Goin' Fishin'

On the Prowl, 12x12, oil on linen panel

Progress has been made on my egret painting. I painted in more than I had originally intended but there you have it. From day to day what we are going for can change. Everyone seemed to really like the daffodils coming through the egrets body so I left some but not as much as I had thought I would.
I still like it and overall, I think more people will like it this way too because they won't know any better!

Here is a bit of the progression. The image below is where I first stopped. I could not bring myself to 'ruin' what I felt it had going for it and everyone who saw it in this stage said to leave it alone! Eventually it just called out for more trust in my abilities and more paint. This first block in was where I stopped and had a hard time wanting to mess with it. It looked very oriental in style and the shapes coming through the light wash were an interesting element.

Original block in on top of still life painting

Here is the next phase when I finally decided I had to make it more a painting as I had originally intended before I got distracted by the textures and color showing through:

First foray into trusting my gut

I wasn't sure if I wanted to let go of the daffodils in the image above. Ultimately the whites were competing too much. The bird was not coming forward and being center stage. I then was asked by a new acquaintance if I would be willing to film myself painting for a project he is working on. I know he is a musician but I didn't ask what the project was. He has been generous in sending me recordings from the class we are taking together. I did not think to record the lectures until weeks into the class so I felt I owed him a return favor. I picked this painting as it looks good on film and I had only a few touch ups to do. Once I got going I changed my mind and saw the daffodils coming through as a distraction.