Those of you who follow me on Instagram are already way ahead of the curve with this post, because you've seen hints of what I've been getting into lately in art. I've taken a giant nosedive back into painting and I'm never looking back- well kinda. My latest artistic adventures have lead me to yet another lesson in art making...

If at first you don't succeed, maybe it's because you didn't do your research first dummy.

I'm really quite happy with my latest paintings- they're loose, romantic and intense representations of flowers which is exactly what I was hoping to achieve. There's just one little problem. The paper is too thin for the type of paint I'm using (gouache in case you're curious) so it's rippling. The wetness of the paint is causing the paper to absorb too much moisture and leaving my final product a wavy mess. The overall look of the painting is still nice but the quality has been completely sacrificed due to an oversight on my part.

I should have known better. I did know better.

I ignored what I knew about the paper, and the paint, in an effort to save a little money and get on with it already. I was so anxious to get the painting started that I threw research out the window. I've since gone back and done my homework on what surface is best for gouache/acrylic paintings and bought the supplies I need to move forward with confidence. Illustration board.

Tragically the 3 paintings I did before wising up have been relegated to the sketch pile and I'm starting from scratch once again. These lessons in art making can be painful, but hopefully they'll keep you from making the same mistakes. - b.

I recently had what I thought was a genius idea for an art series. It involved flowers, sketching, photography and ultimately a seasonal series of blooms in our area. Like all of my ideas (I come up with "genius" ideas all the time) the beginning went so smoothly. I gathered inspiration for the images, picked a date to shoot, collected a bucket full of blooms, and my china markers- marching off into the sunset of what I was sure would be the start of something wonderful. And that's where everything went wrong, I had forgotten a very important cardinal rule...

All great ideas start with the first idea, but they rarely end there.

What do I mean by that? Well the really great ideas that turn into something marvelous or life changing rarely stay exactly as the initial thought came to you. They evolve and develop as you do research, experiment, and expand the scope of what the idea could mean. The idea is rooted in that lightbulb moment, but it can't stay there. 

Unfortunately, I all too often forget to take a step back and imagine how I can improve upon something. Instead ploughing along with the first idea as if it were an infallible object worth coveting. The results are projects I'm not proud of, or that feel only partially complete. But I'm learning.

This time I'm taking the lessons I learned from this first experiment and carrying them with me into the next iteration of this idea. There are parts I loved, most of which you don't see above (I have to keep some of it a secret), and I'm excited to push forward with those aspects in hopes I'll one day create that great idea I've always been dreaming of.

Do you allow your ideas to settle and grow into something really beautiful, or do you choke them off at first bloom? - b.