Today I’d like to frame imperfection.
The Ashy Prinia has been worked upon a little more and has now been framed. It’s not perfect, but having this ‘framed imperfection’ makes me look fondly at it, whilst something more perfect might have been out of my line of vision.
I have conversations with this bird, I watch it during the day as I pass by countless times. I ask it: would you have liked something nicer to sit on? A real twig perhaps? Maybe I could try something 3D next time, positioning a watercolour bird against a real twig? Could I have worked on your legs a bit more perhaps?
There are possibilities and possibilities… and this warm and friendly and imperfect bird invites me to try again. It amazes me to think that paintings hanging in the museums of the world may not even be perfect, and scores of artists might in fact have looked upon their works secretly knowing that they were not their best, and consciously used them as a reference for going a step further. I think it’s not a bad idea to hold up our imperfections once in a way, get familiar with them, look at them fondly if we will, and be aware that we could always have another shot at making things better the next time around. How privileged we are for each day on this Earth to think, dream and create.
