One thing that often perplexes emerging artists is the notion that certain rules must be obeyed. Sadly, this declaration by too many instructors causes undue stress and robs us of the joy of
creating. Yes, there are some cause/effects in painting, but these are nothing to get our knickers in a wad about.
Begin here: What happens if you drop your keys? They fall downward. That is how gravity works. It's a principle that
we learn early in life and one we learn to use to our advantage. Here's another: What has to happen for two kids of different weights to successfully ride a seesaw? Okay, I don't have to answer that one for you: you know it--the lighter weight kid needs more seesaw length. That's how the principle of balance works. Balance works because of gravity.
Balance and gravity working VISUALLY in this Normal Rockwell illustration, Swinging
WHAT DO SEESAWS and SWINGING HAVE TO DO WITH PAINTING?
Gravity and balance don't function by rules, but by principles. A principle is a workhorse. It does stuff for us when we use it.
And that's how it goes with painting. We learn the how-to one step at a time, we practice each step until we get it working for us, then we add to it. We don't need to memorize endless rules. And we don't have to learn all the steps at one time. It's a process, and a lovely one, too!
A few clips from the sequential progression of Perpetual Lunch by Dianne
Mize
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