The Story of Bílek: Why white is a hard color

Every artist has their "cursed" painting. For me, it was the portrait of my dads cat, Bilek. Sadly, Bilek is no longer with us, so I wanted to honor his memory the best way I know how – with colors on canvas. Naively, I thought: "It's just a white shape with a few shadows, it'll be a breeze."

I couldn't have been more wrong.

A failed "Ctrl+Z"

It started badly. The proportions were off, the expression was completely wrong, and after one failed evening, I decided to pull my classic emergency brake. Usually, if I mess up a stretched canvas, I just take it to the bathroom and wash the paint off. It's my personal "Ctrl+Z."

But this was canvas on cardboard.

The water did its job. The cardboard soaked through, the paint started peeling off in shreds, and I was left with a soggy disaster instead of a painting. I just let it be. Surprisingly, the next day, the scraped-off canvas looked somewhat usable. I had to start all over again, with a different photo and a lot less confidence. :/

The Trap Called "White"

Painting white is actually a very tricky thing. White is never just white. It contains reflections of blue, grey, yellow, and even a bit of pink. This one was like purple-beige, I don't even know... just terrible. I kept failing to get the facial shadows right. Bilek looked incredibly flat, and I reached a stage where I wanted to throw the canvas through a closed window.

It was objectively the hardest process of my life. I wanted to quit.

The Finale (with a tear in my eye)

In the end, I pushed through. I guess I didn't have much of a choice. It wasn't easy, it wasn't "fast," and that cat cost me more nerves than my entire previous body of work. But when I made the final stroke, there he was.

This painting taught me a lesson:

• White paint is a beast.

• Don't wash cardboard.

• And the most important things in life (and in painting) are the ones you simply have to fight for.

Catch ya later, Neo