Life, Painting. Art as Therapy? I wonder?

This , I THINK’, the final version. Like I said before – each painting is like reinventing the wheel. I knew something wasn’t working but it’s taken a while and several reworking to discover how to get it right. But what does right mean? There are always more questions than answers and I suppose that’s exactly what keeps you moving forward. I seem to have moved on a little in my general approach to life in that I don’t just give up, throw a painting away and start on something else. I have managed, well with this particular one at least, to persevere until I get closer to the image in my head or to what, I consider, the right answer. That’s progress in my book.
And here’s a detail which I think made all the difference. It lifted the image from being purely figurative without having to obliterate too much detail and turning it into a pure abstract. The squiggly lines made with Inktense pencils suggest the crumbling cliffs in a way I couldn’t manage with paint alone.

I really liked the effect and have used it in my next image of a pool in Cornwall. See detail below.

Well that’s enough analysis for now. On with more painting. Actually, looking at this blog I now wonder if I should make squiggly lines in the sky of the Cliff painting??? Things are never finished. Questions??????

Well I knew I’d change my mind. Started the reworking by turning this into a portrait instead of landscape. That seemed to help emphasising the height of the cliffs. Then I put in some lines and drawing…. I always say that drawing is at the heart of my practice so I should not be afraid to draw more. Think it’s done now but who knows….I might start it again.