I’ve received two pieces of advice in my life that have stuck with me. First, keep all your art. Second, there are no failures, only lessons and opportunities.
If you know me, you know I don’t follow that first piece of advice at all. I am more than happy to paint over or cut apart a finished piece to make something better. To me, a completed work isn’t always a destination. Sometimes, it’s raw material for the next idea. And this leads directly to how I handle “failure.”
In the spirit of the great Bob Ross’s “happy accidents,” my initial vision for a work is just a starting point. I let the painting tell me what it wants to be. Every stray brushstroke or found object that breaks as I apply it, is simply a new direction to follow.
But I’ve also learned that I am often my own harshest critic.
Early in my art career, I finished a piece titled “Moving On.” I was frustrated with the sky and was ready to put it aside for a long while. My wife took one look at it and said, “That needs to go in the front hall!” Since then, I’ve sold or received high praise for works that I personally considered painting over. It reminded me that failure, like art is in the eye of the beholder.
That said, there are times when a piece simply doesn’t meet my standard. It might be that I’m not happy with the technical execution, the story feels off, or the structure is too fragile to stand the test of time. That is when I take my lessons, disassemble what I can, and move on from the rest.
The next time you watch one of my studio videos, look closely. You might just see an old “failure” getting a second chance at life. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a painting to take apart.