The Field - half sheet

DONE! It took me forever. Not in painting time. But in agonising time. I actually painted the first pass of this in one two-hour session, while chatting with Shelley at the same time (best method for flow!). But then, I wanted to fix the walls, fix the cliffs, fix the sea, fix the islands. I just kept looking at it and thinking about what needed to be done. Finishing a painting is the hardest thing for me. But then, I just thought, it will languish in a box forever if I don't go for it. I was so scared of ruining what I liked about it. But I had to change my mindset. I remembered something Áine Divine said about not being afraid to lose what you like so that you can find what you love. She said it much better than that. And it still resonates with me. That's how it is with good teachers. Even years later, you're still learning from them! And I learned something else from another dear teacher and friend, Uma Kelkar, putting in the work - and it was while looking at one of my smaller explorations of the same view that it came to me how I wanted the cliffs to look. If I hadn't done these smaller versions, I would have been stuck, with no visual reference to help me on the journey.  And as you can see from the smaller pieces below, it's been quite the journey! Now, what's next?

Here's where I had left it about a week ago.  I wasn't happy with the background , but I really didn't know how to fix it without muddying it all up, so I was stuck there for a while. Not a happy place!

This is how it was after my first pass. I was very happy with it, for something done in two hours while chatting!! Not organic enough, though, and the cliffs in the back were too regular and grey. But it had strong bones!