staying with it...

last week i nearly lost patience with these paintings.

they had just become too messy and chaotic for my liking,

i was getting impatient and i couldn't see any resolution anymore.

until Dee gave me her expert advice and gentle guidance, 

she said they needed some "breathing space", 

 an area where the eye can rest and that could do that with flattening 

some parts of the painting. 

below you can see,  i did just that, i flattened the sky

and suddenly the painting works! 

for this one below i flattened the lower part at first 

and then some of the sky too

and these moment, i believe, are the reason why we paint! 

or at least why i paint... chasing this euphoric moment

when the painting i've been sweating on eventually falls into place, 

it is the best feeling! 

i don't think they are finished yet, 

they need a few more details. 

but i am so pleased that Dee kept me going, 

didn't allow me to give up or run away

(which i tend to do) 

but rather stay with the messy middle...

very uncomfortable messy middle! 

just like in life isn't it? 

there are the highs and the lows and the sometimes boring and mundane messy middles... 

but oh so important for growth.