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This one ended much differently than it started. It started with a group of three figures hovering at the top and I envisioned this would be the key element everything else would be built around. At some point I decided those things being built around it were more interesting than my original plan, so out it went.

Later, when I was trying to resolve the foreground, I found this great photo of a guy getting an electric shock that reminded me of Munch’s The Scream. I placed the top of a vase on top of his head and positioned Cupid so it appeared he was flying out of the man’s head. It was funny, I could have stuck with it, but it just seemed to overtake everything else and it seemed a little one-dimensional. So out he went. But intuitively I decided to leave the top of the vase and turn it into a ring. The bubble boy in the foreground was just the right touch I think. The stork and building element at the top finished things off.

In the end, I think the result is much more balanced than my original ideas, with every element playing its role and none stepping on another.

I find the willingness to let go of something, even if was initially central and even if a fair bit of time was invested in it, has made me a better artist.