an ongoing journal of Canadian artist Helen Utsal

Sometimes I have a great inspiration for a painting and somewhere along the way I am forced to accept that it's just not working. Often it will be the composition, and I am not shy about cropping a painting down to make the composition more dynamic.
Last March, while trail running I was surprised to come across a large owl sitting on a flimsy branch beside the trail. It was unusual for me to have anything with me on a run, but flukily (is that a word?) I had my camera! The owl let me approach and I took several shots of him. It was inevitable that he would show up in my painting, and I did two versions. The smaller painting came about easily and I am happy with the picture. The larger painting became quite interestingly patterned, with some unusual colour combinations for me. I loved seeing the orange of the tree contrast with that aquafresh turquoise. The more I tried to finish the painting the more it refused to be done. One evening I sat with a roll of tape and started cropping in different ways. I had a stretcher frame made, cut down, and restapled the canvas onto it and finished the painting easily. Here is a before and after of the painting.