Jazz Legends: Duke Ellington

The latest in my Jazz Legends Series: Duke Ellington. Acrylic on Canvas.
Signed limited edition prints available soon.

Here is my latest installment in my Jazz Legends series on Global Vernissage. He's finally finished… this one seemed to take me a while, as you can see by my working photos (which are all posted at the above link). The final result turned out decently though, so I'm glad I kept at it.

Anyone that paints will understand about the "ugly phase". It's that point in every painting where you look at it and go "Ick…. I Just can't see how I'm going to make this work". This is the point where a lot of potentially good artwork gets abandoned. I have it with every painting. Seriously. Every. Single. One. I think I had it more than once with this piece. Sometimes all it takes to fix it is a couple brushstrokes. Sometimes I have to tone down the color or add a glaze to an area. I've abandoned many pieces over the course of the last few years, but usually because I haven't noticed some weird anatomical mistake I made at the drawing phase, and I just didn't have enough enthusiasm left for my subject to bother trying to fix it. It happens.

I think so many artists get discouraged enough to stop when their painting hits this point. I understand that, I really do. But if you just keep going and push through it, you'll find you can fix the problem and be satisfied with the finished piece. Try putting it away for a while and then going back to it with a critical eye. Or maybe talk to an artist friend about what you think isn't working. If you think the idea is worth working through, don't give up on it. The results can be worth it.