Stuck on a Prompt

Stuck on a Prompt - student project

I’m participating in a mini watercolor challenge and this week’s prompt has me stuck.  I’m not even sure why it’s just not clicking with me yet.  The prompt is “Fairy Forest”.  I can come up with all sorts of literal interpretations but I’m not interested in painting any of those.  Working through the dictionary has been a fun exercise but it really came down to the permission Marie-Noelle seemed to give me to try abstraction.  The definition that resonated the most with me was “thick cluster of vertical objects” so I stuck with the vertical theme.  In my final piece, I tried to emphasize the verticals with the brushstrokes in the grass.  The leaves and yellow fairies were tiny, delicate dots filling the treetops.  I have to admit that part of my issue with Challenges is the tendency I have to judge the validity of my own work against all of the other submissions.  I am so overwhelmed by everyone else’s creativity and beautiful pieces.  I find it hard sometimes not to judge my own work so harshly.Stuck on a Prompt - image 1 - student project