The Key is...what?

So...I have been having a discussion with a good friend about art lately. I have been posting updates on my current piece and she mentioned that she would have such a hard time covering up the layers that I had done....and that my ability to do this is what leads my art to have depth, that it seems to be the key...

Well, I don't know about depth...but I certainly was flattered by her comment. :) In part, here is my response to her comment:
It *IS* key...one of the things that Jesse Reno talks about in his classes is this process of covering up and rediscovering and making things better...even if they go through these ugly phases...those are my words, not his. And it is SO hard...and you know...most people in his classes can't or won't do it. He makes it seem so easy...he keeps going when the rest of us would have stopped...but it's not easy for most of us...certainly not me...but I think that the PROCESS is almost key to really developing as an artist...getting too attached to things is not always a good thing... So I just grit my teeth and started painting over it, and collaging and so forth... I figured that initial layer was the EASY part. It really was, it was fun and effortless for me and I LIKED it. And so I forced myself to go on. I know that I can do it again on another board at another time, especially if I hate this one when I am done. Or I can paint over this one...I mean...it's just paint, right? the trick really is to balance the idea of the sacredness of the paint and the mundane aspects of it. Because really it is both mundane (if I hate it I can paint over it, it's only paint) AND sacred (oh my, I really love this, love what the painting says, the feelings I get from it, etc.)

I am a big fan of Jesse Reno's work, have taken a class with him, etc. And I remember the distinct ... discomfort in the room that day when he would encourage people to paint out sections of their work, or even when he would paint out sections of his own work! You could nearly cut it with a knife! And yet....being able to let go of something in the hopes/belief that what emerges next will be even better is so important. I don't know how he makes it look so easy...so effortless!

But of course I am not Jesse, or any other artist, for that matter. I can only work on own stuff, work through my own attachments, expand my own thought process... And it's really hard sometimes...

and you know...sometimes...a girl just wants to make a good painting...without so much THINKING! :) And SOMETIMES...you are well rewarded for setting aside your fears and doubts and just diving in and seeing what happens...