Whenever I try to paint something new, I get stuck.
Documenting my painting process in photos has helped me be kinder to myself and understand the ugly stages are just part of the process.
Yet I so often assume that I can just sit down and paint what’s in my head. Or look at a past painting and do it again.
But that doesn’t happen.
It always takes creating backgrounds and loosening up, then maybe a few terrible starts before I can even begin to paint with freedom.
The other day when this happened, I was working on this new painting (she’s called ‘Protection,’ 11” x 14”).
I’d wanted to try adding more detail to my paintings.
So I used a printed image and transfer paper to draw an owl. But it looked way too tight, so I covered it up.
While the paint was still wet, I added another owl and turned it into a woman. She seemed way too weird too. It wasn’t until I gave her feathers that I remembered the old owl in the background. It seemed like she would have an owl protector, so I wiped away the paint to reveal the owl again.
Now, together, they seem to be radiating hope and peace.
Oftentimes it takes trying a different technique or supply, which, at the time, feels like a HUGE mistake, to finally push me to paint something new.
I’m finishing up a few more female portraits and can’t wait to share them with you!
It wasn’t until I snapped in-progress photos of my paintings that I realized every painting has an ugly stage (especially the eyes and faces).
And at that stage, I’d always get frustrated and feel like I couldn’t finish another painting.
That negative self talk completely took the fun out of painting. But once I realized it happened to me every time, I learned to turn off my inner critic.
This video is one I come back to whenever I need to get past the ugly stage and paint a character with more softness.
Happy Painting!
xo Juliette Crane
P.S. If you’d like to paint more together but don’t have a lot of time, I’ve also put together my Happy Painting Mini Course, which has five-instant-access projects to get you started. Click here to Watch a Video Sneak Peek at the Happy Painting Mini Course.