LET GO
Really tried to explore the relationship between, collage, line and paint with this one. Adding the drips both abstracted the image a bit and created an usual juxtaposition with the other elements. 11”x 8”, acrylic, collage and pencil on wood. © 2019 David Limrite
“My pictures are wiser than I am.”
Gerhard Richter, Artist
Let Go
I struggle with my paintings sometimes. Oh, let me be honest. I struggle with my work all the time. However, struggle is part of the process of creating. And, I love every minute of it. Out of struggle comes something learned. Always.
When I am struggling to “birth” a painting, it is often because I have high expectations for its outcome. Of course I want the painting to come out well, and I want to love it when its finished. Whenever I have heaped high expectations on a painting, they are often unrealistically high. And the painting is doomed from the start. It is as if I demand too many amazing things from this painting. Like, maybe I have too many goals and expectations.
It is only after I let go of these high expectations, and let the painting breathe and become what it wants to become, that I am able to then collaborate and participate in the creation of the piece.
High expectations and too many goals for an excellent end product is where the struggle exists for me. So instead, I try and shift my high expectations toward how amazing the process and the actual creation of the painting will be. This relaxes me and takes the pressure off having to have an excellent finished painting. Struggle rarely rears its ugly head when I approach a painting this way. And, the end product is usually way better without the unreasonably high expectations.
The making, the doing and the time spent are where the real magic happens.
Best,
David
Figure painting done during Santa Monica Workshop
© 2019 Cynthia Ford
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Explore contemporary figure drawing, painting and mixed media using graphite, charcoal, pastel, acrylic, and collage. Experiment with different approaches for developing the human form such as realism, expressionism and abstraction. Emphasis is placed on observation, structure, line quality, volume, composition, technique, experimentation, and originality. Discussions, art historical examples, and demonstration are all a part of the curriculum.
Working from a model, students are asked to balance risk-taking and exploration with things that they already know how to do well in addition to... +CLICK FOR MORE