Overtired And Overworked!

"Badger with Blackberries"

Not only has my art life been busy this week but my social life has been too. I have been out rather a lot as so much is going on, including an annual dinner that my husband and I went to last night.  We came home very late.  Resulting in my waking feeling a little overtired, rather than rested, today. 

On days' like this when my energy level has dropped I know I would be far better off sticking to painting experimental washes. But, being me, that is often not always enough. As I looked at one of my previously painted experimental washes I saw a badger waiting to be encouraged to appear in one of them.

This painting started beautifully. The badger was there very quickly. He was  softly coming to life and in a very charming way. But as I was tired I crossed a line of no return. I added far too much dark to my wildlife friend and soon he overwhelmed the soft background.  

He now needed rescuing! 

I added a countryside background to overcome the now really strong colour on his markings.Soon blackberries were above his head and little hints of branches. These made "him" look far happier as a subject. I then liked the longer use of paper for my composition. I added curved brushstrokes lower down to form an interesting design in the lay out of my painting.

Like me feeling tired, I feel this painting has been overworked so I will leave it to rest. And I probably shouldn't admit this but this is one painting that I feel has definitely got away from me so I will be painting on the other side of this paper in the morning. 

I think its'  a good idea  to show my paintings that I am not happy with. We all have good days and bad days when painting. And some paintings do get away from us in that we over work them or make bad decisions. This is certainly not one of my best paintings but I have learnt so much from it that I will try this again.

If you have read my last blog post on simplicity I think that's what is needed with my next attempt at this subject.

And who knows what tomorrow will bring!

************

Artists Tips:

1) Try to avoid painting when you are over tired. It can lead to bad decisions!

2) Stop long before you think your painting is finished.

3) Enjoy a painting that goes wrong for all the tips you have learnt about what not to do.

4) Keep things simple!

******************