If I sleep on it, will the answer come?

I have several paintings started right now. They all began the same way, with my powder watercolor technique. I use them to create a fun, colorful, unpredictable background. Then try to figure out what kind of silhouette I can put on top of it. Maybe trees, a flower, or an animal.

I tried some green and red/orange combos and they aren’t quite working for me. I keep thinking if I sleep on it, the answer will come. Do you ever do that? It usually works pretty well for me. But I’m still not sure what to do with them.

The next step is try mocking something up in Procreate. That way I can try things without ruining the actual piece. Much lower risk this way.

One of my experiments though, turned out to be gorgeous. I think that one might be done and shouldn’t have anything on top of it.

Then last night, something clicked. I’ve been working on my abstract style for a while now, but I discovered something new: layering. And it might change everything.

Before, my abstracts felt like happy accidents. Beautiful ones, but still. Now that I’m adding more layers, there’s intention behind them. Art behind the art. I can enhance certain sections, pull others back, create depth that pulls you in and keeps you there.

They still have a nebula or galaxy vibe, but more complex. Explosions of color, a lot of movement. The kind of thing you could get lost in for hours.

I have a show coming up next month, and I’ve been planning to split it between octopuses and abstracts. But now I’m wondering if it should be all abstracts. More cohesive. More focused. More like a “real” show with a real point of view.

The octopuses will always be there. But this new direction feels like something.

So I’m asking you. Should I go all in and make the show about my abstracts? Or split it with the octopuses as I originally intended?

Here is a video with more of them: