Studio with Thoughts finished - again

I posted a shot of this painting last week. At the time I thought it was finished. This time it really is. Studio with Thoughts.
It has to be finished because today is the closing day for entries to EMSLA. It has been turned upside down again since last week. This orientation is how it began. It has a much more enclosed feeling and is actually quite three dimensional. The thought patterns float in the air inside my small cramped studio. The colours are muted because it is what happens in the space that is the most important thing.

I am taking a big risk here. EMSLA is a selected (juried) exhibition and I will be publically humiliated if I don't get in now that I've blogged about it. But I wanted mostly to record the entry of it into the competition. I've not been entering competitions for many years for a variety of reasons. It will be good for me to face my demons and get my work out there again - even if it is only for the selection process and I miss the exhibiting part. It will be good for me.

Thinking

Actually, I'm thinking about quite a lot of things today. But first I'm going to ask you what you think. You may almost recognise this painting. I actually began it last year and at the time I thought it was finished. It is of my small studio and it's voluminous contents. With the entry deadline for EMSLA drawing very near I wanted to revisit the work. (It is exceedingly difficult to photograph both last year and this year!!!)

Still Life in Studio With Thoughts
Acrylic on Canvas 101.5 cm x 75.5 cm

What do you think? (Please click on it to see it enlarged.) I've got to try to take a better photo tomorrow. It IS very pale, all chromatic greys. I don't know! This is the point I get to prior to entering competitions every time! And then I just don't enter. Quite a vicious cycle really. Don't get me wrong. I do actually really like the painting but I just don't think it's good enough.

The painting is pale because it is what happens in my studio that is important rather than it's actual appearance. Because it is my space, in spite of it's size, it has a huge limitless space in my mind. I truly believe anything could happen in there, all I need to do is enter and begin. I wanted the studio to be present in the painting but for something else, the 'intangible' to be the primary subject matter.

Oh, I really don't know. I might have a go at finishing another work in progress and see how it turns out. Why do we artists doubt ourselves so completely?