Embrace The Happy Accident

Vincent van Gogh, The Sower, 1888

Accidents happen when making artwork.  A cut in a sculpture is off the mark, the carving tool in a relief slips or paint goes where it was not intended.  I have made some happy accidents and some not so happy accidents.  When carving a relief and the tool has slipped, I have had to make the best of it.  In watercolor the paint can often make a happy accident and give an interesting effect that I wasn't intending.  According to Kit White, "All modes of nonmechanical production produce unintended results...Exploit the unexpected consequences of experimentation and process."  But some accidents prove to be deadly for an artwork and require one to take drastic measures to eliminate the accident or just start over.  We are all human and accidents will happen, sometimes it is best to just let yourself off the hook and go with it.  Enjoy!