“Change is not made without inconvenience, even from worse to better.” Richard Hooker, English Theologian (1554-1600)
Sorry, it’s been a while since my last post. Besides trying to improve my watercolor skills, I’ve been going through my paintings sorting and analyzing. This is something I recommend for all artists to do from time to time. It helps you to see your progress as an artist and keeps you on track for your chosen style and technique. I was able to weed out paintings that were not so good. Also, I found some that I liked the subject, but thought I could change something about the painting. Then I proceeded to re-do the piece.
Here is an example. I used this photograph as a reference for both paintings I did. For the first painting I did about a year ago, I copied the composition just as the photograph shows. I included all the fence, trees, flowers, etc. But on the new painting, I changed the top area, eliminating the big tree in the center and I added some mountains and sky. On the bottom right, I emphasized the pattern of shadows. Unfortunately, I tossed the first painting so I don’t have an example of it, but I have included a photo of the final painting I did about a month ago.
Everything was painted a little looser on the blossoms and the patterns on the jar. I de-emphsized details on the right hand tree letting it appear in the background. Grasses were added with a sponge dipped in paint. I used some texture on the rocks in the mid-ground.
I hope you like this painting and enjoyed the post, On the next posting, I will include another painting I’ve revised. On that painting I will include photos of both paintings. Remember, it is sometimes difficult to be honest about our ‘precious’ creations. But in the long run if we analyze and see good changes that could be done to improve our skills, we will make progress as an artist.
