If you have to Squint…

If You Have to Squint

Do It Again.

Sometimes, you just have to start over. If you have to squint or try to trick yourself into thinking it doesn’t look THAT bad, dammit, start over.

My husband taught me that. And in fact, he is the one who broke the news to me that this piece was “Terrifying”. I had been working on this commission for a day or so. I knew things weren’t panning out quite right at this point. The colors weren’t right, the masking technique was all wrong, the composition was going nowhere… so, to be fair, I had already put this one aside and started a new piece when Matt confessed.

The funny thing is, I had just been watching Scooby-Doo with my 8-year-old. And now this piece will forever remind me of Any Ghostly, Creepy Floating Perpetrator you’ve ever seen on that show. And it’s HILARIOUS.

It literally used to make me cry when I thought about starting over. All the hours wasted, all the brainpower, the planning (or lack thereof, as it were), the stress, the emotions… guess what, people: It’s never wasted. I’ll say it again. It’s Never Wasted if you’ve taken note of the lesson you’ve learned. And you use that going forward.

Also, it helps when your partner is your harshest critic, and that you know he’s usually right.