Feels like Magic

Loyal Protector / 36x24 / acrylic

Captivated / 20x20 / acrylic

Magic / 20x20 / acrylic

Whenever I paint I go through so many stages of belief in myself and disbelief...and yet, as the work begins to come together it feels like magic.  Don't get me wrong, even through the disbelief I absolutely love putting paint on canvas, adding patterns and layers and layers of beautiful colour, but at each stage as I step back from the work to see how it looks and feels at that particular point I begin to question my choices.  And even as the painting is coming to fruition, I sometimes question what it is that is missing.  Often it is at the most unusual times that I find the solution, that 'Aha!' moment, and sometimes in the strangest ways.  A pattern on something such as a piece of paper, a curtain, or the branches of a tree, or I see the moon or a plate and realize that I need to add that shape, colour or pattern.  Stepping back from the work frequently makes all the difference, even when I'm not totally pleased with what I see.  It is at those moments that I can take a good look at what is working and what isn't...what needs to be added and what needs to be removed.  Those are the moments of magic.