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A Little Bit Too Hard

Sometimes I paint things that are a little bit too hard for me. They are not commissions, nor are they subjects that I think will sell.

Instead, they are things that I just want to paint, in spite of my lack of skill or experience. After I have completed paintings that need to be done for sale, working on these types of paintings is my “reward”.

Wow, is this ever difficult!! This is my great-niece, and I think of the painting as The Flower Girl.

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The girl is from this photo.

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The flowers are from this one.

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The girl feels too difficult, so I am now focusing on the flowers. It is fun to find and mix all the colors, and if I get the petals a bit wrong, it isn’t critical like the face is.

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Success on the flowers (still not finished) gave me confidence to paint a bit more on the girl.

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Her hairbow is better and her arm is a little chubbier. This might need to rest for a month or two while I build my confidence and skill on paintings that don’t matter to my heart quite so much.

 

This will need about 10 more painting sessions, a decision on the background color, and a whole bunch of do-overs.

But I’m learning. That is what happens when one pushes through something that is a little bit too hard.

Okay, it might be a LOT too hard.

 

3 Comments

  1. Thanks for sharing your journey with us. I never thought of painting something too hard for my skill level. You got me thinking.

    • Grey, I have to balance Too Hards with Slam Outs (those requiring minimal effort) so that I don’t end up feeling completely incompetent. The ones that push my skill are probably like doing really long runs, or lifting weights until you can’t. Those are the ones that stretch our abilities.

      How are those hollyhocks coming along? 😎

      • Hollyhocks are taking a back seat to a children’s book I’ve been commissioned to do….but the summers young…

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