Friday, April 2, 2010

Back to basics

work in progress

Last week when I painted for the class I teach, I had planned on doing a still life demo - a simple vase with flowers and leaves. I ended up painting a hideous, oversized dragonfly with very stiff, unexciting flowers (I had posted the photo here but it was so bad just now I had to delete it!) I thought I would "figure it out" at the next class (last night's class) but I soon realized it was just a bad painting, not meant to be "fixed". I don't mind when I have the occasional bomb for a demo as long as I can redeem myself on some level... whether it be working through the problems I create or just starting over with success second time around. That's what happened last night.

It's been a few years since I have even wanted to paint a still life, landscapes are my current passion. As I worked on this, I wanted and needed to let the paint flow freely, and I just responded to the drips, incorporating vibrant color always using lots of water. Today I will add a few details to the greenery and flowers, maybe add some background glazes, and that's it. My mantra for the day... less is more.

2 comments:

  1. Thanks for sharing this Robin. We all have our moments with our work of that just isn't right no matter what I do. I currently have a few glass pieces that may be beyond hope.

    I'm really drawn to the colors you have here. I love the bright flowers contrasting with the deep green leaves. Looking forward to seeing where you take this.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Kathleen, it's much easier to admit to students the worst thing that can happen when you paint is you have a painting you don't like, or that not every painting is a winner. I think once doing that, it was very liberating for me and this new demo simply flowed for me.

    ReplyDelete