• Special message: Join us Sunday, November 19 at 2 PM Eastern for our monthly YouTube LIVE CHAT! We will be talking about how to control emphasis in your painting. Do you know the difference between formula painting and painting from observation? Richard Schmid "Roses of Light" Painted from Observation Formula painting requires that you memorize a specific brushstrokes for forming specific images and adhere to it. It assumes that once you've mastered the formula, you'll do beautiful work thereafter. So, if you want
to learn to paint roses, you can master a formula for "how to paint roses", then paint zillions of roses that will awe your viewers--for as long as you want to paint that particular rose in that environment under that lighting, you're good to go. PAINTING FROM OBSERVATION Observational painting requires that you learn how to look. It acknowledges that the same rose might look different in fog than in morning light, or in late afternoon light or even in snow. It
takes into account that the shapes will change when your viewing position changes. When you learn to paint by observation or formula, you communicate rose, but observation guides you to communicate the life in the rose as you see it in that moment and from that point of view in that unique environment. And you do
all of this unintentionally just because you're focusing on something other than the rose while observing: You are focusing on the characteristics that create what you are looking at--shape, value, color, texture, size, line, as well as gradation, contrast, movement and so on. FORMULA PAINTING MIGHT HAVE ONE BENEFIT If you are able to take the skills from a formula, forget the formula altogether, but use the brush skills to interpret your observation, then that formula has served you well. But if you get locked
into the formula, you might get rave reviews on Facebook, but you'll miss out on the thrill of discovering and expressing the unlimited diversity nature offers. Oh, and you just might get notice from the broader art world, not just your followers on Facebook. There's a thought... Enjoy an enlightening weekend!
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Happy Painting,
Dianne
dianne@diannemize.com
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During my Language of Painting series, I explained the role of our visual elements. If you'd like to review those roles to better understand the behavior of elements, here are the links to each of those
discussions: Color --Value -- Shape -- Texture -- Size -- Line and Direction
You can access the archive of all my newsletters (as well as the Quick Tips and other stuff) at any time by going HERE.
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