Problem: I'm inspired to paint, but what the heck should I paint?
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| Could I get a painting out of this sweet scene? |
Don’t
you find the work of accomplished artists amazing and inspiring? And more than
a bit mysterious in terms of how they arrive at the compositions they do? Often
their subjects and arrangements seem so effortless, so simple – yet these
“simple” arrangements produce quite a powerful emotional response us. We soon realize
that what looks so easy is pretty darn tough to pull off when we try to do it
ourselves.
Figuring
out what to paint takes a lot of
study and hard work. This includes: a huge dose of trial and error, copying
other successful works (switching out particulars), sketching and re-sketching ideas,
snapping countless pictures of possible scenes with a camera and altering with
photoshop and did I mention trial and error? Sorry, you thought “what to
paint” was the easy, fun part. Actually, creating good compositions takes as
much study as any other aspect. And yet, it is rare that an instructor will take the time to
discuss this crucial aspect of painting. Curious.
Most
of you are beginners at painting, so it may be a good idea to keep it extremely
simple while you’re tackling all the other aspects of the craft. Consider some
of the following ideas to paint when you’re a newbie to oil painting. As your
skill grows, your compositions can evolve into more challenging and complex
arrangements (while making it all look effortless, of course). But for the time
being, let’s choose subjects that will lead to success & confidence.
Some Ideas:
The Daily
Painters list a daily challenge (http://www.dailypaintworks.com/challenges) I love this site. I find it
extremely helpful for ideas and examples of easy set ups that are fun and
something a newbie can tackle. I especially appreciate reviewing the
submissions of painters who take on the challenges. It’s great to see the
variety of approaches to the subject matter presented.
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| Dog Portraits: An unexpected paint pleasure |
Paint
something you thought you had no interest in. I was recently commissioned
to paint a dog portrait, which I thought was the last thing in the world that
would interest me. Until I did it, that is! I am all about pet portraits now.I’m approaching neighborhood
veterinarians as we speak to see if I can put some advertisements in their
offices. After experiencing the surprising pleasure from the dog portrait, I
wondered what other ho-hum subjects could end up being rewarding (given the
right lighting & narrative)?
Copy a
painting you really love. Pick a painting you usually wouldn’t attempt.
Dedicate at least a day each month to do a copying exercise. You shouldn’t
labor over these exercises…several hours is plenty.
Create a
Series of Small Works.
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| Penny Candy, 4 x 6 |
-Fruit – Grapes, a single pear or
apple, or how about a whole row of apples of various sizes and colors? Paint your
chosen fruit from different vantage points (looking down at the fruit, straight
on). Experiment with different lighting angles, various colors & patterns
in the backgrounds. Consider paring items that send a secret message. A gummy
worm on top of a book…scissors on top of a rock on top of a wrinkled piece of
paper…
- Dishes – especially if they have
special meaning to you; I love painting my grandmother’s teacups. A coffee cup
with a bit of newspaper showing in the background creates a whole narrative. Paint
the steam…include an antique spoon.
- Sea Shells – just beautiful, and full
of beautiful highlights.
-Candy – especially the
translucent type.
-Paint what you think is too hard – this is actually a
must. You just can’t avoid
drapery, elipses, hands, feet, ears. Do a small 4 x 6 of just a hand to get the
practice.
-Stacks of things: when stacking, make sure there’s interest to the stacking,
off set them in other words.
Some things to stack:
Cups
Old
Books
Bowls
-Sports Related Objects:
baseballs
tennis balls
baseball mitt
ice skates
pool balls (the color combos are endless, no pun
intended)
-Antique
Anything
Toys
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| Would it be fun to paint reflections? |
Containers
Sports Equipment
Kitchen Equipment
Typewriters
Phones
Tea Kettles
Tools
Hats
Food
Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwich
Cookies with Milk
Hot Dogs
Decorated cupcakes
Honey in its cute squirt bottle
Jam in its pretty jar
LATER
COMPOSITION IDEAS
Urban Landscapes…
People in casual setting…playing cards, drinking
coffee, at a jazz club
People in motion: walking dogs..window shopping…diving
in a pool…
zipping up a coat.
Landscapes
And when all
else fails, I always refer to What Do The
Masters Do?
And what do the masters do? They take (steal,
borrow, embellish) from the works of others.
Yup, if you study the work of current masters, I
guarantee a lot of their compositions are borrowed from earlier masters. They change things up a bit, but there’s
no mistaking that they’ve taken their inspiration from a tried & true
composition plan. You learn so much from “borrowing” – knowledge that you’ll
apply to completely different scenes.
Again, if the masters do it, shouldn’t we newbies?
