An Artful Blog

I’m working on a painting of the Alamo.  Before I paint it however, I wanted to do a quick digital sketch, which means I used my awesome tablet and stylus to sketch it out in Photoshop.

Sketching in a digital format is sometimes quicker and less intimidating than sketching on paper. For one thing, mistakes are easily erased with a couple of keystrokes. The sketches are not meant to be any kind of finished product, but rather a way of doing an easy rough draft of the painting.

I find that doing a sketch before painting helps me work out a myriad of problems and questions before I ever get my brushes wet. Now when I go in to actually begin painting, I will have quicker success, which is always the goal. This looks a little primitive, but it is supposed to. I don’t have the pressure of producing something “great”, because after all, it’s just a first draft.

Viva el Alamo!

The choice of colors to use in a painting are endless.  In addition to composition, subject matter and size, the artist has to choose what colors will best convey the mood that he/she is trying to express to the viewer.

The color palette that I used in the painting above was earth tones, mostly muted, with nothing very bright, and nothing very dark.  The result (I hope) is one of a peaceful farm scene.

A contrasting option would be in the painting below.

Much brighter colors (mostly whites) tell a different story in this painting.

Two different moods – two different paintings.  The next time you look at paintings in a museum or in an art gallery, think about the color palette used and the story that the artist was trying to tell with those colors.

Painting abstract subjects is a fun exercise, even if you don’t think you like abstract painting.  I used to think that an abstract painting was paint thrown around on a canvas, with no apparent purpose or beauty.  Often we think that our dog could have painted that, and we move on.   I learned, however that abstract art takes many different forms.

This miniature painting is very small –  just about 1.5″ x 3″.

The definition is somewhat “abstract” (Sorry. I couldn’t help myself), but it can actually be quite representative of common subjects.  Abstract paintings run the entire gamut from looking like nothing recognizable to a subject that is just slightly distorted in some way.

I enjoy abstract painting because it allows me to be completely free and just paint, without worrying about whether it looks exactly like the subject or not.  Colors can be skewed (as in the orange lake), shapes can be distorted, and nobody can say that it would never look like that.

Abstract painting allows the artist to be free and experiment. It also allows the viewer to let their imagination run wild with options for what they actually see.

You may see a moon over mountains being reflected in a lake.  Or you might not…

I’ve been practicing people lately.  I don’t mean detailed, portrait-style people, (although I hope to at another time) I mean dreamy, watery, impressionistic people.

The funny thing is they are really just blobs for the head and a carrot underneath.  You see, the best way to paint or draw is to ignore the voice in your head that tries to label objects.  If we think “This is a person”, we get all knotted up trying to paint what our head says a person should look like.

Instead paint (or draw) shapes: this part is a blob; this part is shaped like a long triangle.  I am always amazed at how the strange shapes turn out looking like the object they are supposed to convey.

When I look at these shapes, I see mysterious women in bulky coats walking away from me.  What do you see?

I am elated to launch this art website.  It is a dream come true for me.  Creating and learning how to paint with watercolors has been a long process and the thought of sharing my art out to the general public is daunting, to say the least.

Some of the best advice I ever read was someone who said that a beginning artist must be prepared to throw away their first 100 paintings.  Sometimes I think that I maxed that out long ago, and I’m still throwing them away.  But I am happy that I can now keep many of them, sometimes even proudly displaying them on the wall in my art studio.

Watercolor painting is different from other painting mediums.  Many people try it and get frustrated, and eventually move on to other mediums like acrylic.  I’ve heard it said that watercolor “paints itself”.  It does certainly seem to have a mind of its own!

In spite of the challenges, I remain fascinated by watercolor paintings, the transparency, the layers of colors, and the loose, splashy style that is possible. It seems to express “me” better than anything else I have tried.  I hope and trust you love watercolors too, otherwise you probably would not be here.

Even after many years of painting, I still think of myself as a beginner. But I am making progress, and loving the journey.  Please join my newsletter list (found under “contact”) so you can get my posts directly.

From my ArtCasa to yours, welcome!