Keep on Painting

Original Art by an Original Artist

What's new in the art world?

I'm getting ready to start on the Outlaw Ballplayers project. As soon as I locate some canvas big enough to paint life-size men in baseball uniforms, I'll get started. The first one will be "Alabama" Pitts. The whole story is told at www.outlawbaseball.wordpress.com

I am a huge fan of learning the fundamentals of art if you are a realist painter and even if you are not. You don't have to always follow the rules but it helps to know what they are. That way you have more command of your paintings, allowing for happy surprises of course, and ending up with a more exciting and more interesting result. Next week I'll spend some time on how to plan a painting before you start.

I thought of few more painting tips. Did you find a new project from last week's suggestions or do you have one still in progress?

Here are a few methods I use if I get stalled and don't know what to do next. So, here I am standing in front of a painting with a wet paint brush in hand and a puzzled look on my face. Ok, now what? Sometimes if I stand there long enough something will occur to me. Other times, if I work on another area of the painting while I give my brain a break, I can go back to the area that was giving me fits and see what to do with it.

Often your eyes and brain just need a break. Turn the painting to the wall and work on something else. I like to keep several paintings going at the same time for that reason.

Also, it may help to think back to the original intent of the painting. Is it a technical problem or have you lost sight of the purpose of the painting?

Looking at your painting in a mirror big enough to see the whole thing at once will show you with lightning speed where composition or proportion is out of whack. This works great for portraits.

The most important thing,
keep painting,
yea art,
Diane Overcash