I’ve been working on a fan art painting of the characters Dream and Matthew from Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman, one of my all-time favourite graphic novels. I’ve made a lot of Sandman fan art, but I was really excited for this painting because a Netflix adaptation of it was just released. My plan for the piece was to have gold ink sacred geometry behind Dream, and I mixed glow-in-the-dark pigment with the gold ink so that it would glow when the lights are turned out.

And it worked! Until it didn’t.

I varnished the painting today, and the varnish completely smeared and lifted up the gold ink I’d used.

*facepalm*

Now, I’m someone who has a strong predisposition to self-criticism. My inner monologue (that a therapist who helped me very much a few years ago called ‘[my] maniac headmate’) loves negativity and self-criticism. Thankfully, I have a lot of practice now at not listening to the self-criticism and generating thoughts that are more kind to myself.

Honestly, I’m mostly just chuckling at this point. Just as a dream is ephemeral and fleeting, so too was my lovely glow-in-the-dark painting of Dream. Thankfully, I got photos beforehand!

I’m frustrated that this happened, but making art is messy, complicated, and mistakes happen all. the. time. I am thankful that I made this mistake today, so that I’ll know better for next time. This painting was just for me, not a commission or anything for sale, so I can still be proud of this work, if nothing else as a reminder that shit happens, and that that’s ok. I can learn from it. I can improve my practice for the next one.