The Creativity Continues !

The Creativity Continues!

My little tricks...
    1.  Have a plan of what I want to accomplish.
    2. Don't pick up the brush unless I know what I plan to do next.
    3. Limit myself to one step at a time!!!

These little tricks keep the enthusiasm from causing chaos.  If the brush gets ahead of the painting, I will certainly have frustration and bad effects.At this point I have to put the lid on the palette, take a walk and tell myself what I did wrong.
This is "teaching oneself" how to paint.

If I don't know what I have done wrong, a rest from the work may reveal it later.  It is very possible to become overwhelmed with my own work and I don't mean "overly impressed."

If you get to a point of confusion, take a break and get out your old stand-by "How To Paint" book.
It might help you decide what to do or even better... what not to do.   Artists who paint with me in my workshops are always welcome to e-mail me an image for advice.

The first thing I painted today was the sky.  I made my family of colours putting the warmer and lighter colours near the horizon.  Using the palette knife like a butter knife, I put large dots of colorur in the area they belonged.  Using a big fat brush, I very quickly blended the colour working from light to dark.   Careful not to over blend... it will look like a sheet rock wall!

 I decided that adding the many little out buildings where Pop and family had made their syrup for so many years was too much for the little painting.  Instead, I added a distant tree line, the field where the cane had been growing just a month before harvest, and a couple of trees that would "anchor" the landscape.  One was a pecan tree and another was a pin oak.  Tree shapes are fun to study.

Begin with the basic tree skeleton.  Use a "rigger" or "liner" brush and have the limb shapes in your head before you begin.  Keep your hand relaxed or the tree will not look natural.  Keep the touch light as well or it will look heavy.  Trees are fun.  Imagine that it is dancing and you may get the "rhythm" and it will become a very fun step in your painting.

Make sure you do not make the colours too dark or too green!!  The foreground trees and grass will need to be a brighter green.  If the background is too green it will not show depth.  Keep it light and leave sky showing thru the branches.

  I love painting the foliage with a cheap natural bristle 1/2" or larger brush.
The brush does all the work.

Now the issues that had bothered me about the next "layer" of my painting are resolved. I took the same clean bristle brush and "lifted" the oil off the house roof and a little of the chimney on the left.  I have my original drawing if I need to refresh my memory of what it should look like.

And now...
I will take a break, do some cleaning around the studio and think about what I will paint next.   I will need to carefully plan just one step at a time here so I don't get ahead of myself and try too much at a time.

I am pleased with my progress and would really like to move ahead right now, but will myself time to study what magic has happened that I did not plan!

Suggestion: Paint in an area where there is other activity... people.  Leave your art things out where you can get to them.  Between steps in a painting, it is sometimes helpful to bring it to your living area.  I like having mine where I can glance at it from time to time while my mind may really be on other things.  I learn so much from my own work.

This going to be a good painting!!