Painting Process: Woman in Blue Stripes by the Ocean

Sometimes, the most challenging thing is not to care and just get things done. Going with whatever set of skills we’ve got at the time and not having a roadmap for success can lead us to enticing discoveries. In such cases, I can’t help wondering, is being good really important?

When working on a painting, I rarely work on sketches or preliminary studies, and the painting on this post is no exception. As I get older and have had the opportunity to grasp a few things over the years, I realize that workflow reflects my ignorance and laziness to push myself.

Before committing to complete this small board, I went for a long time without bringing any given painting to its final stage. I gave up in frustration, going over multiple canvases and boards, painting layer over layer; It felt like being entangled in a spiderweb.

Looking at this painting, I find a few qualities that turn my attention toward future pieces. Arranging the compositional elements more carefully through drawing would deliver a more precise definition, but more importantly, it invites me to explore deeper into why I must continue to paint.