What to do when you are disappointed in your artwork.

I made the sketch above and then a few weeks later did the painting below, both from the same reference photo. When I took the photo, I knew that I wanted to paint that scene, but it proved harder to capture than I thought it would. And I like my sketch better than the finished painting, which is disappointing.

This isn’t the first time that this has happened either. Part of what I want to work on is to make more “finished paintings” instead of doing everything in my sketchbook. I notice though, that my artwork has more of the qualities I like when I work in sketchbooks.

In this case, I think I needed a better and more precise drawing, especially when it comes to the placement of the different landmarks. Also, I would have benefitted from testing some color mixes ahead of time so I knew what I was going to use on the painting itself. I’m thinking of trying it out on Procreate as a study and then trying it again on watercolor paper at some point. For now, I will put it on the shelf.

The moods and qualities of nature and the revelations of great art are difficult to define; we can grasp them only in the depths of our perceptive spirit. -Ansel Adams

In terms of my art productivity goals (using the 12 week year system), I had a few setbacks where I had to take a few days off due to some urgent matters coming up unexpectedly. I think I need to reevaluate some things, but I have still been making progress in general, which is good. I’m not going to forsake my plans overall at this point.

In my case, the most important thing to practice when I disappoint myself is to just remind myself that progress is not always linear. Sometimes, the best thing to do is to put something on the back burner and return to it later. I am a firm believer that the subconscious mind can often work out problems behind the scenes (sometimes called the diffuse mode). If something is really frustrating me, I usually like to change course to something else and then return to it at a later time. If I continue to press on despite feeling this way, I usually end up feeling more and more pressure to perform and in a worse place than when I started.

Do you ever feel the same way? How do you keep yourself on track?

Small life updates:

• I got a new glasses prescription after about two and half years. I really needed it and I can see so much better now.

• I took a small field trip to one of my favorite nurseries, The Hosta Farm of Mendon. It was so nice and I’m going to post some pictures about it in Notes tomorrow.

Some links for you:

• Some quick little drawing tutorials that I appreciated, one for drawing progressive spirals and another on perspective drawing.

• Do you have to enjoy the process of making art? by Carolyn Yoo. I could relate to this article and it’s encouraging to read about others feeling the same as me from time to time.

Until next time,