Faces That Teach You Things
Day #2 of 30 Days of Faces and Places in Color
Well, I keep having the same conversation with myself: I should tell them, as a kind of disclaimer, that I know this is no good. I know what good is and I know that technically, this is not what it should be: The proportions are off, the shadows contradictory, not wrong entirely but definitely not what anyone competent would do . Maybe the disclaimer is: I KNOW THIS IS NOT A COMPETENT PIECE OF ART.
Because i know what competent looks like and I don’t want you believe I don’t know what good is just because I can’t do it.
And then, there’s the other part of me that has started to join the conversation because I tell myself, only showing things that are “finished” means you never show anyone anything because it’s never finished to your liking or standards. And, isn’t it more generous to let other people see what learning looks like?
And then, when I attend to what I am learning, for example, if you use a big brush with lots of water it makes everything blend quickly together.And I like it when colors don’t blend together naturally. I love German Expressionism.
So I am learning, not just about how materials work, or what a big vs a smaller brush does, but also about what I like, what speaks to me. I am learning about my taste — what I am attracted to, what worlds with its ethos and sensibilities, I want to am drawn toward and want to spend time dwelling within.
This face took me from issuing disclaimers on a journey where a learned things a long the way. I see the imperfections but i also see with affection the ride, the little lessons, it made possible.
