So taking photos of your art is always tricky - at least in my experience.
I recently posted 2 images of the same painting on my face book page to show the big difference lighting makes. One was taken with the sun behind clouds the other with the sun out. You can see for yourself what a huge difference. Even the time of day seems to have a profound impact on how the camera reads the image. That is just the beginning of the problem though. Now the next issue is with the computer monitor and program processing your photo. I hope you got a good photo editing program to play with the image. In my case I found reds and oranges are always way over saturated on the image and seldom do I get it resolved to my total satisfaction. Trial and error and ......is your friend here. Also - I might have mentioned that first - always take the photo before you varnish. I love what varnish does to the painting in popping the colours but trying to get a good photo without glare from the glossy image is near impossible. So settle in and enjoy the ride - if you can - and eventually you will get the image that fairly represents your actual painting.
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So last year when I was at Lake Country Art Walk for the first time I learned that I had a style. How - everyone commented on my 'style'. It was thrilling.
Every artist wants to have a recognizable style of their own and it's a bit of a mystery how you get one. Well it seems that it comes from doing a lot of painting. As you get along in your life as an artist you develop certain tendencies - colours you choose, the way you apply the paint, the way you render subjects in your painting etc. All that becomes your style. Now my theory is that it also has to do with inspiration. Over time you start to become aware of what subjects motivate you most to paint - what inspires you. That is also part of the style thing I believe because it also influences what and how you paint. Recently a friend of mine asked me to talk to his daughter about producing her portfolio for art school. I myself haven't gone to art school so I directed her to some good websites for the technicalities of the issue. As it turned out she just didn't know what to paint or draw. She clearly hasn't quite figured out what motivates her and how she wants to express herself. The advice - look at other art, look at pictures of stuff. I found by looking at other artist's work I was drawn to some paintings more than others. When you do that you start to see what makes your heart skip a beat and most likely it is what will motivate you. Then you analyze what all these photos and paintings have in common - or at least what the themes are. From that you get a better picture of what pulls you in and then you go try to paint something like it. As you attempt to create similar flow or colour scheme etc you find your own 'vocabulary' to express yourself and voila STYLE. It might not work that way for every one, but that's how it worked out for me. I'm still not happy with where I am and often I can't quite get the illusion I wanted to create but with every piece I learn something and get a bit closer to the holy grail. At least I hope so :). Hopefully this will help someone else out there find their illusive style. ,So I know when you check on the internet this question gets answered over and over - does the quality of materials matter?
I would like to tell you an unqualified YES. When I started painting in acrylics I used anything that was the right colour even deco paint. Now don't get me wrong they have their place and other than the dollar store ones can actually be of decent quality. I did however notice how often I couldn't get the glow and effect I had hoped for. At that time I assumed it was skill - or the lack thereof - at fault. No doubt my skills had a long way to go and still do but looking back I realize it was more the quality of the paints that were preventing me from getting the results I was working so hard to produce. Once I started using artist quality paints it became increasingly easier and less time consuming to get the results I was aiming for. There is a good reason for that. Cheap paints are loaded with fillers and lack in pigment. The more filler and the less pigment the harder you have to work to achieve what you want. At the very least you will have to go over and over areas to try and get the colour saturation you need or want. I have also found that in the long run good quality paints don't cost as much as I thought because I use way less to get much better results. So it really pays (pardon the pun) to spend more on quality supplies. There is also the concern for the archival quality of your painting. Archival just means how long it will look as well as it did when you finished and how well it will stand up to light and other conditions. When you consider how hard you work on creating the painting you want to present to the world doesn't it make sense to make sure it will stand the test of time? So in my opinion it is well worth to pay for quality. Use the cheaper paints etc to explore composition or new techniques etc so practice work really, but treat yourself to the best paints you can afford for the pieces you want to represent your work in the world. So one of my worst pet peeves is looking for stuff. That happens more than you would think since I really don't like it. It is a real time killer when it comes to getting creative. So I have found setting your studio up in a way that works for you is very important. I make sure everything is organized in a way that makes sense to me. This way I always know where anything is. All my paints are in specific places and roughly organized by type (fluid, heavy body, high flow etc). I especially don't like hunting for the right brush when I'm in the middle of a painting. With acrylics that is time sensitive - if you work in oils you certainly can take your time finding the right instrument but to my way of thinking it's not making good use of your energy. Over time I've found some nifty setups for my brushes that allow me to see them all at a glance and I can quickly grab the one I want. As I paint they end up somewhere on my workspace but at the end of each session I make sure they go back to where they were. Other tools also have special nooks and crannies to be stowed in but they come out to 'play' less often. I also like to have the colours and tools I use most often the closest and easiest to hand. Now I'm sure that sounds mighty anal to many of you and I understand. It just has saved me much time and frustration after I realized how much I was rummaging for things I needed in the moment. So take it or leave it :) - for me it is the way to go and be most productive. The time you spend organizing and figuring out a good set up is long made up for once it's all set and you can fully focus on your creative project. So I hope this is food for thought and have fun creating! So here I'm preaching to myself at the moment. With the pandemic effecting us all it is difficult for a lot of artists to get creative. Generally that is not a problem for me BUT ........
To be disciplined in practicing every day or at least on a schedule is hard. There are days when you really don't feel it, but those are the most important times to just do it. You can only grow as an artist and in most things in life if you apply yourself. You can only find what uniquely motivates you when you are painting regularly. Some years ago I decided to focus on one subject (flowers, birds, trees, waves etc) for a whole month so I could get a real feel for the subject matter I wanted to paint. Just 2 months in I found my passion in painting the ocean and waves. I still paint other things but THAT is my focus. In painting regularly you also hone your skills and develop your own artistic language. The best compliment to me is people recognizing my style. I didn't really notice that I had that until last years ArtWalk in Lakecountry. So many people came by and commented on my style. I didn't focus on having one but with practice comes your artistic voice and before you know it you got one. Talent is great but practice is essential to growth and your own development so be disciplined and practice, practice, practice. |
RamonaSelf taught artist and lover of all things beautiful Archives
March 2021
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