What to do with a disaster? Painter’s answer is ... dramatic

A couple of paintings in progress lean against the wall the wall in Elizabeth Bradford’s studio. They’re vexing her, she says, and for some paintings, this is part of the process.

“I was taught that when you have one like that (that’s troubling you), it’s important to continue to struggle with it, not to give it up, but to do everything you can to turn it around, because you learn a lot from that,” she says. “I turn it to the wall, because when I turn it back around a couple of months later it’s very clear to me what’s wrong. Whereas right now, it wouldn’t be.

“There are occasionally some disasters, and I try to burn them. ... Because it could end up with somebody retrieving my junk (after her death) and sending it out with my name on it. I take it out to the pasture and set it on fire.”

This story was originally published October 26, 2016 at 2:51 PM with the headline "What to do with a disaster? Painter’s answer is ... dramatic."