Developing Good Taste...

Developing good taste, as it applies to painting, is a topic foremost on my mind lately.

I've discovered that while I love to paint, applying the paint to the canvas in hopes of liking the result, I sometimes shake in my boots that I might never improve or reach the level I aspire towards. I know this state is common with artists, and hardly a matter of life and death in the strictest sense, but it is so important to me personally, that I will spend days thinking about it.

I'll ask myself if I've set my sights too high, or am I just setting myself up for failure? The only thing that settles me down is knowing I am willing to improve and change what is getting in the way of creating more successful paintings.

I often read articles like this one, or this one, to see if I can nail it down. I look at lots and lots of  images, and can clearly feel what resonates, and what feels off the mark to help me identify where my 'personal taste' fits into the big picture. Through my eyes it goes beyond what is pretty, and includes a measure of how a visual image communicates to me.

Along this journey, my intellectual understanding of the painting process is way ahead of my skills so my own work frequently misses the mark I'm shooting for, but I get that I won't improve if I don't paint.

Also knowing that I've picked up a lot of useless information that gets in the way really frustrates me, but the good part is - I am recognizing that this is happening.

There will be times the painting is acceptable for my skill level, and I save those to refer back to later - using it as a measuring tool for progress or not.

This most recent image is one of those images. It is actually several days of study, one bloom per day, trying different things with brushes, textures, and paint mixtures. The grouping was an afterthought so the composition feels awkward to me. If it looks thrown together void of well thought out design, you are correct. The lighting is only the over head bulb in my studio, and I made up some of the little flowers. Looking at it now, I think it could also use a little more greenery.

I was reluctant to post it, but courage is also a requirement for this process! ;o)

Rose Grouping NFS

Thoughts on the Structure of Roses... and Artificial Props

This week, I'm interested in a series roses, single blooms in various stages and colors to brighten my easel, and continue to work on values. It is sunny and warm for February here  in the NW, and roses are not yet blooming. So I decided to invest into some study time on the structure of roses. Why you may ask?

Well, I will be using artificial props, and there is something usually 'off' about them. It turns out that most real roses have 5 petals in each whorl, so if you are using artificial/silk blooms to study painting, this may not be what you will see. There are rose species that have 4 petals, but not many, and the number of whorls seems to vary as well.

The green 'thingys' that sit at the base of the bloom are called sepals, and match the number of petals in one whorl, and can be seen surrounding the bud. The sepals protect the buds, and later support the blooms.

The stamens produces pollen (male), and the pistil topped by the stigma (female part) is where the pollen is deposited.

At the end of the season, you might see rose hips, the fruit, depending on species. The actual leaves grow in groups, and I left off the thorns too. ;o)

If you would like more detail, the wikipedia can expand on this information, but for purposes of the artist learning to paint this beautiful flower, this short explanation should suffice and point you in the right direction when using artificial props.

I am not going for a photographic look just because I know the basic parts of the rose, but I think it helps to have some understanding of a painting subject. Both paintings are done on linen sheets.

The first is full bloom and clearly a value study. No mystery there, but with this particular silk prop, the petals are distinctly rolled over a bit as if it is wilted.

I decided to use a bright synthetic brush, size 12, to give a sharper edge to some of the petals rolled edges.

Rose Blk/Wht Study
© 2015

The smaller bloom below did not have the correct number of petals of a live rose, but went for it anyway, and hoped to give it the illusion of a natural rose. Knowing it should have 5 actually was helpful. Used various brushes on this one.

MidBloom Red Rose
© 2015

I have now added some new words to my vocabulary, and I don't have to say 'thingy' anymore when talking about roses!

Thanks for reading and hope this helps if you also need to use artificial props.

Fractured Pear and White Berries

During the January 30/30 Challenge I attempted a process called fracturing and painted an image called Fractured Apple. I thought I'd try again because of experiencing an interesting sense of creativity that was loose and somewhat abstract while exploring the process.

So here is the second attempt to play with this process, and I experienced the same feeling in the process. The only changes were the pear and the berries.

Fractured Pear and White Berries
Oil on Linen Sheet 9 x 9
© 2015

After looking at this for a couple days now, I think I see this process as a metaphor for creativity because out of the chaos on the surface markings there is still an order to the image. It feels expressive and freeing to do something like this after so many years of more formal efforts.

Watts Holiday Relay Portrait Painting

I posted this activity from last year and glad to find it is a yearly activity/celebration!
All these portrait painters must be equally skilled at a very high level to pull this off so successfully! Enjoy!!

Watts Holiday Relay Portrait Painting




Time to get back to my easel...

30/30 Challenge-Fractured Apple-Day 30

We made it!! This month's challenge for 30 days of painting has been eye opening for me. It was like clearing out all the random thoughts and ideas that have been floating around in my head by doing exercises, and experiments without any worry about the results. Only goal was to search and learn from each painting session. You could say it was simple brainstorming much like a writer might do all the while searching for a 'story' to develop.

One extra activity I finally had time to do is watch the Julie Ford Oliver instructional videos on Daily Paintworks... it is a very creative and intuitive process she calls fracturing, and I couldn't think of a better time to explore her technique.

Day 30

Fractured Apple and Blue Berries
Oil on Linen Sheet 9 x 9
© 2015

I started with apples at the beginning of the 30/30 Challenge, so I thought I'd finish up with an apple using the fractured technique. It's a first attempt, and the only things I changed was substituting the squeegee with a rubber angle tipped shaper/wipe out tool that was already in my supplies, but will definitely make the kind Julie recommends in the near future. I also don't have as much layering, was afraid it would go muddy.

It was great fun to try! You should check out Julie's work to appreciate the potential!

Thank you all for visiting, reading and commenting on this 30/30 Day Challenge. Hope this record of my experience has brought some insight and ideas for your work too.

30/30 Challenge - Angel - Day 29

During this 30/30 Challenge my own subject matter has been all over the place from indoor studio still life, portrait from life, and landscape. Included rendering same subject matter from photos to reinforce how differently the colors are represented. Certainly not a body of work for gallery representation, but what a pleasure to just play and experiment. I've learned that I love to paint anything and everything.

After the end of the challenge, I'll narrow it down and select a few things to concentrate on for awhile. Since so many questions have come up while working on certain subjects, I'll be quite busy with my journal too.

Questions that you might also be asking are:
Why do I paint? Why this subject?
Is it a big idea or just something to practice craft?
What's my real motive - self fulfillment, therapy, money, etc.?
Is the idea related to art concepts or just a copy of something sitting on a shelf?
Does each start have an intention? What is a successful painting?
Is this one better or worse than the last one? Am I making any progress at all????
Many more...

Day 29

My daughter's kitty, named Angel, went to kitty heaven recently, and I thought I'd do a little study for her. Finding a good photo wasn't easy, but notice the double heart shape on her chest fur-so cute!?

One of my personal goals was to start something new everyday, have to say, I came close. Only a couple were longer projects, but there was a reason behind the shift in the plan - mostly because I was trying slightly different things in one painting each day.

Since I'll be headed to a meeting, this will be one of several starts to be finish after the challenge this month.

30/30 Challenge - Ballerina - Day 28

My favorite models are dancers. They have a sense of movement and body control that most other folks are missing. There is such a beautiful sensibility that is so expressive. Whether they are sitting down, or expressing in dance.

If you love to draw and paint the figure, I hope you have the opportunity to study from life. It is the absolute best way to learn how, and you can see and learn how others approach the subject.

Day 28

This little study was from a photo lying around my studio and thought it might be worth doing a loose value study using the color of linen as the mid tone and adding the highlights and dark tones to describe the dancer.

Time to begin Days 29 and 30.