Copper Daisy

“A problem is a chance for you to do your best.” – Duke Ellington.

When something goes awry, there are ways to right things around. How you choose what to do depends on what you want the outcome to be. A couple years ago I got some paint and canvas for Christmas. I was very excited, and wanted to use my supplies as soon as possible. So I sketched out an image of a deer on one of my canvas’ and started mixing my colors and filling in the white and graphite buck with shades of brown, white, and reddish hues. I liked the outcome of the deer, but it looked incomplete against the empty, white background. I looked to my supplies and found some shimmery, jewel-toned paints that I knew would look cool behind the creature of my creation. Well, I painted the background shimmery blue but it still looked lacking. What if it was raining in the picture? A buck standing outside, while shimmering rain falls down around him… It will definitely look amazing!

After adding drips of different colored shimmering paint all over my canvas -including on the deer- I concluded that I had effectively made my artwork look absolutely ridiculous. Paint is not erasable, so I had a problem. If I hoped to restore the artwork to its pre-raindrop look, I would have to do over the background and remix a bunch of shades to get the deer to be correctly colored. Patience is not my strong suit, so that option was out of the question. I’d have to find another purpose for the canvas. I decided on spray painting over the entire thing with copper paint. At this point I had a shiny copper canvas and an idea.

My dog, Daisy, was about 14 years old and having a hard time getting up and around anymore. She was my first and only dog, my parents had gotten her as a puppy shortly before my second birthday, so we grew up together. I knew she was having a hard time in her old age and she wouldn’t live forever, so I painted her big brown paw with black paint and stuck it in the middle of the canvas. I painted her name in big, graceful letters at the top of the canvas, and when she passed away the next year, her birth and death date on the bottom. Daisy isn’t with me anymore, but that canvas is still hung on the wall facing my bed. I ended up drawing another picture of a deer later on, that actually turned out better than the original deer.

However none of my artworks are as important as my copper Daisy painting. I admire the canvas often. I admire how big her paw print is, how the hair in between her paw pads made splays of black paint. I agree with Duke Ellington’s statement, because without the problems I had with my painting, I would not have this beautiful memory of my bestfriend that I cherish.

“Copper Daisy on Lavender” by Shopping Diva is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.