Saturday, December 17, 2011

All Things Considered

All Things Considered
28 x 22"
oil on canvas
© Nicki Ault, 2011  

You've heard me talk about my love/hate painting... well, this is it. It has been through quite the range of changes. It started out as a plain air painting, but by the end there was a whole lot more time spent in the studio than spent outdoors. If I knew at the beginning how much it was going to change I would have taken more photos along the way. The final change happened two days before the Open Studio when I found myself in about the third hate cycle of it's creation. (These were interspersed with about the same number of love stages as well as some indifferent stages). Here is what the painting looked like before the final change that you see above...


After getting feedback from Miranda (another artist in the studio) it was decided that the sky was not working with the rest of the painting. I was frustrated and feeling completely "over" it, yet I was still not prepared to cash in my chips. After a little self-imposed timeout I regrouped, grabbed my brushes, turned up the music and said, "What if..." (...well that's the polite version). Basically I didn't like it anyway so what if I churned up the sky with some stormy purples and blues, what if I left the brush marks looking rough and energetic, what if I made larger areas of colour in the foreground? 

All things considered, I am really happy with the end result. The emotional roller-coaster that was the making of this painting left me a little wobbly and weak-kneed, but valuable lessons were learned. Perhaps most importantly I finally remembered to ask myself one of the best questions to spur on creative work...

"What if...?"

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Good point to remember. After all, a painting isn't really a 'painting' until we, the artist call it so. I really like it more and more. You did good.
Thank you for visiting my blog,
CheyAnne

Nicki said...

Hi CheyAnne,

This painting is not what I thought it was going to be when I started out, but often that is how it goes. I have stopped at a place where I feel it is finished- all the biggest issues have been resolved to the extent I can resolve them. And now it is time to see where the next canvas will lead me!

I enjoy your blog!

Nicki

Barbara Muir said...

I am astounded by your vigour and perspicacity to soldier on with so much angst. Love the result. I see a little wood like this in similar colour tones when I walk the dog. Awesome. Merry, Merry Christmas.

I miss you.

XO Barbara

Nicki said...

Hi Barbara,

I just realized I hadn't responded to your comment... so sorry!

Yes, this one had me workin'... it was a real struggle and I still find myself wavering back and forth over it. I admit I had to look up the word "perspicacity"- I feel smarter now that I know a new word!

I hope you are enjoying the holidays. I miss you as well. I think we will see each other at some point this year.

XO Nicki

Ecbatana said...

I think I am safe ( you can't reach me through the internet); may I say that I liked the foreground in the second last version and yes the sky needed revamping...just don't like the foreground now...but then I look at it and see it as a reflection of the turmoil you were in about painting it, so it kinda fits... love your work over all! I know you see big skies in Saskatchewan (been there several times) and I love being able to see forever (I grew up in the mountains) ; so different than what I am used to. Glad I found you in blog land (through DPW).

Nicki said...

Hi Ecbatana, thank you for your comments. I am not sure I like the foreground either. When I posted it I was feeling quite happy, now I am not. This painting was such a struggle... turmoil is a good word for it!

I'm glad you found my blog too!

Nicki