Every day when you open your Instagram or Facebook, chances are you see a lot of artwork. This is very normal especially if you are an artist. When I swipe through my Instagram feed, I am inspired by the sheer amount of outstanding works! To be honest, this can get a little bit disheartening at times. I see artists with beautiful works and away more follower than I do. On top of that, there are multiple artists whom I admire paint in different style, subject, and medium. Because of this, I was tempted to switch things up and follow what they're doing. Maybe it's a paint more realistically, start painting more animals, try a technique that another artist uses, or ditch watercolor altogether and try charcoal. I know I'm not alone on this. I see many people do the same thing. This is a very common artist's "shiny object syndrome."
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Make your story clear and simple
Welcome to 2018! I hope you had a wonderful holiday. I had a wonderful vacation with my family. As I started my online course last year, I get to interact with students on a more personal level. One thing that has become obvious to me for quite a few student is to simplify their painting to a simple and clear message. Because we have this notion that "a picture worth a thousand words", we are often tempted to throw as much stuff into our painting as we can. However, a powerful painting doesn't have to be complicated and overwhelming. It just needs to communicate the message across clearly.
Read MoreMultiple attempt
This past weekend I was painting a figure painting. Haven't done figure painting for quite a while, it wasn't surprising that my first attempt wasn't up to the standard(my standard). I knew I can do better so I decided to paint it again. The 2nd attempt (the one you are seeing above) turns out much better. I was able to plan my painting and executed it much better than the first one.
I've done this quite a bit. When painting watercolor, a few wrong decisions and solutions can ruin a painting. Since there is no "undo" button in watercolor. Sometime the next best thing you can do is to start over. This can be a mental roadblock for some people. People may think all the time they spent on the unsuccessful painting is all wasted. But there is no wasted time when you did a bad painting. You gain valuable experience and you learned from your mistake! Even a seasoned NBA player cannot expect to score every time when they shoot, so neither shall we.
Yes, it can be frustrated to see your fail attempts and wondering if you can do it better next time. When you set your self up to that dreadful empty white paper again, you may have to conjure up all your courage and faith to start the process over again. However, that's part of the learning process and journey to become a better artist!
Do you have a good subject that you wanted to turn into a painting only end up with a fail attempt? Maybe it's time to give it another go. You might be regretful for not giving it your best shot!
New Painting Demo
If you haven't, go check out my new painting video of one of my favorite painting! This is another longer painting demo video that I haven't done for quite a while. Hope you enjoy it!
A believable painting comes from an understanding artist
One of the biggest issues I see in student's painting is not understanding the subject they are painting. Instead, they try to simply paint what they see in their reference. It's understandable that we want to jump right into the painting and enjoy the process. However, to paint a believable watercolor painting requires a good amount of thinking. I made that mistake sometimes as well. I try to just blatantly copy what I see instead of taking a brief moment analyze and understanding what I am looking at. I'm convinced that a good painting demonstrates and show the artists' understanding of the subject matter. How does the object sitting ina 3d space? How does the lighting work with the scenery? What's the surface material of the object you are painting? These are all very important questions you should be asking yourself before and during the painting.
Your painting looks more alive when you paint what you understand
Imagine you are trying to retell and explain a story you've just heard. However, you didn't really get the story yourself. It could be due to you missed part of the story, or you weren't really paying attention. It will be a struggle to retell the story to someone else because you cannot retell something you haven't heard!(unless you make things up). That is what happens when you try to second guess in your paint. An experienced painter might be able to make things up, spice the story up a bit and tell a different story. But the things they make up are still based on their understanding of the real world. They have a rich visual library to pull from.
Only through understanding can you paint a believable painting. And only through understanding can you produce a painting that looks alive. All the painting techniques and skills are very important, but your understanding of the subject will make your painting stand out and gives it characters.