The Upside of Being Rejected

Wait for Me! 20x30, oil on canvas with a bit of wet paint glare

As submitted and not accepted

I know this is a topic not many of us want to discuss in a public forum - the rejection of the jury! While trying not to let this get to me I took the opportunity to critically look at the painting in question with a juror's eye, and I knew they were right in their assessment. I, again, as is my wont, was lazy. I let the current culture of the quick painting take over my inner judgment that this piece really wasn't as good as it could be. The interesting thing to note here is that I had started a blog post in December with the "finished" painting and the original block-in, and never posted it because I saw the inherent problems-the block-in looked better than the painting! But some of us are just plain hard-headed.

There were a couple of things I noted. First, that the sky going into the ocean was way too blue and the value  too dark. I lightened it all quite a few degrees and thought more about orchestrating the ocean waves. I also made the color more neutral (using Cerulean Blue/Burnt Umber/White) . I had known that the beach was the wrong color, and also too dark in value made more so now that the sky is lightened. The reddish cast had to go, so again I went with a more neutral mix (Viridian Green/Burnt Umber/White with some other colors thrown in for variety in the sand). I used the same colors, with different % to make the white caps. The wall I had known was too dark - that my original block-in value was more true, so I took it back to that value and got rid of the blue cast. The Ravens came next and I had been so caught up in the myriad colors that I had lost touch with the form, so I gave them both more form and thought less about all the color, simplifying that. I decided to take more time with the drawing of their legs and to create more of the shaggy appearance ravens are known for. The gulls on the beach came last. I was not content with them anyway, so I took a bit more time with them and yet tried not to give them too much definition to keep them in the background with a secondary place. I still see a few spots that need a little attention, but overall you can see the difference. Another lesson learned the hard way.