Yes, I’m a day late with this post. My excuse is just that learning stuff is hard work.

Saturday (day 2) of the workshop focused on allowing students to explore their ideas using the tools from day 1. I did a couple sketches, continued work on the “failed paintings” from day 1, and started two new paintings.

“Cosmos” – ice painting start, acrylic flowers, watercolor background, collage in corners. Unfinished.

“Stretch” – reworked failed painting with collage, stamping, and gesso. Unfinished.

“Masked” – new painting. Forward trees gesso and rice paper. Watercolor wash start. Unfinished.

“Old Woman Wrasse” – new painting. Watercolor. Background with hand-created stamp; fish with bubble wrap texture for start.

So at the end of the day, what did I learn? I’m still thinking about it, but here are some ideas.

1. Keep painting.
2. When all else fails, add interest.
3. Others usually don’t think your painting is as bad as you do (or they are very polite).
4. If you’ve come to a place where a painting is failed… tear it up for collage. Or gesso over it… Or stamp… Or….
5. My ideas are good. Follow through.
6. Don’t rely on color for your only interest.
7. Be bold with shapes.
8. No one else knows what they are doing either.
9. It can take years to finish a painting.
10. Other artists struggle to finish too.
11. A series is not repeating the same painting over and over again; it’s exploring an idea. And one painting can lead to the next.
12. Stamps.