Outside the Box
When it comes to being creative, I want to think so far outside the box that it becomes a small dot on the horizon that eventually disappears. How ’bout you?
Blog
The Value of Value
I’ve been thinking about values in painting, and what a profound impact they have. I’m talking cymbals in the orchestra kind of impact. Value means the amount of light or dark of a colour. A strong dark next to a very light area is a biggie. When you do that somewhere on your painting it draws the eye strongly and says to the viewer “this area is very important.” Good idea to plan that placement carefully. Understanding the force of this in a composition is why artists will sometime take a photo of their painting and turn it into black and white on their computer. This allows a much easier analysis of the values. A shortcut to this is to squint at a painting. This removes some of the colour and detail in order to see the value contrast better. Then you can make sure that any cymbals sound at exactly the right spot in your symphony.
The Cost of Losing It
I really lost it for a few days. Got into painting – big time. Multiple paintings on the go, paints all over, brushes flying, colour flowing, that high-as-a-kite kind of creative. Succumbed completely to leaving the whole world behind. Makes me wonder why this doesn’t happen to me more often. I’m self employed right? Oh, maybe that’s the problem, I’m self employed. Read – too many papers and receipts and to do lists to ever hope to keep track of. Anyway, back to the wonderful few days. When I resurfaced, gave myself a good hard shake, forced the glazed eyeballs to refocus on life, I discovered that I had – 4 movies and 3 library books out from the library. And they were all overdue. And I now owe the library $19.20. Sigh. It was so worth it.
Stood Up by the Muse
The question for today is, what gets you into creative mode for painting? I’ve found there are some really odd assumptions out there among non-artists. I’ve had people tell me that I must go to my studio and sit and daydream until the muse arrives. Whut? Personally, I have a lot of difficulty putting that one onto my daily schedule. “Wait for muse. Arrival date – unknown. Arrival time – anyone’s guess.” Really not going to work for me. One thing that I have occasionally done to help get the right brain going, is to spend just a couple of minutes doing gesture drawings. Fast, furious, let go and let loose drawing. That can help. It’s also true that the right music can help, although for me that’s more an energizer to keep me painting once I’ve started. But my number one all time works-almost-everytime tip that gets me into the painting mode? Pick up the brush and start painting. It certainly gets me over being stood up by the muse. However, I acknowledge that we are all unique, and I’d love to hear from other artists what gets you painting. Comments welcome!
Contest Winner!
Congratulations to Alexis Chadwick who has won the draw for a 40% off coupon applicable to any For Sale painting on my website! Alexis’ name was drawn from all those who had submitted the correct answer to the December Famous Painting Contest. You can see a full version of the December painting, plus the details about it on my website. This contest changes monthly, so check out the new January contest. Do you recognise the snippet from a famous painting there? Enter for your chance to win 40% off a painting of your choice.
Also new on the website this week – check out the new survey about New Year’s resolutions. You can give your vote on the current question, as well as view past survey results. Surveys are just for fun.
Sistine Chapel
I thought you might enjoy starting the new year with a tour of the Sistine Chapel. On this webpage (see link on Cheryl’s blog if you are reading this on Facebook or elsewhere) you can see Michelangelo’s amazing work in detail. Click and hold the left mouse button and drag in the direction that you would like to view. There are + and – buttons, or use the wheel on your mouse to zoom in and out. Caution: move around with the mouse a bit slowly at first – there is risk of a wee bit of motion sickness. A fresco is a painting done on wet plaster. After the plaster is dry, the painting is bonded to the wall. It was a popular method for painting large murals during the Renaissance. The Sistine Chaple also contains frescoes by other artists including Sandro Botticelli, and Pietro Perugino. The magnificent 12,000 square foot ceiling was painted by Michelangelo between 1508 and 1512. Let me know what you think of this virtual tour.
Newness
I love new beginnings. New years, new days, new painting techniques, new adventures in art and in life. The freshness of a new beginning gets me excited. I love the blank canvas. To me it is full of happy anticipation . I will confess however, painting is not all fun for me. Sometimes I have my battles with a painting in progress that is being recalcitrant. And end stages, well, they can be a lot of hours of hard work sometimes. Been there enough times to know that perseverance pays off though. What about you? Do you have favourite stages when it comes to painting or creating? I’d be interested to hear, in the comments below. Meanwhile, I wish you all the best for 2012. May it be full of wonderful new and creative beginnings for you.
The 2 Foot Tall Critic
My definition of an Art Critic: someone who lives in a place that has walls, and has something hanging on them. Everyone has an opinion about art , and that’s a really good thing! It speaks of the fact that art is a universal language that touches us all. Many years ago, I used to sit at the King Street entrance at London’s downtown Market and paint. It was a fun experience, and I learned then that the vast majority of people want to encourage artists. What a nice thing to learn! Especially I treasure the memory of the children who would patiently stand in line to wait their turn to speak to me. In almost every case they simply wanted to tell me, “I like your painting.” And they knew, as I did too, that their opinion was just as valid as anyone’s. So here’s my thank you to 2 foot tall critics, you really did encourage me! No doubt you are much taller now, but I hope you still love art.
The Music Connection
Creative processes are as unique as individuals are. Some artists treasure the silence of their creative time. For others, a simple thing such as having the right music on can get the right brain going and encourage you to pick up the brush. If I have a show coming up that I need to keep painting for, I definitely put on some energetic music to keep that brush moving. Painting turns into dancing at times, and it’s a joyful union. I enjoy light rock and folk music with a good beat. Jennifer Knapp is a favourite. In this week’s survey, you can let us know whether or not you prefer music on during your creative times. And, if you want, in the comments below you can tell us what type of music or which music artists you prefer if that is part of your creative process too. It ‘s always great to hear what inspires others to be creative and keep the brush moving.