Backed Into A Corner

We talked about ellipses and shadows in Thursday night’s class. We also did the one stroke per color exercise. This exercise also has the added benefit of making you plan / think about your paint strokes.

Here is my painting from class.

Yesterday, I took additional time to do a better set-up. I painted a folder a medium dark color on two sides and positioned the light for some distinct and different types of shadows. I started out with one stroke per color, but abandoned that, although I did focus and plan the paint strokes in the mug. It feels like the combination of last week’s and this week’s exercises have unlocked something.

#210 - Backed Into A Corner - 6" x 6" - hard board

I am feeling inspired. When I’m operating solo, I try to mix things up, stretch myself, and keep the bad habits away. Overall, I do okay. I like experiential learning, but at some point something is missing. What’s missing are other people and seeing what they are doing. I like seeing the subject matter choices of my classmates, the composition decisions they make, the colors they mix, what they do with backgrounds, and so on. That’s just the visual stuff. I also like hearing what they have to say about their own work and what they have to say about everyone else’s work. Finally, it gives me a better context for understanding the feedback and other information that Kat provides.

At the same time, I am getting more comfortable with simple still life paintings. It really is a different thing than painting from photos and when I’m on my own, I get lazy and just work from photos. There are more colors and nuances in life.