must always be willing to ruin it, if you ever want to get to the next level you long for.

"Song of the Bluebird" 16x20, oil on canvas. Available for purchase, or to commission your own heartfelt portrait -- contact me for more info.