Day 224 Digging Deep

When I was in college we would have to do 200 "comps" - small sketches or compositions for page layouts for an advertising class. The first 25 or so were easy and seemed great. Then they start getting sort of bad around #75 to #100, who can come up with that many ideas? Then you are faking it and drawing really, really crappy stuff just to meet the number and thinking the teacher is nuts. You are so burned out by #150 and digging deep for new designs that sometimes something breaks through. #193 might actually be a good design buried in that last desperate push.

It was a great lesson in pushing yourself artistically because the good designs were never in the first 25 or so after all. We think we have the good idea early on.
Example A: Using a mountain for your logo because we live in denver. Resist the urge.
Example B: Ever using the font Papyrus. It's bad enough as a title but please, please never use it in body copy. The graphic designers know what I'm talking about.

What does this have to do with my painting today? Aspen have been painted a million times, there are probably thousands out there that look similar to this. I may have a few excellent painter friends shuddering that this is the equivalent of using Papyrus. It might be. But, if I keep painting them, and I will - who knows what may happen?

Digging Deep
18x24 pastel