This time of year makes me long for family ties. So how do we fix this? Create it of course. I am posting a three step watercolor of Tom and below you will see me and the rest of the "Fam".

      The core of my painting  style is based on the concept of value relationships and shapes. Step one is finding the deepest value patterns and connecting them, Step two is finding the mid tones and connecting them and the final step is to add light washes in the lightest areas and make minor adjustments. To find out more about this you can look at my book here or watch a short video here.

What I have learned so far :
Value ( how light or dark a color is) must be established early in a painting. You can always push value into darkness but you must preserve the whites. Yes, whites are sacred. I do not use masking fluid. I hold my breath instead.
I am curious to know how other people strategize around the issue of keeping their whites.

Every night when I go to bed I put the work of the day where I can see it when I first wake up the next morning. This gives me that instant "blink" moment when I can judge quickly  to see if what I have done so far has worked or not.
Most of the time I am pleased but sometimes there is a giant "uh oh" and I can tell that the truth must be told and my hours spent the day before were not fruitful.

What I have learned so far:

Listening to your gut is the real lie detector machine we all have . It is always present and always on. It does not matter if you worked super hard or love the subject ...if your gut says "No Mas". It is game over. I would say about every four to five paintings I have one of those moments. I used to rip them up. Now I gently turn them over ...forgive myself and use the back of the sheet.

Every thing we do is connected to something else . I have talked before about unexpected outcomes on this blog  and  about staying  open and welcoming to them  as a concept when they appear.
     This week the unexpected outcome was head, neck and arm pain. This was troubling and to take my mind off of it I started to do jigsaw puzzles for hours on end. I enjoyed the puzzles but each day I felt more achy and wondered when I would be able to paint again.
     I even tried working on a flat surface to paint which instead of relieving the pain made me anxious. When I tried to paint  I felt like I was painting with one arm tied behind my back and my head pressed against the windshield of a car.
     The pain persisted. Until it occurred to me that maybe it was the puzzle that was creating this new discomfort. So I stopped doing them and guess what? The pain is gone.

What I have learned so far:
Everything we do is connected. Nothing is done in isolation. When a new symptom or difficulty appears task analyze it to see if you started a behavior or thought pattern that is different that might be responsible for the outcome .
    And most important of all don't do too much of one thing. Moderation is always a wise approach.