Nothing To Lose

I had an epiphany the other day, and I suddenly realized why I've had a good burst of completed paintings this month: I started with no (or low) expectations. I should explain that in the course of my many years of marbling papers (using acrylics), I've amassed quite a stack of lovely, patterned papers. I file them by year in my garage/storage space. Some of them are so lovely, I can't bear to paint on them, but others are, well, less than stellar.  So, I created a "slush pile" of the marbled papers that I really don't like. Maybe they are too busy, too murky, too blue, too red....they just don't speak to me. I contemplated selling them, or even giving them as gifts, but months went by and they continued to sit on a table untouched. I'd written them off as unworthy of developing into paintings.

Recently, I was organizing my paintings for an upcoming show, and came across these "failed" marbled papers. Suddenly, I grabbed a few and took a closer look at them: I began to see potential! Excited, I took a few papers up to my studio and began turning these failed marbled papers into finished paintings! The one I'm most pleased with is "Treehouse #6", acrylic marbling/collage on paper, 13 x 19". You can see the progression from raw paper to finished painting: