Reply To: Trashing a painting

[Susan Cuss]

I try to work on several paintings at the same time, so, when one is drying, I’m adding to another painting. I don’t use a hair dryer on my watercolours because I think it affects the natural flow, and doesn’t allow for colour movement and blending.

Too, I’ve learned not to be so hasty in my painting judgements. I tossed a painting into my trash bucket because it wasn’t doing what I wanted it to, and a friend came along and, after asking, fished it out, took it home, and had it framed. She hung it up in her home and has had many compliments on it. When I look at the painting now, it looks pretty good, and I can’t believe I tossed it away!

I think for me, that I often have a preconceived idea of how the painting should look, and I try to force the watercolours to my way of thinking, but that seldom works out. That leads to frustration and tossing work. When I allow the paint to do its own thing, then see what has happened, and then take the painting another step further, and work with it rather than trying to force it, things tend to go a bit smoother, and I’m often happier with the outcome.

I find that walking away from my work often allows me a fresh look at what’s happening on the paper. That bit of distance takes me away from focusing on a small section or element of the work and gives me an overall view of the progress, or lack of progress, I’m making.  It sometimes sparks a new direction. And sometimes I’m surprised by something in the painting that I might have missed just plodding along. 😉