Perennial Possibilities

Perennial Possibilities by Jennifer Herrera, Acrylic on Cutting Block
Perennial Possibilities, Acrylic on Cutting Block

 

 

First Sketch/Doodle
First Sketch/Doodle

My father, Noyes Capehart, has a page on his website called Thematic Variations where he states,

“It is one of the great lessons from the art of the past: the first response to a picture idea – the same could be said of a piece of music or a story – may not reveal its essence. One need only look at Monet’s impressive output of water lilies, or Morandi’s tireless efforts to capture the mystery of bottles, or Picasso’s insatiable curiosity with Manet’s Luncheon on the Grass to see that the first solution is not always the strongest. Beethoven fashioned no fewer than three variations of the overture to his Leonora, and Tolstoy was making changes with War and Peace as it went to press. I think of a variation in much the same way that I consider an artichoke; the outer, tough leaves have to be peeled away in order to reveal the delicious heart.”

Coloring Book Page The revisiting I have been doing of the image ‘Perennial Possibilities’  does not find itself in the same category as the master works that he mentions, but I still find it interesting to look at the different ways I have worked with the same blooming face and swirls over the past few months.

The image started as a work day doodle on the back of a report right as I was getting ready to start fColoring Book Coverocusing my attention on creating my Curled, Whirled and Twisted coloring book. The doodle actually ended up being the start for two separate coloring pages as well as the principal image I used for the cover.

Since the coloring book’s completion I have been refocusing on my painting. I have finished three small paintings this month, one of which is an acrylic on chopping block version of Perennial Possibilities. I thought I was done with the image until I started putting this post together. Now I am wondering if I should revisit it yet again and see what else might evolve.

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