These humble but persistent hydrangeas were still blooming outside my kitchen window, despite suffering through drought then rain and cold. Their leaves were few, gray and blotchy and the stems were bent and woody but the flowers just weren’t giving up.
While I worked on the painting I was thinking about humility. I’ve discovered that being humble is a good antidote to procrastination.
When I think that I have to be “good” at something (especially painting), it creates fear that I won’t be. Then I find myself either procrastinating or, if it strikes while I’m painting, reworking a painting again and again because it’s not “perfect” yet.
I’ve found that the best way to step out of that rut of perfectionism is to focus on being honestly humble and not worry about being good, better, best, or perfect. All I have to be is humble little me and like the hydrangeas, just hang in there and shine forth.
About the painting:
I was trying to see and paint light and make good use of color temperature and value contrasts to model the form. I started by doing a monochrome underpainting in acrylic, but didn’t really like the way the acrylic paint kind of ruined the wonderful texture of the ArtBord. Here are the steps along the way:
1 & 2 are photos of the still life set up, the second in black and white to look at values.
Jana Bouc, Artist 