Paint! I know - many people are afraid that they aren’t very good at painting and think there is no point in trying as they won’t get any benefit from doing it - but there is so much more to painting than painting.
This got me thinking: Why do I paint and why do I enjoy teaching so much? A: That's up to you but how about using tracing paper as an aid. The same drawing has been used for both windows but different tones, colours and techniques have been used in each. Both paintings have sold. Whether using tracing paper is cheating or not has been a hotly debated argument amongst artist since...well, since it was invented probably.
Here, I am going to suggest ways in which tracing paper can be used as an aid - and none of them involve tracing from a photograph to reproduce it as a watercolour painting. A: Old, "failed" or experimental paintings can be turned into greeting cards I bought some aperture cards yesterday without much idea how I would use them. Today however, I've been going through old paintings, failed paintings and this years experimental paintings and discovered endless card making possibilities. See below! Pictures taken with a camera in poor light - sorry, I'm no photographer.
 SOLD "Limitations breed creativity" Last November I wrote an article about Moving Forward, since every artist at some point wonders how they can move forward with their painting. I wrote the following article to illustrate how "The Plan" I wrote about in that article, might work. Workshops or classes are needed to learn techniques and try out new ideas but I think real learning comes from challenging oneself.
We only solve problems when we are faced with them and with this in mind I enjoy setting new challenges for myself. I sometimes set myself what others consider to be unnecessary restrictions but I think of restrictions as positive. They force me to think and work in new ways. When I'm free to do what I want I have a tendency, as we all do, to stay firmly in the safety of my established comfort zone. Once I construct challenges for myself I find that the limitations, rather than limiting what I can do, actually increase my skill, productivity, knowledge and understanding. Why wouldn't you want to do that too? "The most important ally in the study of painting is the art of thinking." Edgar Payne.Problem solving. In my previous article "Moving Forward" I explained the necessity of self-evaluation. After all only you know what you like, what you’re trying to achieve, and whether the results satisfy you or not. Whilst seeking feedback from others can be useful it is your own likes and dislikes that make your paintings unique. If in doubt, follow your own path.
Ask yourself the following questions when analysing the success of your paintings... From the exercise "Using tone to create aerial perspective"...Following on from the exercise I set, "Using tone to create aerial perspective", I am delighted that one of my students, fairly new to watercolour, has tried it out.
|
Eleanor Mann
Putting a "Spotlight on Watercolour"I am a watercolour artist and tutor. Welcome to my painting blog.
I'll share my new paintings and news with you here - before they're published on the main site. Information about watercolour painting techniques and step-by-step demonstrations and a host of other things are available by subscribing to my online "art group", For more information about this please click here. If you would like to subscribe to receive notification that I've posted something that may interest you (don't worry, you won't be inundated) there is a form below. Thanks for visiting. Please read the Privacy Policy
Categories
All
Archives
March 2024
|
RSS Feed