Fixing a big mistake

I mostly like this page, but the arm of the woman behind the large hand is bothering me.

For all the wonky drawings that I accept as fine, this one was not fine. I spent 3 weeks thinking about what to do (and working on other pages). I could just glue more eco dyed paper over the part I didn't like, but it would stand out as being glued on.

Drawing over the arm with white ink made a mess, but it did lighten those lines.

I made a stencil and printed a thin coat of pale titan buff on the areas that were bothering me.

Then I glued coffee splattered abaca paper on the offending area.

A new arm is collaged on. Maybe it's too short? I think his arm and shirt need a pattern.

Sometimes this looks okay, sometimes I am not happy with it. I'll put it away for a while.
 

Here I have extended the aura around his neck. I also added shrubs and another arm for the woman. I feel the sleeve needs something. Check out this recent post Jane Davies recently did about a change she made in one of her paintings. She has a very good attitude toward making changes, and she is skilled at it. I agonized over every step here, feeling bad that I had made this mistake. I need to take Jane's approach. And if I can make mistakes and correct them I will feel more okay with experimenting.

 

I eat lettuce and milk for breakfast

A page from my handmade book My dreams defy analysis. ©2024 7.75 x 5.75 x 1 inch (closed).

I am emptying a big bowl of lettuce and milk onto the ground behind our house. I was eating it for breakfast but a lot of the lettuce was old and brown and yellow. I don’t want any more. I see a tiny man about 6 inches high ride by on a tiny horse. He is at the foot of the hill. He goes so quickly then he disappears near some rocks. When I walk over to see where he has gone, at first it looks like he disappeared into some huge boulders that make a wall, but then I think he has climbed a small ravine that goes up the hillside. When I look up I see he has become huge, maybe 12 feet tall. He is a bulky guy, very thick in legs and arms. As I watch he leans over and becomes a huge boulder on the hillside. No one would ever know it’s a man. 

The man was so real in my dream. And I felt like I had seen a marvelous thing. Lately I have been having a lot of stress dreams, searching and not finding, worrying about things, so this felt like a real gift. The image is from my book "My dreams defy analysis."