Thursday 11 April 2013

In Hindsight




I know you're going to read this and think I'm crazy, but most of the time when I finish a painting, I generally won't like it. I have this inability to see it objectively and I feel like my guts are falling out every time I look. Now I bet you're saying "Well if she hates her work so much why does she put her paintings up on her blog/facebook/instagram/tumblr/insert social media platform here?" 
Allow me to assure you, I like my work... in hindsight. This can be a frustrating affliction as it means that in my head, nothing I am doing presently is ever any good and everything I did before was cooler than anything I could muster up now. 

The 52 portrait project has been really good for this though, because most of the time I paint Casper's portrait on the Friday or Saturday and it goes online before "hindsight" kicks in. This is an uncomfortable feeling, I feel exposed like, well, my guts are falling out and everyone can see.

The painting above is such a good example of this, It is a discarded study from the bath portrait that I absolutely HATED until I saw it about an hour ago in my photo library. I just can't believe it is the same picture. I love it now.

My motivation comes from wanting to move forward, make something better than the last, to document and save, to work it out. It takes me a few weeks to see my work properly. Often I have to put it away and not look for a while but when I look again, the image surprises me. I'm glad to be able to share my work with people through my blog, it makes me uncomfortable and I've just realised that's a good thing.


3 comments:

  1. I know what you mean...whenever I make, paint, create something...I always hate it once it's finished.
    think it has something to do with looking at it for too long...so you can no longer view it objectively.
    I put it away...and nine times out of ten when I go back and look again later it doesn't seem nearly so bad...then again....sometimes it looks worse :0)
    xx

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  2. I think it is absolutely beautiful,you are so talented:)
    Carleene

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  3. I'm pretty sure I'm your super-fan. I simply couldn't love your work anymore than I do.

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