The Power Of Community (and extra sets of eyes)

I am posting this image again because after undergoing a fairly rigorous critique and by making a number of changes I feel it has improved substantially. This reminds me of the power of having other people give their thoughts and evaluations. We artists spend so much time with with our noses right up against the work and often with our minds locked in our own notions that we can be blind to elements that are already on the paper and unaware of other directions. Some works just seem to come from some other place and almost paint themselves but for me the vast majority of paintings are works in progress. I take them to a place where I need to stop and live with them for a while and then, hopefully, I will know how to proceed. For this particular piece the entire process was speeded up by listening to other peoples feedback. Painting is a solitary pursuit, the art journey is not.