If at First You Don't Succeed, Try, Try Again!

It's the season of Plein Air painting, or painting outdoors in the fresh air.

Inspired by this scene on my farm, I set up my watercolor paints & pochade box.

I started with a sketch in pencil, added India ink, and then layered in washes.  

But when the painting was done, I didn't like it! Too many details competed with each other to attract your eye!  The background trees were so detailed, the whole thing looked like camouflage.  I tried to simplify the background by laying in a darker wash, but the result was cartoonish.

Of course, there are parts I love, like the little greenhouse and the dead tree, but as a composition, it just doesn't work.

As hard as that is to accept, there is power in looking critically at your own artwork.  When you see precisely what you don't like -- too many details -- you can create another painting and fix that problem.

Here's the second version of this scene.

I worked quickly, sketching in only the greenhouse angles lightly with pencil.  I abstracted the background trees into light and dark patches, and took out the dead tree because it competed with the greenhouse. 

When you're painting with watercolor, having a plan going in helps tremendously!  And when painting landscapes, the first step is to abstract all of those details, and pick what is most important to you -- what draws your artist's eye?

Allowing yourself several paintings to develop your ideas is freeing.  

Harsh self judgement is a lead weight on our creativity, but looking at our artwork with a discerning eye for what we love and what isn't successful gives us the power to improve.

Remember: Every painting teaches you something.

Do you have a painting that didn't work?  Why not make a plan for how you'd like to fix it? Hard won success feels uplifting and leads to more discoveries.

Happy Creating!