Do Not Throw That Artwork Away At Night

I remember an art teacher telling us,
"Never judge your artwork at night.
Your eyes are tired and you've stared at
the artwork for a long period.
Judge your work in the morning."

It's easy to give up on a piece of artwork
when you're tired of looking at it -
tired of working on it for so long,
or perhaps even distracted by another area
of your life, leading to concentration problems.

I've even entertained flies that sit on my paintings,
as if to say, "I'm going to fly around,
and buzz up a storm,
and really frustrate you tonight."

In the morning,
with a fresh set of eyes,
the artistic challenges of yesterday
may not seem so challenging.
A mistake may look intentional under
the scrutiny of a new day.
Perhaps solutions for an overworked area
are more clear.
Obvious color choice flubs may seem
just perfect the next day.

I think the artist might actually know,
deep down inside, whether an artwork
is salvageable or not when we begin to
run into problems.

I think it's important to give it one more try
at the beginning of a brand new work day.

NOW, where did I put
that fly swatter?

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