Did you ever think about the word “work” that is contained in the word “Artwork?” It’s there for a reason. Considerable time and effort go into creating a work of art.
I’m a firm believer in practice and study and I am always doing exercises to sharpen my skills.
For many years I attended live model sessions put on by Yosemite Sierra Artists. These sessions lasted 3 hours and when I first started, I could barely get a rough sketch completed! I took reference photos so I could finish at home but I quickly became frustrated that not only could I not get a solid start during the 3-hour session, I couldn’t get them done during the week between sessions. Soon I had tons of unfinished paintings piling up.
That much unfinished business totally stressed me out. So as a way to improve, I set myself a goal of creating fifty, 5-minute sketches to help me get ideas down fast.
I got permission to use my Facebook friends’ profile pictures and went to town. These studies really helped me to get down to basic details and when I went back to the portrait group, I was able to get a solid first statement done during the 3-hour session.
Do I finish a painting in one session? No. Do I even finish one in a week? Rarely. But I dramatically improved my skills and confidence and these quick studies helped me to become more painterly.
Bottom line, if you want to improve, ya gotta do the work.
What kind of work are you doing with your art? Drop me a line and let me know.
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I’ll see you next time.