11x14 in
acrylic on hardboard
I love pattern! I was immediately drawn
in by the polka dots on the little girl’s dress. Before I retired from teaching,
I would often remind my students that, just because something looks simple didn’t
mean it will be easy. I myself relearned this lesson with this painting. Polka
dots are simple enough but making them interesting is the hard part.
When painting the polka dots, I had to
make the ones on her dress more dynamic than those in the background to avoid a
flat painting. It was a painstaking process, but in the end, the effort was
well worth it.
This piece also taught me patience. I
originally started with a much larger version of this painting on stretched
canvas, which I was eager to dive into. However, after five days of repainting
the face for what felt like the hundredth time, I started questioning my own
sanity. I’m not one to give up, but this one nearly broke me.
Realizing I needed a new approach, I
took a step back. I hadn’t painted in a while, and just like you can’t run a
marathon after a year of not training, I needed to ease back into it. So, I
switched to a smaller size—one I was more comfortable with—and that decision
led to this little gem.
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