Let it be.

Few bad painting habits are harder for me to overcome than overworking a face on a watercolor.

Behold, the photo on the left contains my painting of A, moments before her expression was meticulously undone on Monday afternoon as I "finished" the painting.

Had I only left her eyes alone, she would not now look like a drug addict! But, I put up her photo on my computer and succumbed to stupidity.

The eyes are the gateway of the soul. I find them irresistible to paint. But I must chant a new mantra when I have already captured an expression: "Let it be." So what if it's not exactly right!

Not sure that what I did can be undone. The Arches paper can only take so many attempts at paint removal and re-painting, no matter how incremental.

"... whisper words of wisdom: let it be." —John Lennon