I accidentally painted a mountain

This one surprised me.

I was playing with a new painting technique: watercolor powders, black and red, loose and abstract. I was actually trying to fix something. A previous painting had too much going on, and I felt that it was too intense, with nowhere for the eye to land. So I tried painting it again with more “breathing room.”

My next attempt didn’t turn out the way I’d planned either. It never does with abstracts. Instead of just texture and color, a mountain appeared. Just sitting there. Like it had always been there and I was the last one to notice.

I wasn’t happy about it at first. I wanted abstract. I got a mountain.

Just then, a Gorillaz song popped into my head. “Fire Coming Out of the Monkey’s Head.” And suddenly I could see the people from that song climbing this thing. This big, moody, imaginary mountain that I accidentally painted.

So I leaned in. I gave it a sky. Gave it a moon. And I let it be what it wanted to be.

And now I love it. I love it more than I would have loved the abstract I was trying to make!

Sometimes the painting knows better than you do. You just have to get out of the way.

“The Mountain” is still with me and is looking for a home, if it’s calling your name!

The Mountain, watercolor, 18×24 inches