A Most Challenging Still Life Assignment
This homework assignment was very challenging for me.
When I first started doing art in 2010 I started with graphite pencil and would work in a realistic style with details and blending pencil (color pencil as well). In 2014 I started playing with watercolors. In 2017 or so I started with acrylics. Continuing to try to get everything as realistic as I could with as many details as possible, as most beginner painters do. I have read and heard that detail painting and over blending is one of the most common issues in beginner paintings.
As I continued to paint (since 2010 I have almost 1,000 drawings, sketches, and paintings to date). With my painting, I have learned from many well known Houston artists, to paint with a fully loaded brush and with a more painterly style. I also learned that our followers; our viewers, do not initially look at our paintings up close but rather from 12 - 18 feet away - so it begs the question: why would you paint as if your viewers only see your paintings up close?
When you step back away from your painting, all your lovely brushwork will optically blend together dispite your painting looking like a beautiful mess of color up close.
This also explains one reason why so many painters choose to use long handled brushes. When the brush is held correctly (close to the end), the long handle provides the artist with some distance from their canvas. We must also remember to continually step back from our painting to view it and determine where and how to place their next fully loaded paint brush stroke!
This was my most challenging assignment to date. Critique will be tomorrow . . . . just waiting to hear my professors comments! Critiques from professionals are a wonderful tool to help us all become better painters. We should try to look at our own work with a more critical eye.
With that said . . . . .
