Not enough hours to eat all the art
My greatest battle is that my eyes are bigger than my tummy – I want to paint it all! I'm not an artist who has ever struggled for inspiration.
I began this painting along with many others. I've decided this is not necessarily a good idea. I now stick to only three on the easel at one time.
After blocking‑in this coast painting, I lost the courage of my convictions. Paintings that were going more to plan took my attention and this has languished ever since.
There are a number of challenges in the artwork which became evident when I blocked in the main shapes. Can you see the challenges?
One is the question of how far to push the perspective. Comparing the preliminary mini painting with the blocked‑in tells me the preliminary idea is much better. It needs a great deal of contemplation.
Oddly, the time you spend not painting can prove the most important.
I have other paintings in my collection that have taken a couple of years to complete. I wasn't working on them for all that time by the way.
The landscapes I've had to put aside several times during their production, have all proved successful. So I'm not sure I've given up on this one, because the initial idea still has appeal.