I worked on this in the morning. In the afternoon I went to the allotment to build and think. I had something different in mind with this painting of this schoolboy. I wanted to hold his enigmatic attentive expression - but make it less explicit and more layered. I wondered about over-writing the canvas with text - words from yesterday. So I began to apply the paint in lines but found I didn't have the skill or experience with acrylic to carry on. Learning seems risky and uncertain. Even by plodding established pathways, I lose my way. The world changes and recedes so fast that impatience and indiscipline are perhaps not as distracting as their opposites. Reading and taking action help me refocus. I've been admiring the assured process of James Gurney with gouache. He's prolific: www.youtube.com/watch?v=qkZAOx-4u_w&t=199s Note to self: keep practising, keep looking. |