RICHARD SALCIDOthe artwork and musings of Richard Salcido

I think I’m overworking myself on paintings. I haven’t been posting half the paintings I’ve been doing and most of what I’ve worked on I just ended up painting over anyway. I get on these streaks where I just draw and paint which seems non stop. For instance last week I painted 4 in a day, I get compulsive that way. If I sketch something on a piece of paper I then think, “I should just put this on a panel”. Then I see the drawing on the panel and think, “Well, since it’s on the panel then maybe I have time to paint in the eyes at least”. As soon as I paint anything I can’t seem to stop. I know if I put off painting the rest the next day then I will come back to the painting no longer interested in what I had put down previously and will immediately look at the drawing and begin to paint over it. I have no problems with my attention span in other parts of my life but when it comes to my work I have a very short one. I’m always thinking let me get this one over with so I can get to the next one because the next one, that one is going to be good. In fact as I’m writing this I have this feeling that the next one (the good one that is) is right around the corner. I might have to muddle through a large batch of paintings to get there but when I do it’ll be a good feeling and when that one’s done I’ll just go on to the next painting. I realize finding those paintings I look at as successful when I’m done bring a pleasurable feeling but not half as pleasurable as the process of painting itself no matter what the outcome is.