I painted my first cat today without my Crazy Cat class - which I am rather missing, to be honest.  Actually I also painted my second cat without Miriam's help. And the second is the one I am showing you. The first one is beyond redemption I fear.

All paintings go through an 'ugly' stage as we like to say. Usually you can get past this stage if you just persist. However, I think it is also wise to know when to quit. Let's call it letting go and moving on as opposed to quitting, shall we?

I used to think that moving beyond the ugly stage with a watercolour painting was impossible. In that regard acrylic is much more forgiving as the paint dries fast and is opaque, so it easily covers whatever it is placed on top of. Watercolour is transparent, and some colours stain so lifting out colour can be harder in some instances. Considerably more patience (or a hair dryer) may also be necessary as watercolour paint behaves differently on dry, damp and saturated paper. Not only do you need patience - you also need some experience to know how the paint will behave in each of those instances. The only way to gather that experience is to get on with making more paintings, whether they be good, bad or ugly.

I have learned that you can experiment, tinker and correct watercolour paintings far more than I once believed possible. But sometimes all you need to do is take a deep breath and find a new sheet of paper.

Ok, I know I have now made you more curious about the painting I 'let go of' than the one I posted up here. The question is... am I brave enough to show you....?

... oh alright... here it is.

Sigh.

Let's not speak of it again.