Sometimes, you get those days where things just seem to work and today was one of those days. I had a small, unfinished abstract painting in the corner of my studio waiting for the right time to be worked on, so I taped it to my board and attempted to breathe new life into it. 

I love to work both figuratively and abstract and there was a time when I felt like I had to choose between the two. Perhaps this was me thinking that I wouldn't be accepted for doing both styles? Silly really because I should do what I love, right? and it shouldn't matter what anyone else thinks. I feel completely different about it now and embrace the fact I enjoy both. 

I've always drawn and painted figuratively but it was whilst doing my art foundation and then my fine art degree many moons ago that I really began to appreciate and enjoy abstract art. Now my intention is to combine the two using a mixed media approach. 

The image below is of one of the first stages of the process. I was questioning whether to leave it as it was because it wasn't too over worked, which is a trap I ALWAYS seem to fall into and then end up ruining the overall feel of the piece. This time I took my time, stood back, looked at it for a while and then left it over lunchtime so that I could come back to it with fresh eyes. I came to the conclusion that it did in fact need a little more work before I could say it was complete. I felt it could do with more depth and more weight to the horse, but not too much so that it'd start to lose all the initial marks created by the painting underneath. I wanted to retain that freshness and that expressive, spontaneous quality.