Painting #16 - Day 3 (22/04/20)

As I explained in yesterday's post, I wasn't too sure how I would tackle the background on this piece. In the end I decided to do solid colour using slightly watered down acrylic. I wanted to explore the rainbow theme further by using rainbow colours in the background. I couldn't visualise how this would work going left to right across the board or from top down to bottom so settled on painting around the canvas, section by section in a clockwise direction. For this task I chose to use different shades of each colour to that which was used on the balls. What this meant was that when painting a red background section it would be noticeably different to the red balls within the design. I was happy with the results for red, orange and purple but I had forgotten how strongly I dislike the shade of yellow called Mid Yellow. I am frustrated with myself as I could have stuck to the Gamboge I had used for the balls or I could have tried Lemon Yellow. Sadly, once the acrylic is committed to canvas there is little I can do to change it in a way that would make me happy or satisfied! Similarly, I dislike the shade of green I used (Sap Green) and should have stuck with Light Green. Finally, the blue, Ultramarine is not particularly to my liking either, so I am struggling to come to terms with how drastically this piece has changed since yesterday...

To add insult to injury I changed to a different brush for the detailed work on the black and white balls in the centre of the design. This was poorly thought out and I'm blaming this on the amount of time that has passed since I did any really detailed painting and I am also perhaps suffering from a little 'brain fog' this week (I've been in quite a bit of pain in my lower back, pelvis and legs, not to mention headaches, of which I am frequently afflicted! This sort of pain can genuinely affect my concentration and focus and is related to the investigations I am currently undergoing albeit rather slowly thanks to the coronavirus crisis)

I know from previous experience on painting #6 that the more I mess with my artwork the less I like it so I am trying to accept this piece as it has turned out to be. The process of acceptance is quite a tricky one to work through and I am torn between hiding the artwork away and not looking at it at all and exposing myself to it with the hope of growing to love it! My biggest problem is that I really did love it yesterday, and as we all know, we can't go back in time as much as we may want to! So I am trying to look with fresh eyes and appreciate it for what it is and I am also trying to consider how other people would view it, with no pre-existing idea of what it was or what it could have been.

Today my yoga practice was a.m: Yoga Stretch and p.m: Yoga for Neck, Shoulders and Upper Back.