Isn't it just like a woman to change her mind?

I had set this painting to the side last week, feeling like it was close to being done.  I was SO excited when I got a couple of new shades of paint to try, and I loved this new shade of brown (Van Dyke Brown) which I ended up adding to a majority of this painting. It has a nice transparent quality to it, so some of my reds and greens looked really neat underneath it. This thing had gone through about 10 different layers by this point and it was feeling done in a certain way, but something just kept nagging at me about it.

I kept taking it out on a daily basis, looking at it from one angle, then another, then turning it upside-down....and I'd just end up putting it away again. 

What did I like about it? What was working? What wasn't?

It boiled down to the fact that I liked a lot of the colors, but the imagery just didn't feel like it was ME. And that has been my biggest struggle lately, pinpointing the ME that I need to infuse into my paintings.

Sure, it might sound easy...just be yourself.

But that's not so easy, at least not yet...

So, I decided to listen to my intuition and make a bold move...

I turned it upside down and attacked it again. This was a little scary as it felt like I was ruining something that was "almost done."

But, right away I felt like I'd moved it in the right direction. I really liked the lotus flower and as it progresses further, mountains seem to be emerging....loving it! And already it feels more ME.

It's still got a ways to go, but I'm much happier with the direction it's headed.

I'm SO glad I changed my mind!