-
Making time
It’s been pretty busy lately with some personal items as well as having taken a tumble into the streets of Toronto (literally that is – I fell off a sidewalk! Fortunately 4 people came to save me from a busy street and helped me pick up my things). I think it takes dedication and time…
-
Using paints
My class last week had gone over the very basics of painting with watercolours and materials. I felt I learned a few things though hope the next classes will be more advanced. For instance, the teacher recommended that we do not put the tube paints into slots and let them dry out but rather to…
-
Planning
Lately I have been discovering that making small black and white sketches in marker before the sketch actually helps the final sketch. It’s actually super fun to do and I learn a lot from the process. Things like the composition come up and I realize where the tricky parts are for perspective. I also get…
-
Searching for references
While on holiday I am looking for references for my next paintings. There’s a lot to see and my mind is always thinking about composition and interesting shapes. I’m also getting feedback from family members abroad which is great. I’ve just learned of Capcut so I’ve realized I can use different video editing software than…
-
Resting the mind
After a flurry of excitement as I am working on many paintings (big news coming up soon!), I realize there’s actually a limit to constantly working on creative work. While it is fun to paint, I also realize it’s exhausting to constantly draw and paint. I am trying to aim for at least one completed…
-
Works in progress
I’m still working on my room painting but am very pleased with how it is coming out. It’s based on a photo I took in Prince Edward Island at the Anne of Green Gables exhibit (presumably Matthew’s room). I had to switch colours mid way through but perhaps that’s fine. I realized I needed to…
-
An attempt
I tried to paint the sketch of a room I wrote about last week but the colours don’t work together. It’s hard to not be critical of one’s own work. I imagine a bald man with round glasses peering down at me, telling me (and others around him) that everyone must avert their gaze to…
-
Perfectionism
I’m now reading “Bird by Bird” by Anne Lamott, a book about creative writing.* The chapter on Perfectionism was a great one. I liked the way it described perfectionism as “the obsessive belief that if you run carefully enough, hitting each stepping-stone just right, you won’t have to die”. I also liked the analogy that…
-
Learning about Grass
I was reading a bargain book I once picked up of the Practical Encyclopedia of Watercolour and came across a painting I liked. The painting itself was to demonstrate perspective though it caught my eye for other reasons. I wanted to see if I could make grass like that painting. Many artists study others by…
-
Motivation
It is sometimes hard after a long day to find the motivation to keep going. I have found though that I think back to that Neil Gaiman university speech where he repeats his message, “Make Good Art”, to make it on the good days, make it on the bad days, and to just keep on…
