Dear New Painting, I hate you.
Fifty percent of the time I spend in my studio is spent looking at what I have just done, and calculating what I should do next. With every painting I have created there has come a point during my looking when I think, "I hate this painting." As it is nothing new to me it is nothing to be alarmed about, but rather the opposite. It means that it is time for me to decide weather to keep working on the painting, or if putting it a away for a few months would be best. Yesterday I was at this point with my newest painting. I decided to keep working. As I tried to work through the mess I had just created for myself, I realized I had made the wrong choice. I could not fix this painting now. I should have turned the painting around and started a new one. I am too close to it to see it properly, and I will only be able to see it with fresh eyes if I stop, turn it around and come back to it in about a month. I am heading into my studio to do so now.
