So I have discovered over the years that all my paintings go through a woeful 'ugly' stage. Years ago, this was the point where I'd give up on the painting. The start was beautiful, it was going along as I envisioned it, then next minute.... U-G-L-Y you ain't got no alibi, you ugly painting, you you ugly!
However, in my glorious ageing and dawning of maturity, grace, wisdom, serenity, and all sorts of other claptrap, these last few years have seen me push through the ugly stage, and emerge out a better painter on the other side of the canvas.
Far from fearing the ugly stage, I now am happy to get to it, because for me it means the painting is actually headed in the right direction, and if I've got the guts to push through and wrestle with it, I'll produce something exquisite and worth having on the canvas.
I have discovered that there is some sort of apt metaphor for life in there too.... you know... the things you enjoy the most are hard fought for ... or some other annoying cliche that people tell you when you're going through hard times, and instead of bringing you coffee, chocolate, and hugs, they bring you useless cliches and barely escape a punch to the nose for doing so! Or is that just my reaction.... Ha!
Anyway. Ugly stages of painting, not to be feared, but to be tackled head on. I can always tell the paintings that gave me the most ugly stages, as they're the ones that I love the most, they've turned out the most spectacular.