Dealing With Failure

[poliphilo]

I read the other day that Eric Ravilious (an artist I love) used to reckon that only one in every three or four of his paintings was any good. He dealt with the failures by cutting them up into little squares. That way they couldn't slip out into the world and shame him.

I've only been painting for a couple of days but the failures are piling up. I guess I'll put mine on the bonfire. 

Comments

[splodgenoodles.livejournal.com]

The late Jeffrey Smart used to have an annual bonfire.

you can re use water color paper

[faunhaert.livejournal.com]

I found this a while ago

I think it applies to art also
i've seen european videos so I think you'll
be able to see it

"https://vimeo.com/24715531"

I looked up Eric he has a very refined style
so many small lines in many layers
it reminds me of wood grain and the chattering of varnish
being drawn as grass ..
it looks like he'd at home doing lithographs too.

I found the white horse from terry prathertts stories
"its not a white horse is, its what a horse be"
"http://www.tate.org.uk/art/images/work/N/N05/N05164_10.jpg"

maybe you have the first layer
time for a 2nd about the first?
its always too to let it dry before the next
they're in the drying stage

you're doing great if they've hit the ugly stage
to me that means its ready for the next thing to happen
and the ugly stage happens a few times when i'm painting

one secret i remember from a teacher (grade school ?)
if its heavy good quality water color paper
and since you are working with water colors ,
you can gently wash it off - Grin!

we'd put it on stretchers wet to start,
and that would make it stable when wet.
if it wasn't tight enough when it dried
and a spritz form the back
and it would dry tight as a drum .
the paper was not considered trash unless
you poked a hole thru it .

since i was just practicing it didn't hurt to redo a painting
better yet you can take pictures and then wash it
and be able to pull it up on the computer
instead of keeping a stack so you can see the progress.
document it so you can learn from your work~
you might find something you make a year ago
after you look at it again after the other paintings.

like ira says you know what is good
it just takes time to get to the level where you can
make it look like what you know is good.

[angiereedgarner.livejournal.com]

I used to destroy about half my work, until I figured out to set it aside until I leveled up in whatever skills were necessary to solve the problems. That requires working with materials where layers and revisions are possible, like oil on canvas. Still destroy a lot of watercolors though. :)

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Very satisfying.

Re: you can re use water color paper

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I like what Ira says.

I went through that with poetry. Years and years of writing stuff that wasn't quite what I wanted it to be.

Eric was also a printmaker and, yes, that sort of spills over into his painting.

I've reused watercolour paper in the past- when I was producing highly worked, muddy looking, neo-pre-Raphaelite pictures- but I don't think that would work this time round now I'm trying for the effortless, nailed-it-in-one look.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I've never used oils or acrylics, but I have a certain history with watercolours.

I used to work my paintings heavily, so they ended up looking muddy. This time I'm after a swift and sudden look- as if they were done with one sweep of the brush...

nailed-it-in-one look

[faunhaert.livejournal.com]

from what i saw
you did

it reminded me of the japanese brush painting
mixed with miro and picasso's ceramics,

Re: nailed-it-in-one look

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Thanks.

I'd acknowledge all those as influences- along with many, many more...

[w. lotus (from livejournal.com)]

One of my favorite artists says her philosophy is to fail early and often. I like that perspective.