What?!! Paint it Again?! Painting and Drawing Tips

Yes, Paint that Picture Again!!
Hey, I get it. You painted the picture, you expressed your idea and now you're ready to move on.


Amphitrite Point Lighthouse, Uclulet, West Coast BC - Plein Air Painting

I don't mean do this every time.  But once and awhile just try the picture again.  Use a different pallet, try a different layout, change it up.  This isn't meant to be a laborious task but more a learning experience.  An opportunity to try something different and see how your original idea might look if expressed in a different way.  Or revisit and old idea/subject and try it again.  (Read more of the story of painting this original Plein Air painting here)

VanGogh painted over 30 self-portraits between the years of 1886 - 1889.  He couldn't afford models and felt portraits would be a could source of income so he used himself to practice.  It is interesting to see what he did: different poses, different expressions, different pallets, different styles even different props.  You can certainly see growth and changes in his work and understand how his style developed.  Read more about his self-portraits here. 

I am not suggesting you paint a picture 30 different times but maybe try it 3 or 4 times.  I teach drawing and painting skills in private lessons.  In the session we do side by side drawing.  We each have a sketchbook and we each draw the same thing.  I find this way I can discuss the steps in the drawing with my student as we progress.  Whenever there is a problem/question we stop and discuss it and look at ways to solve it. 

Sketch #1 of my Lighthouse Practice - The rocks were painted first and set my pallet.  I really enjoyed how the colours worked out in my rocks.   

There are several pictures that I use for reference over and over again as they offer special opportunities to focus on specific skills.  As a result I often end up painting and drawing the same picture several times.  

I can understand why VanGogh painted himself, over and over again.   

Some of my thoughts on my repeated  Lighthouse Paintings: 

1.  Each time I painted the lighthouse I noticed more things in the setting.  For example the different bushes under the tree.  At first I simplified them so much they weren't there.  Later I realized there were several different types.  It is surprising how you can study a place, paint it and yet never notice little things.  The pattern of the colours in the bushes,  different types of plants, the relationship between shapes, little things.  

2.  Change the lighting.  In Lighthouse Sketch #1, I accidentally added too much pink when painting the rocks.  The sketchbook paper did not allow for me to change things so I decided to go with it. It meant I had to include that colour in other areas.  All of a sudden I had a rosy sunset kind of picture.  It really intrigue me how that was created.  I know that I can take that idea into new work.

Sketch #2 of my Repeated Lighthouse Practice - Red as a dominate colour is not something I usually do.  However, I did like the way it worked into my rocks.  

3.  Changing the palette caused big changes in the picture.  In my original Plein Air painting the colours are cold.  There were really no warm tones and that might have been that it was an overcast day.  In my Lighthouse Sketch #2, I repeated the red from the lighthouse in my rocks. To me the rocks hold way more interest than my first one with just the blues and purples.  Maybe because I don't often use a lot of red.  I quite liked the results. 

4.  Try different layout/compositions.  This I found very interesting.  Each layout told a different story.  I found the landscape picture (Sketch #1) very pretty and interesting but the portrait pictures seemed more dynamic with their strong lines.  

Try a few small painting/drawings/sketches of one of your latest paintings.  See if there are new things your subject wants to tell you.  

Note to my Regular Readers:  

I know you are probably wondering how my Ring-necked Pheasants are coming along from my last post.  (Read here)  With all the Halloween Fun they are moving slowly. They're not done yet but I will certainly have something for you next post.  

Also

Inktober Tangles 2019 is over.  (Read more Here. ) I am not quite finished my 31 Tangles, I am on #27.  That has turned out to be an adventure of its own so I will report back to you on that as well next post.  

Looking to move your Drawing Skills to the Next Level?

Join me in November and December to Make Christmas Cards using Doodles and Candles.  See info below ↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓

Contact Me to Register ↓↓↓↓

Get Ready for Christmas!! with a Fun Way to Improve your Drawing Skills

This year's theme is Candles, Holly and Poinsettias - Samples of things you can do with them

Christmas Card Classes 

Saturday, Nov 16, 10-12pm. Art by Wendy's Studio, North Surrey

Wednesday, Dec 4, 1-3pm. Gardenworks at Mandeville, South Burnaby

Treat your Friends to a Special Christmas Greeting

All supplies Incld $40      Contact Wendy

OR

Book a 3 Pack of Private Lessons with Me - 3 Lessons 2.5 hr each $225
Drawing lessons in graphite, carbon, ink, watercolour, watercolour pencils or coloured pencils.
Based on your Schedule at my Studio, N. Surrey. 

My Etsy Store is always OPEN: Etsy - WendyMouldsArt

Originals, Prints, Commission Work and Instant Printable Cards for all Seasons available.

Be sure to like and share my posts to keep me coming into your box, 

You won't miss a single post if you Follow by Email or Like my Facebook Page.

Have a great Artful Day,

Wendy

Matching Colours to Values - Painting & Drawing Type

Have you ever decorated a Christmas tree with kids? Magical Moments!

THE FAMILY GATHERING - Coloured Inks - Nearly Finished

When our kids were very little we got the tree ready in the evening and enjoyed the joy and excitement as they added the decorations the next day.

 Then they got older.

No more surprises of a ready to decorate tree.  They wanted to help with everything. Right, you say,  as it should be.  But the first time didn’t work so well.  There was tears and frustration.   You see, there are moments in decorating that only 1 person can really do it- fitting the tree into the stand.  Putting on the lights. 

And the worst of it is, they must happen first . . . . when all the excitement is bubbling in the air.  Practical stuff, boring stuff. 

I realized what was happening, who wouldn’t, tears were falling because they ‘couldn’t touch the tree till dad was done’. Anyone could see things needed to change.  I quickly redirected. “Let’s make popcorn for the chains”. A bit corny now in this day and age, but it was kind of fun.  Making chains with popcorn and cranberries was fun and if you had lots of chains they looked kind of neat on the tree.  It became a family traditions for a few years. 

Starting a new drawing/painting is exciting. . . .

But of course there is some boring stuff to do first.  Karina, my student and I, wanted to do a bit more with our pens so we started a new project.  Of course we had a challenge: Limited pallet and using dark blue as our dark.  (The one colour in our limited set of pens we hadn’t used yet.  Read more starting here  . . .)

THE FAMILY GATHERING - Reference Picture

Our first task - match colour to our Values

Sounds analytic, eh?! But really isn’t that what you are doing  in your painting.  Picking your colours, deciding what colour you will paint your flower, tree, sky . . .  Considering the value of the colour, and the colours of your shadows?  Working with a limited pallet, as we were with our pens, really forced us to confront some boring stuff, before we started in. 

First we grouped our Values

Pitcher & Pears - I grouped the values into only 3 values

In my mind, everything falls into a value range.  For example check out this jug with the pears.  It can be broken down into 3 groups: white, black, mid tone.  The marks to make the value are solid black, black stripes and white space. 

Pitcher & Pears using only 3 values to complete 

“The Family Gathering” needed breaking down. . .

  

To meet our challenge, the dark was blue.  It was also the local colour for the log. This meant our sepia was the mid value and provided the local colour of the mushrooms and the green was the light value and local colour for the moss.  Transition points were lightened by mixing strokes with two colours and also spacing the lines.  Very analytic, I know, but what I needed to internalize before I began. 

I hate doing the boring stuff. . .

No, I didn’t make a careful chart as to everything I was thinking.  I know you probably expected that but really . . . Where’s the fun in that!?  I thought about how things should be then I jumped in . . . 

THE FAMILY GATHERING - Under construction - Getting a feel for my pens and the drawing

Well, I did proceed cautiously but I did jump.

Actually my official term is ‘felt my way into the drawing’.  I tested my colour system to see how it would work on a bit of the moss, the log and one little mushroom.  Probably shouldn’t have used the mushroom front and center but it really caught my eye. 

Once I was happy with my colour/value match things happened fast and furious.  Kind of like painting when you are totally in the flow. 

Detail of THE FAMILY GATHERING - note the hierarchy of the values and their colours within the drawing. 

Well for pen work it was fast and furious.  Once I knew how my pallet works with my subject I could relax and draw.  Sure there is tweaking and refining on the way but I have an overall plan in place.  The boring stuff.  Taking that time, you know, like putting the lights on the tree before the decorations rather than after, can make a big difference to pleasure and success. 

Am I the only one that analyzes things like this?  How do you attack this issue?  Starting a new project this week so moving away from my ink for a bit.  see you next week. 

Special Opportunities Coming Up:

Marketing Workshop - Let's Get Your Art Out There!! Sunday, Feb. 24, 2019 10-3pm with Wendy Mould, AFCA.  

Need a focus for your Marketing Strategy?  Unsure where to start, where to head next?  Marketing takes so much of your time away from the Studio, learn where to focus your energy and ways to maximize your time.  At the end of the day you will have plans and be ready for Action.  Cost $84 Working with Wildlife Artist Wendy Mould, AFCA bridges the gap between the Entrepreneur and the Artist in the Marketing World. Contact Wendy to Register. 

Just in Time for Christmas - My Dog & Cat Lover Christmas Cards  Instant Download Cards so you can Print and Give, right away.  Etsy - WendyMouldsArt

Max was very happy to see My Dog/Puppy Cards, of course he was my Inspiration!  Esty Store - $12 for the 3 Pack. 

Excited to share my Cat/Kitten Cards as instant digital downloads at my Esty Store - $12 for the 3 Pack.  

Artists reading this post also find the following valuable:

3 Ways to Turn Drawing Despair into Action here

Drawing a Seagull Part 1 and Part 2 Starting here
Playing with a Very Limited Palette here

 Be sure to like and share my posts.

You won't miss a single post if you Follow by Email or Like my Facebook Page.

Have a great Artful Day,

Wendy