Layers of texture

I have tried to set aside a day a week to really work on my art, which may not sound like enough but I have to fill orders for my store the rest of the time! This week I worked on finishing three different works.  I begin a piece of art by layering on papers and gel medium then creating texture with fabric, stencils or kitchen tools.

This mixed media assemblage took a very long time, I mean, weeks. I put papers, texture with gels then fabrics. I set it aside and stared at it for a week but...... I hated it.  I added an old doilie, I still hated it. I took it in the workshop and sprayed the whole thing grey. Why grey? I thought any neutral color would connect the crazy look I started with. I sat it aside to think on it some more. I was freaked out that I had wasted all this handmade paper but the spray paint had made the paper look almost luminous! THAT was when I got the idea of adding silver, pearls and other "soft" fabrics, it started to come together at last. I named it "Behold". It is romantic, deep and somewhat feminine.  All that to say....Never give up! Some of the most botched, scary, crazy beginnings come out to be treasured pieces. Set your frustrating projects aside and just watch them. I promise it will come to you what to do. The artwork below is called "Elohim". I used shredded newspaper, tiny slivers of my grand children's pictures and words in the cross that covers the canvas. There is the Lord's Prayer in Italian in the middle. This one I did with such a purpose and direction. It was finished in one day...go figure how THAT happened!

I usually have a mood or emotion that I start with but very seldom name any until it has the finishing touches.  I only have 30 more pieces of art to go in order to have enough to do my opening show in the Spring. I am trying hard not to flip out and wish I could create artwork easily but it seems to go through a process that I can't control. OH! and did I mention I love really big canvases, thus making art time consuming as well? I could use some tips on how to get substrates started and set them aside for my AHA moments to come.