Progress?

Yesterday I had posted this painting as a work in progress. After having worked on it some more, I don't know if I'd call this progress. I think I prefer the silhouetted negative space of the first post. Back in June, during an outdoor landscape painting class I intentionally left the subject silhouetted as negative space. Seeing the comparison of the painting before and after, I think I'll go back to exploring that idea.

Abstract Nature

Plants . Watercolor . 4"x11"
(work in progress)

I have been thinking about painting abstract nature for over a year. I have thought a lot about it and painted a little. All this time, I think I've been trying to make sense of it. I have felt that I need to completely understand something before begin to work on it. Whether it is an idea for a specific painting or a whole body of work, I feel I need to work out every detail in my head before I pick up a brush. And, with that, I have a whole conversation with myself in my head trying to describe the work's purpose, the content.

NOW! I am reminding myself that...
An artist gains understanding of their subject
through the act of painting it!
and Art describes an idea that words cannot describe!