30 Paintings in 30 Days - Day Eleven

"Aerial Landscape II: (A Study) - acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas, 6" x 6"

Day eleven!  Back to the palette knife and landscape studies based on aerial photographs.  This one inspired by photos of an atoll.  This piece was painted, scraped, painted and scraped again, and still I am going to chuck this one in the reject bin.  But it is an important part of this 30 day challenge to show the pieces that don't work as well as the ones that do.  

So I found myself asking, why didn't this one work?

For me, painting well has a lot to do with state of mind.  And today began with more mercury retrograde mischief (in the form of my misbehaving dogs, wild drivers everywhere, doctors running hours late - you get the gist?) and thus my state of mind was a bit agitated and frustrated.  The bliss and play aren't here if I haven't taken time to center myself before entering the studio.  And today I dragged in the irritation of the day, which ended up running amok in my mind and causing havoc on the canvas.  My thoughts were elsewhere while I painted, which isn't in the flow, isn't in the present moment​ and is a recipe for a poor result.

The good news is this:  after finishing this piece (or calling it quits on this one, whichever view you take!) I was determined to reclaim my state of mind and studio space.  A few deep breaths, a cup of tea, a fresh canvas, a new inspiration and I began another piece, which even in its very beginning stages is already worlds better.  Ending my studio time on a positive note is important - it sets the tone for tomorrow and brings the day back into balance.   Now I am off to take myself for a walk.  If the dogs have taken time to center themselves this afternoon, they just might get to join me.