I Won't Probably Get Very Far

I had "finished" this piece a couple weeks ago, but still felt that it wasn't quite as impactful as I had originally hoped. And I couldn't figure it out. I leaned it against the wall, looked at it a bunch, and finally, had an "aha!" moment last night as I was getting ready to leave my house.

And it really didn't take much. Just a few dark lines and, already, the movement, focus, and composition is better. There's a hierarchy, and reference points that were lacking before...It just reads better as a strong, meaningful painting, and not as a fluffy, pretty background piece. Here's what it looked like before...

It's amazing how different the lighting makes this piece look between this photo, taken under incandescent bulbs, and the previous, taken in the morning light, even after photoshopping the color a bit.

Really, all I did was strengthen the message. I added around 8 dark "figures",  two "creatures" in the upper right, along with further defining the boat at the bottom left and while I think I may do a bit more, that simple definition has made the piece, not only intially more engaging, but also deepened the message and narrative of the piece. It's about facing that which you do not know, knowing that the future is uncertain, yet pushing forth regardless...

Six of the "figures" mentioned above...