10 Thoughts to Keep You Motivated
1. The art studio should be like a dining area after a feast. Cleaned and straightened up. Essentials still there but looking ready for the next big “festival of art.”
2. Don’t take a mental artistic problem to bed. Let it go and come to it fresh the next day. Most of the time, next day, we’re ready to resolve. 3. Dump envy and jealousy. It doesn’t work. The only person we want to be better than is ourselves. That’s why each of us is quite unique. We develop what’s within us...aching to get out. With all the artists I’ve known, we have been truly happy with each other’s successes.
4. I may be treading on semi-sacred territory here but: Artists just wanna have fun. Right?! I discovered that from age 7 on. The serious gloom we see in photographs of well-known artists is for publicity. When the photographer leaves the room there are yelps of laughter and joy.
5. Think unequal. A painting shouldn’t be equally warm and cool. Look at some of French Impressionist landscapes at the dominant cool areas. A painting should not be equal in light and dark tones. Look at a Rembrandt portrait where is it mostly dark with small areas of light.
6. We need to keep each “stage” of our work right and not think we’ll fix later. Problems left alone will cause other problems. Art’s like building a bridge: correct immediately.
7. I’ll keep bringing this up: Please think overall design. Every artist and colleague I’ve talked with about art say the same thing: No matter how well the artist can draw, design makes a Major Artistic Difference. 8. Experience tells us when too much fussing in a painting takes away parts of our interpretations. Yes, near the end of a work, we might see that this needs fixing and that needs to be taken out. I found through years in the studio, I know when to say “That’s it!” The work visually says what I’m after. Also we must realize that there are many people out there who are with us and appreciate what we put into a piece and what we decide to leave out. In art, thank goodness, there’s no such thing as perfect. Something to keep in mind. 9. Once in a while get a photo with high contrast light and dark shapes. Then draw those marvelous shapes as they work with one another. When I do this I almost get giddy with delight. 10. Don’t overdo highlights...they’re precious spots. Don’t overdo reflected lights...they’re subtle tonal gifts.