A Strategy for Letting Go

Herding Woman - in process. January 2024

This past year, I was taking some time to take an online course, and the suggestion was made in that course to make paintings in groups. It was more than a little intimidating to me to take on multiples at one time, as I was just trying to make a piece and learn…..

But I tried it. I did a group of five and then a group of eight. Currently, I have two groups going - one of larger paintings, and one of smaller paintings.

The idea was to keep the group of paintings going by doing a “first pass” on each one, and then a second, and then a third…. Working to keep the paintings at roughly the same level of completion.

I have found this idea to be SO helpful! I tend to do and do and do, until I have done something to death - essentially overdoing. And overdoing is death for a painting. One of my primary goals in my work is that it feel gestural, and loose- that it suggest the movement or emotion or texture, or whatever element I am depicting. If I describe every detail, I have left nothing for the viewer to do, nowhere for the viewer to enter, imagine, and co-create with me.

So now, when I get stuck, or frustrated, I just move on to the next piece. This in-between time allows me to see the current painting with fresh eyes, a day or two or three later. I can be more objective, and bring a new energy to the work.

What a life lesson for me. Let go! Answers will come, and good things happen when I simply let go.

I was unsure today about this painting. This was my first pass on a painting of a woman that I photographed in Madagascar. I was trying to decide how I felt about the color of the jacket. Was it working, was it wrong? So, now my herding woman of Madagascar will wait for me. Hopefully, on this site, in a few weeks, you’ll see the finished piece. What do you think? Was the color right? What do you see when you look at this incredible woman?