Loose Lavender

I did a quick sketch of lavender on postcard, its another practice in looseness. Its amazing how hard it is to be loose and successful with painting. I think it requires a lot more thought and makes you paint faster to keep the paint moving and flowing in the direction you want. I like the "blooms" that happen when you add water to a spot even though they are not desired, they lend interest, but controlling them is another story. I like the fact that some edges are hard and disappear letting your mind wander and imagine what should be there, while others are hard and help tell the story. I am not overly thrilled with this one but it is all a part of the process, our goal is to paint for the bin, meaning trash. That way if frees us up to really paint. I received this story at a class I recently took I will try and abbreviate it for you, its worth reading;

A teacher divided his class into two groups, group ones assignment was to paint quantity, 50+ paintings got and A, 40+ paintings got a B, 30+ paintings got a C and so on. Group twos assignment was to paint one perfect painting at the end of the class they would all vote on the top 3 paintings and they would get the best grade. Group one not only painted the most artwork but also painted the best quality, most excellent paintings. While group one painted freely just trying to achieve their quota, group two was stuck on what would be good enough to paint. The lesson is by letting go of perfection we free ourselves to paint perfectly!

Have fun today just painting! Since its 7-7-07 its supposed to be a special day, enjoy.