Ok, That's Enough Procrastinating!

A couple of weeks ago I blogged about my procrastination. My acrylic painting was not going well and I just couldn't bring myself to continue it. I know that if I just keep working on it, it will get better but I just couldn't muster the desire to get back at it.

Today, I realized that I had put it off long enough and decided I would just do it! Since the sky was giving me difficulties, I turned the painting upside down on the easel and started working on the water. This was a really good tactic because had I started on the sky, I would have been so frustrated, I wouldn't have painted very long. As it was, I painted for 2 hours!

Why did I turn the painting upside down? Because the water is at the bottom of the canvas and the very bottom is obstructed by the easel so it is hard to paint that way. Also when painting something upside down you see it differently and then you are forced to look at shapes and colour and value instead of the subject. You get a truer interpretation when you don't have preconceived ideas about what the subject looks like.

This is where I left off before the procrastination set in.

I'm happy with the water so far. It reflects the sky and the distant trees (which I haven't painted yet).

After working on the water, I solidified the rocks a bit and feel that they add dimension to the painting because now I have a foreground and a mid-ground. I'll probably work on the background trees next and then start tweeking the details. I feel like I've made some headway and gotten my drive back to finish this thing.