Finding A New Technique

For this piece it was my first time ever painting a waterfall and it was quite a challenge. I was inspired by a picture I saw and decided that I must turn it into a painting. I was so nervous that I would mess it up so I started with the surrounding trees which was a more familiar technique to me. After a day or so I applied a green wash to the waterfall area and then I got so excited that I started to apply the white paint for the falling water over it. After I applied the white my excitement faded away and turned into disappointment, so much so that I washed out all my brushes and packed the painting aside for another time. I gave the technique some serious thought before I went to bed that day and attended to the painting the next morning. I know what you are thinking but no, I did not succeed at making to waterfall look like the one in the picture I was following nor did I the time after that and for each time I had a failed attempt I brushed over the main areas with some white paint which was starting to create a build up on the canvas. So after about 5 or 6 failed attempts and several layers of paint I finally got it right but still it was missing something, maybe a little character. That’s where the gold paint came in and when I stepped back and looked at it I felt like I made a great accomplishment. Viewers tend to think that artists have everything all worked out but little do they know that we struggle to find a technique that is suitable to the individual. What are some of your struggles as an artist?   

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