Ups and downs

The last 3 months have been a rollercoaster of progress and failure which is a good thing- it means I am growing as an artist! In struggling with a full figure painting I fought to get something out of the work that was not working. Through embarrasing amounts of time of "no, that's not it... nope not that either" I took a break to watch a master painter work on the other side of the room. I watched closely trying to understand what she was doing, how and why and asked her questions every time she stopped for what I was not certain about. The next day I went back to my side of the room, took out a new panel and did a portrait as if I had been doing it for years. At the end of the session I went to get my glasses and came up on the panel thinking 'who's work is this?' As I stood in disbelief at the jewel before me (not even a done work with detail as I had no small brushes that day) I felt like I had gained ground in my uphill climb and was amazed at just what a difference one day with a master made for my own work- a much wiser choice to spend the day tring to listen then to try to speak. G.A. progressiong.