When being a virgo... drawing studies for a painting
Once in a while I become, shall we say, obsessively detail oriented. Maybe it is a lack of confidence, or maybe not taking deep enough breaths. Or maybe some details just need attending to. The small owl that I'm painting on linen has become, in my mind, a mural, something large, maybe a frieze on the side of the Mall of America. In other words, it has become disproportionately daunting. Partly because this bird has serious character, and I don't want to miss that. Nor the beauty. Also, I'm painting it for my sister, who has higher standards than there are devices for measuring such things. Many, many owls have been drawn by me over the last weeks. Or rather, the same owl many times over. I remember being told the story of the zen painter (or maybe it was a chinese master?) who was commissioned to paint a rooster. After a few months (years) the customer became impatient, and demanded to be given his painting. "Well, if you are in such a hurr