The Power of Threes

I used to make a very promising start to a painting, but then I’d hesitate: What if I ruin it? What if I cant make anything good happen? This led to a pile of unfinished paintings, some of which I never returned to.

Now, I start three of everything. There is always potential to go forward on at least one of them. Often I get a “too much, too little and just right” versions.

Here’s an example: the Winter Forest paintings I started in Three Paintings before Breakfast.

I worked this too much and it lost a lot of spontaneity.

Messy but beginning to shape up. I like the fractured surface quality.

I love the wild marks in this one, and the subtle color.

There’s another “Power of Three” aspect:

1. Energetic underpainting
2. Fleshing out and searching for form
3. Final polish.

My new Frontier of Uncertainty is before stage Three!