Too many 'Happy Accidents' to make you happy?
By Brian Sutton
We all have accidents in our paintings. It just happens.
We're not perfect.
Sometimes when we are learning something new, we have an unrealistic expectation that we are going to totally nail whatever it is we are learning the first time we try it.
Because we are awesome, right?
Life doesn't work that way, and neither does painting.
Sometimes you might come to a class, learn a bunch of techniques, and when you are finished decide that you don't want to hang it on your wall. You just had too many happy accidents to make you happy.
That's okay. I scrape the paint off of a lot of paintings when I'm through. Heck, this weekend I had to explain to customers why one of my paintings was in the trash. lol
It happens, and it really is part of the process. The question is: Did you learn something?
If you are going to be able to come back next time with a little more painting experience behind you, will you do better? Chances are the answer is, "Yes!"
And if that's the case, then next time your painting will be better. That's the way this whole crazy painting thing works. You get better the more you practice.
I find that when I make mistakes I learn both where my strengths are versus my weaknesses and then the next painting I choose challenges my weaknesses. I also watch a lot of Bob Ross videos to figure out what I did wrong and how I can improve my technique so that I can show my art students how to do things better. It's a lot of fun to fail, believe it or not, because the reward is so much sweeter when you finally figure out how to nail a technique.
I never give up, and neither should you.
Free Video: Try this beautiful Lavender Seascape at home for free:
Materials you'll need:
Alizarin Crimson
Phthalo Blue
Titanium White
Black Canvas
Various natural bristle brushes.
A good attitude
A near-constant smile :)