Still Life Coming Alive

My watercolor still life is coming along, and parts of it are really coming together in a beautiful way at this point. I had a messy experience with masking fluid the other day, but found it a necessary part of developing this particular painting. Generally I don't use it in my paintings at all. I find it a tedious process that holds me back in an annoying manner. The results of my labors are visible today, and I am pleased, however,  that I did it that way.

But by now I can see where the painting is heading.  So I am trying to develop it slowly and thoughtfully, knowing that if I plunge ahead rapidly I'll make the wrong choices.  I have moments where something has fallen into place more beautifully than I could have expected, and those are moments of amazement at the absolute rightness of the image. At other moments there is bewilderment about how it needs to be developed, or how some parts need to be resolved. It's like a puzzle, a labyrinth through which I must wend my way.  And then suddenly it will reach its conclusion and I'll know that to do anything else to it would change the piece in a way that will then rock it off its perfect pivot point.