Tuesday, October 26, 2010

On the Ropes daisy painting still life

On the Ropes   Oil on wood  6" x 8"
Click image to see bigger.
Linus Pauling said "The best way to have a good idea is to have lots of ideas."  The same goes for painting.  If you want to make a good painting, make lots of paintings!  The book Art & Fear by David Bayles & Ted Orland talks about that too:  A ceramics teacher suggests that one half of the class will be graded based on "quantity" and the other on "quality."  At the end of the semester, the students who were to be graded per pound had made many quality pieces.  The students assigned to "quality" spent too much time theorizing about perfection and had "little more to show for their efforts than grandiose theories and a pile of dead clay."  I love that!  When my paintings aren't nearly as good as I intended, I try to move on quickly and not FRET.  In this sort of situation, more really is better.

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7 comments:

  1. DebbieOctober 26, 2010 at 9:35 PM

    Great positive advise, Diane! Thanks for passing it along,

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  2. Pat WashingtonOctober 27, 2010 at 8:09 AM

    This is just what I needed to hear today....

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  3. Elaine HurstOctober 27, 2010 at 9:28 AM

    You are so right. The more you do, the better you get. I also loved the book "Art and Fear". This is a lovely painting.

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  4. Carrie Waller WatercolorsOctober 27, 2010 at 11:27 AM

    Love the advice, and I can attest that painting almost daily, has really been doing wonders for my technique. I made a commitment as a New Year's resolution and am still plugging away. I have learned so much about myself and it feels good to be producing, the good and the bad:) Your post is very motivational:) Love your painting also. The rich background really makes your daisies pop:)

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  5. Diane HoeptnerOctober 27, 2010 at 11:59 AM

    Hey Debbie, Pat, Elaine and Carrie! I had a feeling this post would hit home with my fellow artists (writer!) When you are in the trenches, it's so easy to get side tracked, especially when less than thrilled with the quality you are producing. Thanks so much for commenting. Paint on, err, Pat you just write and/or go out and take some more brilliant pictures.

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  6. Marie TheronOctober 27, 2010 at 1:56 PM

    Mmmm, worth pondering. I tend to over-refine and over-illustrate so yes, I may be doing a bit of quantity and faster painting!

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  7. Sandy MastroniOctober 27, 2010 at 2:12 PM

    some people think we play all day , but it can be hard work sometimes .... so I agree with you ,we just KEEP creating
    This IS a lovely painting
    Thanks Diane

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