This began as a leftover paint painting, which basically means I didn’t want to throw away whatever paint was left at the end of a painting session. I didn’t really have any intention of making it look like anything at this point, it was just a way to not waste paint.
I didn’t take any photos in-between the first stage and the stage show above, mainly because I really hated it and didn’t think it was going to really turn into anything good. I hated it so much that I decided to cut it into four smaller paintings. I thought I might have more luck if I made them smaller… It really only helped for one of the pieces, which I shared back in December, Everything That Comes Together Also Falls Apart.
It was the first of the four to actually become a success, and the only one that really kept some of the initial layers showing. So far most of the starting layers have been covered up by more paint in the last three pieces. This blog post is featuring the painting in the bottom right corner of the photo above.
At this point there’s quite a bit going on but nothing that really stands out as a focal point.
I thought maybe what this piece needed was some collage elements so I glued in a little piece of tic marked paper as well as some small pieces of white paper, hoping to create a center of interest. I took the photo right after I adhered the paper onto the piece so you can’t tell the paper is white, it’s not until the next photo that you see that the paper is white.
I was really hating this piece, well pretty much hating all of them. I didn’t work on them for quite some time even though I kept them out on my work desk as a reminder that they were there and needed to be worked on.
I tried covering up a lot of the busy parts in an attempt to calm the piece down, it was a bit too busy. However, then it seemed too boring.
I then thought maybe we should add more texture and so I glued some tissue paper into the top part of the piece, ultimately searching for the right balance of interesting textures but not over the top.
It almost felt like nothing I was adding to the piece was working. I couldn’t tell if I was trying to hard for something that I had no plan for or if I was just making poor color choices. Either way I was totally unhappy with this for a very long time.
I attempted to do a cover up and “start from scratch” which seemed like the best option. As I look at it in this phase I don’t think its bad, it has potential.
Then for some reason I decided red seemed like a good idea… which it wasn’t. I once again hated it and almost threw it away.
I think this was my attempt to cover up or tone down the red, this time with a very dark color. It definitely helped but I still wasn’t crazy about the red.
In another attempt to get rid of the red I decided to go with a lighter option also still debating whether I should just cut my losses and throw the piece away. That says a lot because I really don’t ever throw paintings away.
After quite some time away from this painting I decided to take it in a completely different direction. I had a plan which would essentially once again cover up everything I had done underneath. So in a way, my attempt to not waste paint ended up wasting paint. So goes the creative process.
So I had a direction now, I just didn’t have the patience necessary to execute it. I should have waited for all the orange to dry but I couldn’t wait. I painted the blue over everything, I think in part because I just couldn’t look at it in an ugly state anymore.
I knew that I wanted the orange parts to show through some of the broken and scratched parts of the blue paint. Which made me realize I needed to cover up the initial blue layer of paint on the top portion of the piece. I went with the tan color above and then decided it would pop a little more if it was a brighter orange.
Once the orange was dry enough I used a brayer to roll some gray on top of much of the painting, but not all of it. I still wanted some of the brighter areas to show without any gray on top.
Upon sharing this piece on Instagram I had a friend inquire about purchasing it. So I matted and framed it and it is now in it’s new home!