13 PAINT YOUR space

For our final challenge, try painting an interior that says something about you, says Steve Pill

THE BENEFITS

Painting your bedroom or studio is a great way to improve your observational skills, while also focusing on compositional elements and deciding what to leave in – and leave out.

THE PROCESS

Choose a room that reflects your personality – it might be your bedroom, your studio, or another space that you have comfortably made your own. Find an interesting angle, one that does not reflect your usual view of the room – if you normally sit in one corner, set up in the other. You need a fresh perspective on a familiar place.

As you begin to make the painting, consider which elements in the room best reflect your personality. Exaggerate those with more detail, while leaving out those that do not fit your brief. Think of this not as a painting of an interior, but a selfportrait with no one in it. Try choosing a colour palette that is not accurate to life, but rather reflects your mood. Vincent van Gogh painted his bedroom in Arles at least three times and of this second version he said, “I had wished to express utter repose with all these very different tones”. What might your colours express? www.steve-pill.co.uk