Art Blog
Escape Into Art
A studio visitor once told me that she loved looking INTO my paintings. She described looking deep into a beach scene in front of her. She happily enjoyed the depiction of a distant horizon and the myriad details she read into my brush strokes.
MoreA Written Art Lesson: Part 1
In my experience, I know that I have mastered something when I can explain how to do it without a physical demonstration.
Today, let’s begin here…
Imagine the scene you plan to paint is sectioned off like a tic-tac-toe board, four lines making a pattern of squares. Two are vertical lines. Two are horizontal lines. You want to create the focus or “focal point” of your painting on or near one of the line intersections. Find the focal point on the painting featured here. Do you see it?
You do not want your horizon line or the focal point to line up either halfway up or halfway down your painting. Your painting should be “off-center” not perfectly lined up with the middle of anything. Do you see it?
Do me a favor. Take a minute and sketch a simple landscape scene line drawing following the above two directions. How about a far-away mountain with a tree in the field in front of it. Did it work?
Now that we have the most basic composition in place, we’ll begin to paint your scene.
Read more in the next installment of “A Written Art Lesson.” And please follow the progress of my latest painting “Under the Mill” on Instagram or Facebook. I’ll be explaining my artistic decisions as I progress.
As always, I’d be delighted if you shared this or any of my social media posts. Word of mouth is still the best way to grow a business.
Happy With Your Art
Happy With Your Art
A five-year old views her completed painting and beams as she says she feels so happy!
An eight-year old finishes her painting and gushes that it looks really, really great!
A thirteen-year old inspects his finished work and announces that he did a pretty good job.
An adult contemplates his or her completed painting and grimaces, stating that it needs more work, he isn’t happy with the trees, she doesn’t like her clouds, and so on.
When do we lose the ability to be happy with our artwork?
I believe, firmly, that if you want to create art you should create art. Period.
I also believe that with practice and a good teacher, anyone can create a beautiful oil painting.
Reach out to me if you’d like to learn more about what we do here at SEH Studios Art.
Or just come and have a tour and a chat with me.
For now, go sketch, doodle, or paint and BE HAPPY! Life is short enough without constantly judging our own creative efforts.