Back in the years when I painted in the living room on the first floor, I worked feverously to finish a work before the next weekend’s art exhibition. One more painting was always needed to fill up a show display.
My companion in this determined endeavor was P.B. Short for Precious Baby, this miniature sheepdog would sit patiently on the couch, one leg propped on its arm as if to encourage me to paint a little faster. Dinner time, after all, was fast approaching.
I recall putting my brush down and moving the latest landscape to a spot on the floor propped near the front door. Stepping back, I turned and asked P.B. “Well, what do you think?”
She turned her head slowly to face the opposite wall in a deliberate snub of my oil painting.
I walked over and carefully turned her face toward the painting.
“What do you think?”
Again the head turned toward the opposite wall.
With a sigh I went about my business in the next room, cleaning up my brushes. Returning several minutes later I walked into the room to find P.B. sitting on the floor right in front of the painting, staring at the just-completed canvas.
Her “Oops!!” look of being caught in the act of being a critic was made more humorous to me in seeing the swish of her ears flying around her head as she turned to look up at me. I will never forget that Kodak moment!
Lesson learned? Ignore critics and make sure to clean your brushes.