What Will I Have to Show for Months of Shelter in Place?

So, reader, let's jump right in. It's week six (or so) of California's shelter in place for Covid-19 and after much thinking, journaling, dabbling, I've decided once and for all I want to "figure out" this art stuff or quit. Well, maybe not quit, but at least decide not to be a "real" artist and instead just play. The problem is, it's not in my nature to just play.

Composition #1. My drawing skills are rusty,
to say the least.

Here's the plan I've been using for years, which really hasn't been working: order more books, watch more videos, buy more online classes, take more in-person classes, try this method and that method, get confused, go insane; repeat. But with all this time on my hands and no outside distractions, I've had a chance to ponder, what do all these other artists I admire have in common? I've decided it's a dedication, a plan, a method of self-study. So I've borrowed from a few of my heroes, and I've created my own plan. I'm going to do a "composition a day" (thanks Ian Roberts), then I'm going to paint a daily small painting (thanks Bob Burridge and Carol Marine), and I'm going to write about it here. For my own sanity.

What do I hope to accomplish? A joy for painting/making art (which right now, honestly, is just not there). An understanding of what medium (media?) is right for me. (Watercolors are on my s--t list right now, and I'm dabbling in acrylics, but three years ago it was dabbling in oils when I was mad at watercolors, and then pastels are on my mind, which I've bought but never really tried, and don't forget collage, UGH, can you say mixed media? I'd like to be accomplished with at least one, first, before trying to combine them all.) And finally, a painting (or many) that makes me happy, that I'm proud of, that I feel came from me and not from someone else's influence, a painting that I look at and think, "I created that, and I like it, and I'm proud of myself." This last one is tough; I'm a hard person to please.

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Back on Track with My Value Studies

Value studies #14, #15, #16. I thought I was getting better, but then I realized they really don't look like anything. Oh no. Took a little break there. Not a good one. Prescription drug-related side effects. But I've got the issues worked out (I hope) and I'm back to work on my year of value studies. (I'm also rereading " Coaching the Artist Within ," by Eric Maisel, which is a GREAT book to use to tame the inner critic so that you/I can get back to making art.) A few days ago I watched a great promo teaching video from the Tucson Art Academy Online on value. Afterwards, I created three value studies from vacation photos. Studies #14 and #15 are from the same photo, but they don't read as masses that make up an interesting scene. Study #16 reads as three distinct value masses, but you really don't know what it is (a canyon in Zion). I'll need to think about these some more. Barn near Holdener Park, Livermore, CA Meanwhile, I reread ...

Value Epiphany!

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Down the Value Study Rabbit Hole

What's the best way to create a value study for me? I'm trying to figure that out. And how to paint from it once I've done it? I'm trying to figure that out, too. Been re-reading Ian Roberts' Mastering Composition . Have re-dedicated myself to working on a value composition a day (my original goal). He promises that a year of these daily compositions will make a HUGE difference in my art. Even with the few I've done, I'm seeing improvement and I'm asking a lot more questions, which I think means I'm on the right track for me right now. Overall, I've done five value studies of the rose, and it's getting tedious. But each one had me asking another question, so I continued on. It was a great exercise, trying different methods. I should have done one last one, a pencil sketch, but I've run out of steam. What's interesting, though, is that they all look similar yet different. Referring to the quad image at right, the simplest studies (3 ...

Becoming an Artist

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