LJ Lindhurst: Right Now

Took me a while to get the lighting right on these, but I think they will make some fine paintings. I am particularly happy with the gold foil version.

Really excited to get started on turning one of these into a painting. A BIG painting… But alas, I must finish up some other BIG paintings first:

(Nice shot with my new wide angle lens, eh? eh?)

The painting on the left is Bunny #2 (Rosebud)–I originally painted this piece ten years ago, and I recently got a commission to paint it again.

Actually, this is the FOURTH time I am painting this painting. The first time I painted it, I was close to finishing after 3 months of work, and the wind blew my canvas over and punctured it. I tried desperately to repair it, but in the end I had to start over. As tragic as that sounds, it was an invaluable lesson on many levels; rather than freak out completely (OK, I did burst into tears when I initially saw it), this event led me to an important conclusion: it wasn’t about the painting. I didn’t lose 3 months of work. I had those 3 months under my belt, and I got out of them the most important thing of all: the work. It didn’t matter if the painting was damaged beyond repair. What mattered was the work, and to continue working.

I also learned that it was just a thing. It’s a painting. It’s an object. It is nothing that really matters when it boils down to it. What really matters is making paintings, and doing the work.

I have since painted it three more times for various collectors. You can see the original (or rather, second) version on my web site.

It’s interesting to paint this piece again ten years later because it’s really a yardstick on how much I’ve improved over the years. I am a much faster painter than I was back then, that’s for sure (this time it’s only taken me about a month), and I don’t make near as many mistakes. I also see things better; I can pull out subtleties from a piece now that I wouldn’t have even noticed back then. It’s been quite an illuminating exercise.