Gathering Light 13 60x60" oil on canvas © 2014 Janice Mason Steeves I struggled with a painting I was working on the other day. It’s a large one, 60x60”. I kept getting unwanted lines. Nothing was blending or flowing. I am always aware of how the painting is going, what it’s saying to me as I work on it and I try to follow that. What I didn’t realize is that I was trying to control the painting more than I knew. As I struggled, I talked to myself a little. I told myself that I could always add another layer on it tomorrow. That’s normally the way I work, layer upon layer, gradually building up the surface day by day, in thin transparent layers. I worked this one over and over, back and forth, trying to blend it, going in different directions, adding more paint. I tried to stay in a calm meditative place but after several hours of this, I needed a break. I stepped back, ...