Do you like irony?

Do you like irony? I do, even if I'm the facilitator. Irony is good for many laughs... often at myself, I've found.

Yesterday, I did a demonstration for whoever was willing to come to the gallery where I teach my weekly class. Wanting to have everyone leave with something of substance in their hands, I typed up my landscape painting tips the night before. Prominent among the statements was "EVERYTHING has perspective... roads, buildings, trees..." and I even pointed out examples of perspective in my reference photo. (I had graciously given everyone a copy of the photo so they could follow the process.)

I happily threw around color and shapes and did a little re-composing for a better composition. Basking in the compliments, I smugly packed the painting away and deposited it in my home studio. Overnight, the art gremlins attacked it and when I removed it from the box, I wondered what that hump in the middle was with that impossibly large tree!

It seemed, I had completely forgotten my own advice and didn't evaluate the location of that tree in perspective compared to the rest of the painting.  Eke! And I was supposed to be the expert that knew "EVERYTHING has perspective".

Getting to work, I decided to implement another rule I espouse. "When you correct something, you always have more than one choice of what to do." Here, I could have reduced the size of the tree, but I liked the way it divided the canvas and became a nice focal point. Alternately, I could make adjustments that would pull that hill forward so the tree was the right size. I chose the latter, adding another, larger tree and still chuckling at my short-sightedness. LOL.

"One More Tree"   14" x 18"    Oil