Obviously, I'm not one to leave well enough alone.

The abstract triptych I was working on has been bothering me. I hung it on the wall and studied it for several days. It felt unfinished. Then again, I'm also not so crazy about the way it looks against the khaki color of the walls. Problem. I like, but don't like, the painting. It feels muddy and heavy. The copper doesn't shine the way it should because it's hanging on a somewhat shadowed wall.

I even tried adding some "brightness" to it by coating string in paint and laying it across the canvas to make lines. Also some flicking and spotting of the same paint in a bit of a burst pattern. Let that dry. Hung it back on the wall. Still, not quite there.

I thought it possibly needed a touch of a mossy green on the bottom half. I thought about that all day and well into the evening. I decided to just go to bed and sleep on it. As I was lying there in the dark, snuggled up with my cats, I started thinking about the color purple. Not just any purple. Pale, icy lavender. I think I even dreamed about it.

When I woke up this morning I went through my usual routine. Shower, get dressed, start a pot of coffee (green tea today), clean litter boxes, go for my walk. All the while thinking about the abstract. Why did it not feel right? What could I do to fix it? I stood in the living room and stared at it for a long while. The purple kept creepy into my head.

Then I had one of those "ah ha!" moments. It wasn't exactly a good moment, I must admit. What I realized is I created the triptych while I was angry and frustrated. It was an expression of resentment, bucking opinions, pushing against caving to another persons ideas ... all the things I'm struggling against in my work. Plain and simple, I was mad and that's what I saw every time I looked at the painting. It was evoking negative feelings when what I want to create is calm.

Well. Damn.

I've talked about how, in the work I'm doing for the house, I want to create a relaxed, watery, peaceful, zen-like space with the art and overall decor of my home. It was the motivation behind the White Lotus painting. This triptych is the antithesis of my desire. This morning I put a nice fresh coat of white paint over the entire thing. Magic swipe of my brush and it's history. I always get a rush when I do that.

I believe that's why the purple is dancing around in my head. I need calm. I need soft and light and peaceful. I need lavender flowers, fields of lavender flowers. Hmmmm. With that thought, I'm off to the studio.

Namaste, y'all ...