So, yesterday was one of those "aha" days. Another way to put it would be to say it was a "duh!!!" day. I'm a pastelist at heart, but I also love to do larger works and to get out the paint and brushes for this. My goal is to get the oil paintings to look as close as I can come to the pastels. But one problem arises, I can't get the edges to do exactly what I'd like them to do in oil. I want that soft ethereal look I can get with the pastels. I can come close, but I'm not always satisfied with the results. Yesterday I looked through my selection of brushes and for whatever reason decide to go into my closet and dig out a synthetic brush. You see, I ALWAYS use a bristle brush for oil painting, because that's what I think you are SUPPOSED to use. I had a bias against using any other kind of brush and it held me back from getting the results I wanted. I was able to do some things with that synthetic brush that really pleased me and made my painting stronger. I wonder what other notions I have that hold me back? What other biases do I keep in other aspects of my life?; thought processes like, "I've always done it that way, so that's the way I'm doing it now", or "That's the way it is supposed to be done", or worse.
I realize that there are lots times we have to get out of our own way, especially when it comes to making art. I think we are often pretty good at questioning others; yesterday reminded me that it's important to turn a critical eye on our own actions, thoughts, methods and challenge the biases we may be operating under.
