Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Strawberries

I bought a gallon container of fresh strawberries a few days ago because I knew it was the end of the local season. We ate a lot of them out of hand, enjoying their sweet juiciness, like red sunshine. Today I took the remaining berries out of the refrigerator and realized they were fading. I cut them up to sugar for shortcake and had to make a decision about several that were on the mushy side. Oh, how my frugal self hates to throw away a berry! But I knew that if I put the "iffy" ones in along with the still firm ones, the whole bowl would suffer from that choice.

It is the same with my painting. I really have a hard time "throwing out" a portion of a painting that has some attractive qualities. I often argue with myself for leaving it in. But I have learned to recognize when my eye keeps going back to that same place and isn't comfortable with what I'm seeing, it is best to eliminate it. Those decisions can improve the "flavor" of the whole painting.

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