• Special Message -Thanksgiving weekend is one of slowing down from Americans' day of stuffing ourselves and getting ready to speed up for the busiest month of the year. It's a good time to revisit the question of creativity. What does it mean to be creative? Whenever you have made something that has not yet existed, you have created. There is a mistaken idea that for a work of art to be creative, it must be far out, allusive, mind-blowing, beyond comprehension. Don't be misled by these
grandiose ideas of creativity. Keep in mind that when you create an art work, that piece was done by you--YOU, an individual on this earth, unique in that YOU are YOU. And if YOU did it, then it hasn't been done before. Whether it's a painting of a barn or the
planet Uranus, if it has not been done by your hand, guided by your muse, your point of view, your voice, then when YOU paint it, it is a new creation. Too often, though, your muse and/or point of view might be missing because you feel that you lack either the skill or the self confidence to go beyond what feels comfortable. This might cause us to try to copy someone else's viewpoint or
retreat to tiny brushes and dabbing brushstrokes. With that specifically in mind, there are fun exercises that can stimulate our creative juices and often give us new ideas about how WE go about expressing ourselves visually with confidence. HERE'S A FUN EXERCISE I ENJOY 1. Begin with a simple subject. Here's the one I'll be playing with-- a photo I took out of my kitchen window on a cold, snowy
day. 2. To get started, do a quick sketch of your subject. Keep is small--6x6 inches works well for the exercise. Here's mine. (For this exercise, I'm working on my Wacom tablet connected to my laptop.) 3. Select a brush at least 1/2 inch wide at the tip, larger is better. Using only this brush and whatever colors you choose, do a study of your subject using just 12 brushstrokes. (A brushstroke is defined as from the time the brush hits
the surface until the time it leaves the surface.) Keep a record of your strokes so you don't loose track of your count. Still working on my Wacom, here's one of mine done on the computer, one stroke at a time. Helpful Hint: Start with the darkest darks and build to the lightest lights. ► By continuing to move the brush forward while you maximize its coverage without picking it up, you begin to use it as a tool rather than just a paint applicator. ► Once the brush starts feeling like a tool for shaping, you will gain move confidence using it. ► As you get more confident using the brush as a tool, your muse and point of view will surface and become active participants in your painting. You will be
creating! The more often you do this exercise, the more confident you will become in your painting. Enjoy your Thanksgiving weekend--USA and All the Rest of the World!
|
Happy Painting,
Dianne
dianne@diannemize.com
|
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.
|
