I've been chatting with a friend recently about learning and staying motivated. It reminded me how much I like doing a series. I find I learn (and re-learn) a ton about a particular subject by doing a bunch of the same thing. I just finished a cup series, and now I'm on to pears. Once I'm truly happy with the progress, and I start getting bored with the subject, I move on to the next one. I think if I instead painted a completely different subject every time, I wouldn't learn nearly as much.
It occurs to me in writing this that if anyone has a particular question they would like me to answer here, please ask and I'll answer so everyone can see. : ) | |
And here's my first question! Alan Conrad asks:
"Your work always looks spontaneous and fresh. I would tend to take that same painting a step further and create "bad realism" rather than "great impressionism" (if that makes sense). I guess the question is "How do you know when to stop" ?"
Thank you, Alan! I thought about this all day. I think of my little paintings like little poems. I try to summarize what I'm seeing – to paint my subject with as few brush strokes as possible, just the important ones, and not much blending (if at all). So I spend a LOT of time observing (squinting). And mixing. Because once I put down a stroke, there it is. It is not often possible to "fix" it, especially when it overlaps previous strokes. In this way it's kind of like a dance, or a golf game. You do your best, and once it's finished, there's nothing to be done about it except try it over again. Many of my little paintings go in the trash. None of them are ever perfect! But sometimes they are good enough, and that's what I show. So when do I stop? When I've put down every stroke that seems important, and not one more. : )
Yours in art,
Carol | | | Other available paintings: | | | | |
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