Blue Pelican, 8×8, oil on gessoboard
Today I set out to paint something completely different– Â a mother/child image that thirty minutes in was a complete failure. Â I stayed with it for longer than I should have and finally abandoned the panel all together in favor of this one. Â When all else fails, paint a pelican. Â What I love and hate about painting small and frequently is that I can abandon something one day and pick it up the next. Â I feel the simultaneous freedom to quit and the burdensome obligation to pick it back up again. Â My plan is to revisit what I started today, see if tomorrow can shed a new light on it and somehow save it.
When all else fails, paint a pelican. Â But this one fought with me. Â Constantly. Â The background started out hot pink. Â I used a palette knife, Â wiped the texture away with a brush. Â Mixed more orange. Â Covered it with white. Â Signed it. Â Painted over the signature, added yellow. Â It was exhausting, and I’m not sure I’ll know how I feel until I look at it again tomorrow with fresh eyes. Â I can see the fight in it– the layers, the textures.