TODAY FOR TOMORROW
I have been keeping journals right next to where I work for years. They are filled with ideas (I get my best ideas while I am working), as well as, thoughts, quotes, techniques, processes, and specifically, the order of how I do things during the making of a piece. Which, if successful, I can take with me to the next painting. © 2020 David Limrite
“I have always tried to hide my own efforts and wanted my work to have the lightness and joyousness of a springtime which never lets anyone suspect the labors it has cost.”
Henri Matisse, Artist
Today For Tomorrow
Everything you do today has the opportunity to impact the work you do tomorrow.
If I am approaching my art making as an opportunity to learn, then no matter what I do to a painting, it always influences the making of the next painting.
It could be a color mixture, a layering technique, or a new way to apply paint. For me, what I most often learn and is the most valuable to me, is the order in which I do the things that result in the finished piece.
From the pages of one of my journals, as an example:
1. Collage
2. Coat with clear gesso.
3. Sketch the figure.
4. Spray fix the drawing.
5. Apply acrylic washes (light to dark).
6. Scrub off some of the paint to create texture.
7. Re-draw parts of the figure.
8. Apply opaque paint (dark to light).
I keep a journal right next to where I work so I can jot down the different steps that I try and the order that I try them in. I am forever adjusting and tweaking these steps with each successive painting.
It helps that I approach each painting with the mindset of, “What will I learn today?”
Inevitably, what I learn today will influence what I do tomorrow.
Best,
David