(Official 2014 Resolutions come later.)
I need a fake clock somewhere on my blog where I can keep track of how many hours I spend drawing or painting. Today I would have logged 4-5.
A few things I learned right off the bat:
I should draw between drying layers. It helps distract me for a moment, and it gets me drawing.
New mediums: My matte medium is giving me trouble but I think it’s me more than it. However, that regular gel medium is half dried and apparently I ran out of light molding paste and never restocked. Time to hit up the art store. I’m trying to add more texture to my portraits, but it’s no good adding texture when all of your texturing tools are stale.
I need tiny bottles of the golden fluids I use regularly. They are easier to control.
It’s time to review the collage techniques of Ann Baldwin. We filmed her two excellent DVDs at Creative Catalyst and between her and collage artist Jacqueline Sullivan, I’ve learned a ton about mediums. I love Baldwin’s books, but texture is a single chapter. In her DVD she goes into it much more fully.
I’m currently working on three paintings, and in all of them I’m getting to that place where I’m probably like a third done but I’m feeling precious over the progress up to this point. The walls of my studio are filled with such paintings. But you can’t get better at painting until you push past that point. So here is the painting where I pushed past.
I still have more I should try. For example I need to go back in and add more shadows and especially the super dark places of the eye corners and lip corners.
But I think I feel good leaving it here tonight.
Jan 2, 2014, 4:18pm