I needed to mix a color and apply it in a way that would express moving air and miles of space.  I didn’t want to tamper with the spirit of the painting; I just wanted to push the sky back so that it wouldn’t stick to the mountains.  The paint had to be put down with fresh free marks that would connect to the rhythms of the composition.  It could go wrong, and sometimes one thing leads to another and a painting slips away.  What was I thinking?  This wasn’t my painting!  But I did it anyway.

The painting had sold, the check had cleared, and here I was… painting on it.  This could be illegal or morally wrong.  But I HAD to do it.

I don’t stand alone (among artists) for this behavior; there are stories of artists sneaking into museums to “fix” something on one of their paintings.  Can you imagine a car dealer sneaking into your garage to make improvements on your vehicle?

Art is more of a Calling (or Nagging) than a business.  It was not between me and either my checkbook or the lovely collectors who bought the paintings – no, it was between me and some mysterious urge to do what I could to give a more full expression to my vision. 

Questions: Does your Muse drive you to try to improve your work even when it doesn't seem reasonable?  Are you ever completely satisfied?  To share your thoughts double click comments at the top of this post.