Inspiration

Driving my middle to school the other day the sun was doing this amazing thing in the sky. With the clouds the way they were it was almost like there was a second, smaller, sun underneath it. And it was sort of distorted, kind of like you might see as a reflection on the water. It was really beautiful and it made me want to paint it. It was similar to this image, without the water.

Giving In

I sat on that inspiration for a few days. Life has a way of keeping me from giving in to the muse. But I finally decided to give it a try yesterday. It did not turn out well. I knew it wasn’t what I was looking for, that it needed something else. I was pretty disappointed.

Now, I know that I’m not a true artist and that my painting is really just my hobby. I have quite a few paintings sitting around to prove it. But this is especially terrible. So I walked away from it last night. Frustrated and upset that I couldn’t make my brain and hands create the beauty I’d seen.

Try Again

I stared at that damn canvas all day today, trying to figure out what was missing. What could I add that would make it better? I decided that it needed a beach. So I added a beach, but I still wasn’t sure. Maybe a palm tree. Once I got the beach completed I realized that a palm tree wouldn’t work since I made the beach darker and the trunk would be too close to the same color. I also needed to bring the sky down a bit further. It still wasn’t quite right.

Finishing

The sky was still a bit of a mess, and there was too much unused space. It needed something more. I decided to change up my vision. Instead of it being the sun, it became the moon. All it needed to finish it off were some birds and some stars. Now, in the words of Bob Ross, sometime we make happy accidents. I sure did. I tried to make a bigger star, but again, I’m not a true artist. Instead, I added a lightning bug.

Happy Endings

I have to be honest. This is nothing like I was thinking about when I started this painting yesterday. Not even close. But I am supremely pleased with how it turned out. It might even be my favorite of my creations. This was a reminder to myself to keep trying. That even when we’re not happy with how things are going, it is within our power to change it, or at the very least, how we react to it. Now I just have to find a place to hang it, or someone to buy it.

What is Your Happy Accident?

Have you had a happy accident? Something that turned out, even if it wasn’t done on purpose? Have you ever had something go completely against your plan? How did you handle it?