#13. THE PUZZLE (Reflection While Painting “Buon Appetito!”)
Painting—Onions
Reflection: THE PUZZLE
A painting can be like a puzzle. You don’t always know what’s going to be easy to solve and what’s not (speaking as artist, not viewer). I try to learn from and remember every step along the way to know better for next time—have things flow more easily. An area that seems daunting one day might not be the next. Or, something that looked good one day, may not work out when other elements are added. Constantly keeping the whole picture in mind may be a better way to proceed, but this can’t always happen. Sometimes, we get stuck on one part for no good reason. The day goes by, and we feel no further ahead. Then there’s the good days, when everything works, and you can’t explain why. The brush is magic in your hands and the paint does exactly what you want it to do, or exceeds expectations. You wonder, "Who’s painting this piece?" The same happens in writing and other expressive/creative arts. These are moments to savor because the times of struggle are usually a lot more familiar and frequent. But, it’s only because of those struggles that we see the difference and appreciate what we never thought might be possible. To understand happiness, we need to understand sadness, and so it goes with painting too.
