Second look at the myth #1, "Stop before you ruin your painting"

"Ritner Creek 2017" is the painting from which a detail is the banner for the Rainy Day Thoughts blog. Maybe I should have kept theis painting as is. I destroyed the semblance of an impressionistic representation after visiting the creek in July and I discovered that the sappling tree had no leaves this year. Also the creek was shallow, warmer and the muddy bottom was visible.

First change

 

 

At this stage I became critical and wanted it to be more about the struggle of the dying or dead sappling



 

This is nearly like my general symbolic conception of a struggling sappling. The sapling was symbolically painted with broken bleached white limbs.  But it didn't satisfy me.  I chaned my mind about the painting earlier because the very thick imposto was limiting my gestures and in some cases I had to scrape the thick paint away. I wanted to at least recapture the fact that I was painting a sapling because it looked like a mature tree.

 

I hoped to challenge my last week's wisdom that it is brave and not to fear ruining your painting. I was sure I could work very hard and long and actually ruin the painting. But in the course of striking out some mark and replacing it with another much is learned with ideas for future paintings.  

 

 



This is my solution. Again  the sapling is made smaller
 by making the leafless bush larger, almost as tall as the sapling.
The sapling painting is more interesting to me but not at all sure
it is any better than the one I started to change this year.