The art of not giving up

 Pick Eyes Cove - SOLD

24" x 36"  oil on canvas

Available direct from the artist

Every drawing or painting is created using a process that starts with the basic shapes and transitions through progressively more complex layers until completion.  There is no magic solution that speeds up the process.  Buying the paint brands or tools that a successful artist uses won't speed up the process.  Reading how to books or watching endless DVDs on technique won't speed up the process.   It takes time, patience and lots of practice.

 

During that transition between stages, its difficult to keep the vision in your head for the original outcome and the frustration of how long it takes or how difficult it becomes can overpower the artist and they give up long before the turning point is reached that brings the painting to completion.

Details become more interesting than the hard work of background, colour and value.  Wanting to see the finished product becomes more enticing than working your way through the weeds.

"Its about the journey, not the destination." is true as you learn so much along the way.  Persistence and patiences are key.  Allowing yourself to make mistakes and understanding how to fix them, and knowing that it IS a process that is not quick, but that will end up at the destination if you allow it sufficient time.

February Sketch Challenge

I started a February Sketch Challenge to encourage others to kick start their sketching and drawing skills.  As an art teacher, I would say that the biggest challenge my students have is their limited ability to draw. (the other is colour theory) People jump into painting without having a good skeleton for the piece and spend time and effort trying to correct in on the canvas, often ending up frustrated.

 

The challenge is to draw something every day during February.  All levels of expertise are welcome and its a private Facebook group that keeps out trolls and negativity or turn it into a brag fest for proficient artists.  Its not too late to join and whether you sketch once a day or once a week, every sketch counts on the journey to become skilled in observing and drawing.

Visit the group and send a request to join.  We'd love to see you there.