Have you ever got trapped in the web of PERFECTION?! - Painting & Drawing Tips

As many of you know I like to golf.  Golfing is all about hand-eye coordination.  Planning and Executing.  Visualizing and follow through.  

Very much like the Creative Process.

Sketchbooking Activity: Sunflowers in the Field

In the world of Golf - You need Perfection, but it can also destroy your game.  

Very much like the Creative Process.

Last week I missed 3 putts for par by 4 inches or less: 1/2 inch. 3 inches. 4 inches.  So what, you say, it happens all the time in putting.  Yes, it does.  But the trouble with those misses is they were TOO short.  Those putts were never going in, they were not strong enough to reach the hole.  A good putt goes in or pass the hole by 7 -12 inches at most.  Those putts have a chance but one that is short is never going in.  

Trying for Perfection can leave you short. . . .

In the spring I joined Karen Abend  Sketchbook Revival 2020, (see post "Catch the Sketchbook Habbit" for more info on this)  One of the activities demoed by Noah Scalin  really struck me as a good way to fight Perfection.  Don't get me wrong, fighting with Perfection is not an easy thing.  This is a challenging activity but at the same time it reminds me of the importance of 'seeing the whole picture' rather than 'one spot'.  

Working on a project brings in a wide range of emotions: joy, triumph, happiness, exhilaration, glee.  But also: frustration, disappointment, distress, sadness, chagrin.    Add the need for perfection and of course Mr. Inner Critic.  Gee, why do we even Create?  (See Post: Turn Your Inner Critic into your BFF for more on Mr. Critic) 

But you love to create so that web of Perfection is always trying to capture you. . .

So I give you a "Perfection Fighter Activity" guaranteed to drive you crazy as you work but give you a few "Aha Moments" when you're done.  

Step 1: Sketchbooking Activity: Sunflowers in the Field - Making 100 Dots

PERFECTION FIGHTER ACTIVITY - 100 Dots

**This project can be viewed on video as "Moving Away from Perfection"   with Wendy Mould

1.  Take a clean page in your sketchbook and make 100 dots randomly spaced all over the page.  Since I was using coloured paper, I decided to make white dots.  (You do not have to work in pen for this project, being a pen artist, I like to just jump in with pen.)

Step 2: Sketchbooking Activity: Sunflowers in the Field - pick your subject 

2.  Pick a subject (something real or fantasy) to draw, something that has some shapes and lines to work with. I chose to draw a sunflower and since my paper was buff, I used a sepia pen.  

Step 3: Sketchbooking Activity: Sunflowers in the Field - start connecting your dots

3.  Draw your subject by moving from dot to dot. Yes, things are going to get a bit wonky.  There wont be dots where you want them but keep going.  As you can see my petals and flower center are looking pretty wonky.  

Step 4: Sketchbooking Activity: Sunflowers in the Field - stay with it and finish your drawing

4.  This is the hard part.  Stay with it.  Don't let the kinkiness stop you. I finished my drawing and then decided to add colour with coloured pencils.

Step 5: Sketchbooking Activity: Sunflowers in the Field - Finish it with a flare

5. Finish up with a flare.  'What do you like?"  "What is really working?"  I really like the wonkiness of my sunflower.  The leaves and stem really add to that.  I was pleased with the results.  I feel those weird looking petals at the beginning all fit into the total drawing quite well.  

Step 6: Sketchbooking Activity: Sunflowers in the Field - Extending the drawing 

6.  All projects lead to new ideas.  I liked how my leaf was heading over to the other page so I decided to extend the drawing to the other side.  

Step 7: Sketchbooking Activity: Sunflowers in the Field - Colouring the new section

7. Finished  Sunflowers in the Field.  The finished picture is at the top of the post but shown here is the work in progress.  

Final Thoughts: What do you like? What is really working?  I discovered that I am a crisp white paper artist.  I really like how my colours glow on the white paper as apposed to the buff. I love particularly the smallest sunflower, it has a liveliness I couldn't have got just by drawing from the reference.  

Overall, I think it helps me to not dwell on individual marks but hold my comments and look at the picture as a whole.  Also, reminds me to keep going, leave my judgement til the end and just accept the challenge and roll with it.  

**This project can be viewed on video as "Moving Away from Perfection"  with Wendy Mould

Bunny from 100 Dots with Noah Scalin  - Sepia Pen and coloured pencils

My Bunny from 100 Dots is another example of working with these dots.  I started with his head and then his eyes.  The eyes looked so wonky I wanted to quit.  However, once darks and lights were put in I was very pleased with my guy.  

Have fun with this activity and I hope it inspires you to climb out of that Web of PERFECTION.  

Outdoor Sketching Classes !! 

Ready to go out and do some sketching?  Have fun painting and sketching while learning new tips and techniques. Capture a moment in time without worrying about the World and the crazy problems of today.  Come Join me for a session or two.  Beginner to Advanced are welcome.

Class Size: max. 3.   Rescheduling for Bad weather.  Covid  Rules and Social Distancing will be followed.  

Sessions 2.5 hours, in local North Surrey Parks, Tuesdays 10-12:30 or Special Times to be set up for groups of 2 or 3.  

Cost: $45  

August Dates: Tuesday August 4. 11, 18, 25:  Time:  10-12:30:pm

Save a Spot Now. Contact Wendy    More information: artbywendy.com 

 Do you have big/small projects on the go?  

Looking for a sounding board, help, suggestions, techniques. You and your Inner Critic looking to expand your discussions.  I am available for Online Coaching/Teaching  (3 sessions 30 minutes each $75). more info here.   

  
Many find this post helpful: Turn your Inner Critic into your BFF

 

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Have a great Artful Day,

Wendy  

Stand Back!! - Painting Tips

NEW WORKS FROM THE STUDIO OF ART BY WENDY

I like to golf.  The season is just getting underway for me so golfing is on my mind.  What does that have to do with painting you might add, but it does.  When you start your golf game, you pull out the big guys, "Big Bertha" is often what that big driver is nicknamed.  You give it a wack and start walking.  Your on your way.  Yes, you do change clubs a bit but working down from the big woods, slowly getting down to the irons as you get closer to the hole.

Very much like painting a picture.  The big brushes come out and you are painting, everything is big, loose and moving well.  Then you get 'close to the hole', down to detail.  That is where the problems start.  In golfing you can get to the green in 2 or 3 shots, even on a long hole. But what happens on the greens can really rack up the strokes.  I find the most pesky shots are those 4-8 foot putts.  Close enough that they should almost be a 'giv-me' but of course they aren't!!  You move in, grab the putter, line up and putt.  Sorry to say, it often doesn't go in.  It dribbles a little to the right or maybe a little to the left. The big problem is, it does not go in.

Sunshine and Sunflowers - 12 x 16, Watercolour

A lot like painting your picture.  You finish all the big stuff and move in for the little touch of detail, the crowning touches.  You pick up that tiny brush, paint a spot here, add a touch there, darken a bit. Wait, it just doesn't hit the mark. You dab a bit more, wipe a bit.  Oh no!  Now things are getting worse. Need to fix it here, add more there . . .   You know what I mean.  You have been there.

In golfing there is only one answer: Stop. Step back. Look at the lay of the land.  That little step has saved me many strokes.  When I step back I often see a little rise or fall of the green that I could not see when I was standing over it.  Also, it gives me a chance to regroup and re-frame my stance. Having the correct stance is soooooo important when putting.  (I wish I could say all my putts go in after that but they don't!!)

Painting that detail is just like putting.  Put that dab on, add that touch, then step back. See the picture as a whole, rather than up close.  Things will look different. Your judgement will be quite different.   Here are a few examples from my painting Sunshine and Sunflowers where I definitely saw my judgement change when I stepped back.

Painting the shadow colours on yellow proved to be very challenging.  I had planned to use my purple mixed from my blue and red colour. But when I painted that petal hanging off the right side of the flower I wasn't sure.

Detail from Painting - By itself the yellow looked dirty and the shadow too dark.  It wasn't! After stepping back I realized I had to darken it.

The same kind of thing happened when I painted the little petal hanging at the back of the flower.  By itself it looked so dark when I added the shadow.  I was already to start lifting and changing when I remembered the "stand back" rule.  When I stepped back things were very different.

Detail from Painting - I thought for sure this looked too dark! Not!  I needed to glaze over it again.

Here was a big one.  My little chickadee was all painted but the shadow not on him yet.  I knew he needed that shadow but purple seemed just tooooo much.  I finally took my brush and went for it.

Detail from Painting - The purple looked so purple but it was needed to gray the colours down and put this little guy in the shade!

In the heat of the moment it is often hard to keep cool.  But when the urge to fiddle hits you, remember 'stand back', regroup, look at the whole picture.  If it doesn't help you in painting, it  will certainly help your golf game!!

Special Note: I will be giving a demo at Opus and Framing Store, Langley, BC, Saturday, Mach 26, 10:30-12:30pm.  "Combining Your Photo References to "Get it Right".  This hands on demo will give you lots to think about.  Demo is free but you much pre-register at 604-533-0601.   More information here. 
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Have a great artful day, Wendy

Dig Deep for those Greens - Art Tips

NEW WORKS FROM THE STUDIO OF ART BY WENDY

Yes, there will be Green again!!

Red greens, blue greens, soft gentle greens to sink into and those bright garish greens that stop you short!! After last week's crazy Demo Week (see here for more on that) I am ready to get back into the studio and paint.

My best friends, the chickadees, are back in the garden! They are the ones that really bring the life back to the yard.  They chitter, they chatter, they bath in the birdbath.  They flit and they flirt.  Best of all they bring their babies to feed. So cute watching the little ones crying for food, bathing in the bird bath, and sulking when they can’t get their way.  Other birds come and go, never staying long, but the chickadees are my real backyard buddies.  

So of course they need to be featured in my work!!

Sunshine and Sunflowers WIP - Watercolour

My plan: chickadees and sunflowers.  (Okay I admit it.  I am really into the summer more than spring.  But I am ready, aren't you?)

My picture Sunshine and Sunflowers,  is a work in progress now but already you can see the problem.  Green.  I love it: to look at on a summer day, to play on, to feel the softness as I settle down with a book.  But to paint!  It's a challenge.  Everything looks green, local colour is green, green everywhere.  But the whole picture can't be one be blog of green!!

My palette: Daniel Smith GreenGold (GG) , Ultramarine Blue (UB), Alizarin Crimson (AC), Aureolin,(A) Gamboge (G), Burnt Sienna(BS).   (The GreenGold has to be Daniel Smith’s as the other brands just don’t seem to work the same way.  This greengold is the colour of the moss on the branches shining in the sun.  It is that lovely blue green (when you add UB) that brings to mine the firs as you walk down a forest trail.  It just seems to be my kind of coastal green.)

The Challenge: build my greens just with this palette.  I know, easy to grab lots more tubes of paints with greens and browns, and golds, even reds.  But lots of tubes, introduces lots of new colours and suddenly things don’t blend any more.  Stay with your palette and dig deep, there are many subtle ways to suggest green with what you have.  Here is a sample of some of the greens I have created with mixing  UB, A, AC and G with the GreenGold.  The UB + GG I did two samples.  One with a little UB and one with lots.  Just dropping in a little AZ changes it again.  So many greens and green suggestions right here.  

Sample strip of some of the greens mixed with GG.
Note the changes with the purple glaze.(UB + AC)

Those greens were only created with weak and strong mixes.  What about all the colour variations when you start to glaze over them.  Glaze over with a blue, a yellow or a red.  More colours.  I included a glaze of purple (UB + AC) over the test strip once again, lots of different grayed down shades.  Of course another layer creates more. If you go back and look at Sunshine and Sunflowers WIP again, you can see how they blend together and read as green but really are quite different!!

Follow up from last week's post: The 3 presentations went well.  I met some wonderful people, made new friends, and got totally inspired. A really special thank you to Jackie who took the time to send me this comment Sunday night after a full day workshop yesterday on Marketing. 

"Hi, Wendy.  I just wanted to let you know how much I enjoyed your Marketing Your Art Workshop.  I learned SO much!  It is the BEST workshop I have ever been to on ANY subject.  Thanks so much." 

It really made the whole day worth it for me to hear that.

Well back to work, hope to post the finish picture next week.  (Of course you know what the next challenge will be - working with yellow.  No easy task!!)

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Have a great artful day, Wendy

For Commission Works see here

For Private Drawing Lessons see here

For Marketing Mentoring see here

For Marketing or Art Presentations Contact Wendy