David-Limrite-Artist, Coach, Mentor, Teacher Torso

"Standing Torso", 24"x 18", mixed media on wood, Copyright David Limrite

“If opportunity doesn’t knock, build a door.”
Milton Berle, Comedian

OK, so your last painting didn’t work out like you expected. It didn’t end up looking like you wanted it to look. You might have even considered it a failure.

It is interesting how sometimes our creations work and sometimes they don’t. There are so many factors that can contribute to a paintings success or failure. We will save that discussion for another time.

If a current creation of yours did not work out, the important thing now is what you decide to do next.

My advice is to let this one go and move on. My advice usually is to tell you to never give up on a piece. Ever! However, there are times when we just know that what we are working on is going nowhere. It is indeed a failure. Don’t fight it. Don’t continue to wrestle with this one. If you continue to work on this piece it will just drag you down. Learn something from the experience, let it go, and move on.

Your current painting is a dud. So what? No harm, no foul. It does not mean that you are a terrible artist. All it means is that, for some reason, this particular painting did not work.

Seriously…. It’s no big deal…. Really.

You fell off the horse. Now get right back up in that saddle and try again.

You now have many opportunities. You have the opportunity to learn. Why didn’t this painting work? What could I have done better? You have the opportunity to try again. What should I do differently on the next one? What adjustments will I make? And you have the opportunity to put all of your creative energies and efforts into the next painting. You get to start over. You have a new lease on your creative life.

Do yourself a favor. Let this one go and move on.

Best,

David