"Porcelain and Copper"

This week’s featured painting is “Porcelain and Copper” from 2008.  It is done with oil on panel, and measures 6 x 6 inches.

Over the years I’ve learned – many times, in fact – that it doesn’t really matter what I think of my own paintings.

I’ve lost count of the times where I was incredibly excited about a painting – thinking it was better than anything I’d done.

When I showed it to the world, however, the reaction was… not as enthusiastic, to put it politely.

porcelain_and_copper-detail2

Other times I’ve completed paintings I was disappointed by… to the point of questioning if I should even photograph it and put it online.

Only to wake up the next day and find that the painting had sold right away and had generated dozens of kind and appreciative comments.

It’s basically led me to stop trying to guess in advance how a painting will be received.

And that’s just as well.

porcelain_and_copper-detail3

We all come to works of art with our own backgrounds, experiences, and biases, and because of that, each one of us experiences a painting in a different way.

You could almost say we experience different paintings.

Those things that cause me to like a painting may have no impact on you whatsoever… or they may even cause you to dislike it.

porcelain_and_copper-detail1

So, I’ve learned to not pay too much attention to what I think of one of my own.

But instead, to just do the work, put it out there, and move on to the next one.

For what it’s worth, though, I think this is one of the best paintings I’ve ever done.


Canvas prints of this painting are available.  To see more, click the blue button below.