Buried Expectations: Red Planet

Recently I had this urge to paint after being inspired by an episode of Six Feet Under. I followed my impulses and let expression take over. I reached for certain colors and brushes. The canvas changed before my eyes. How exciting! What would my mind and hand create without much censorship? Well, the answer is, crap.

Trust me when I say this wasn't a creator's self-deprecation... the painting was garbage. I have at least one witness to back me up. I can only partially blame it on the lack of various paint colors. Sometimes, reality fails to meet an expectation. I left the work abandoned in my computer room, scolding it every time I laid eyes on it. It was the burdensome Gregor of Kafka's The Metamorphosis and I became its embittered caretaker. Well, not really, but it sounds rather dramatic in those terms!

As it turns out, a metamorphosis was exactly what I had in mind. I would paint over the bad work and make it good. I bought a new supply of colors (specifically warm colors red and orange) and set out to cover up the past. I got this image of explorers on Mars uncovering something that should have been left buried. I'm not sure what it was, but I decided I had to keep some of the old work revealed, peeking from the depths like a secret, viewed only from a satellite's perspective.


That's my pretentious way of saying in mixed a bunch of colors together and let loose. And overall, I'm pleased with the results. I ended up covering up a bold color contrast that didn't look right... so there are many applied layers of paint. But that works well because the flaws create textures. Flaws aren't so bad.