It is my belief that once you have a good understanding and practice of the fundamentals of painting, you can go beyond that as far as you want.
What do I mean? Well, it takes years to get this far, but you can get there with practice. You need to work with these elements: VALUE, COLOR, SHAPE, DESIGN, TEXTURE, LINE, EDGES. I could go on. Understanding comes first in your head, but you need to practice to the point where your brush also gets it. So practice.
So when I say you can go beyond this point, I am talking about freedom of expression. You must then learn to work within yourself, and dig deep. Trust it. And trust what you know.
This is a journey that I find myself on. And let's face it, it is all about the journey, yes?
When I took the workshop with Derek Penix last week, he talked a lot about this kind of painting. I was right there with him. I understand that CW Mundy and Quang Ho are on this kind of journey, and I can so relate to their philosophy of painting. I'm excited about this because I have a lot of admiration for these painters.
Not that I will ever get close to their level -- but that doesn't matter. I want to paint from the heart.
The catch? It can hurt. You must be willing to make mistakes, lot's of them. This is what it takes to grow. So let go of your perfectionistic thinking and go explore.
Some ideas that may help - (some from Derek and some from myself)
Paint with no outlines, and mass in your shapes instead.
Use your whole arm to move the brush and not your hand.
Focus only on about 15% of what the eye can focus on.
Use the dialog of color, shape, value, edges and line....make them work TOGETHER.
Simplify
Keep in mind the quality of light.
Rely on your technical ability while tapping into your intuition.
Hold your brush at the tip for freedom of expression.
Use the elements of light and shadow.
Variety in EVERYTHING.
Don't over think.
Fracture your brush strokes for more interest.
Squint A LOT!
Scrape with a knife from time to time.
Weave all the edges together.
Paint everything at once.
Make changes as you go.
Build the paint as you go.
Make no two things alike.
Use less information in the background.
Step back A LOT!
Use a Mirror!
Use your edges to move the eye around the painting.
Build and destroy, and rebuild.
Expression is a learned technical skill too.
Everything is subject to change.
Keep some of the underpainting showing through.
Keep some areas simple and others more complex.
Explore the elements of design.
Photos are a starting point.
Make every stroke different.
Explore
Don't be rule based.
Paint mistakes with confidence.
Enjoy the process.......
6 comments:
Great post Randy. One question. What does fracturing your brush stroke mean? I am unfamiliar with that term.
I know of a few artists who paint this way. I love the idea because it keeps the painting fresh. Mostly it is just keeping your brush strokes a little bit separated. This also allows the underpainting to show through some. It's important though, that you keep the eye moving around and through the painting. So don't separate too much. Nice soft transitions between strokes will do that in the places you want the eye to go. When you step back you can see the strokes come together. I hope this helps.
Ahhhh, one day; sounds like a dream. I so appreciate your honesty and desire to share what you've learned; you're a natural teacher. You've answered my pesky question regarding when we move from practicing the technical to creating art.... I look forward to that sunshiny day in my life but for now, practice, practice, practice.
Darlene. I love your desire to learn and your enthusiasm. You are doing wonderful stuff now my friend. Can't wait to see you. Ran
So I am into making mistakes - a lot. Sometimes I throw out my finished pieces - do you ever do that? Sometimes I see all the little mistakes and just can't stand to look! Any advice for that Randy? Thank you so much for sharing all your great information!
To Whom-- Let's face it, not all of our paintings will make the cut. We have to let them go, and I do. Sometimes I will keep it around for a bit to see if I get any ideas for fixing it, but honestly I'd rather start over with a new one. May I ask your name?
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