As I tend to begin several canvases at once when I work in series, it is inevitable that several pieces begin to come to completion at the same time. I find this a difficult time in the painting process as at first I prefer one over the others, and then another, and back again. This can be both good and bad as I feel a little neglectful of one as I am enamoured of another and it feels as though I am choosing one of my 'children' over another. The good thing is that this also pushes me to bring the other to a higher standard rather than giving up when it might be good enough. The bad thing is that I sometimes overwork a piece when I'm obsessed with it and have to force myself to put my brushes down and walk away. Another good thing is that as I work out a difficult situation with one, I am guided to solutions for another. Recently it felt as though one painting glowed while another felt flat and I realized that I needed to increase the contrast between dark and light. Another bad thing is that I sometimes change something in one piece because I was drawn to something in another - whether that is a colour or pattern - and it sometimes seems to deflate the piece when I should have left well enough alone. It's an interesting balancing act but at the same time I'm grateful for working in this manner as I tend to learn more and find solutions in this way.
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