I was going to use ‘vision’ instead of ‘style’ but this would be far too pretentious even for me. The problem of a personal style is that your image of the world doesn’t exist. You have to wrestle it into existence. This requires an almost mindless persistence that is at times painful. Frank Auerbach spends most of his time scraping paint off rather than putting it on. Luckily I don’t suffer from this affliction.
Your only guide is a vague notion that something is either right or not quite right. It’s your ability to suffer through every correction that will determine whether you have a painting that will eventually satisfy you.
I am at the mid-point of this suffering. And the balance is beginning to tip in favour of satisfaction.
I will need a period of contemplation and a stiff drink to see if I can progress further.
Corner of the field, Day 3