Not Every Week is a Winner

Last week I painted and painted; sadly I am unhappy with my results.

Last week I was determined to paint, particularly as I had been travelling and then sick, missing 2 weeks of my painting time. Early in the week I chose to paint landscapes from photographs. Having reviewed the catalog of works in a show that I aspire to be in (someday), I was determined to paint a water scene. I noted that 35% of works in the show depicted water scenes. So I scrolled through my photographs to find a scene I thought would be good to put into a show, in a similar vein of those I'd seen in the big show.

I also wanted a more simple photo reference. I found an ok reference but the left side was dark and obscured by trees. I made a design decision to have a left land mass, smaller but similar to the mass on the right of the water. I also made a design decision to have a high horizon line, I wanted the water to have a strong presence. What greatly appealed to me was the bright yellow fall grasses. Also, the sky in the photo reference was blue, but I wanted to add a contrast to all the green so I made it an orange pink.  I had a grand vision for this, I am not sure I executed the painting as well as I wanted to.

Last week I also painted two portraits from life, I was not happy with either result. In both cases my colors were strong, I love my color! But there has to be more than color in regard to a good portrait. One portrait featured bright green and pink and those colors together were fantastically appealing. But, I did not capture her face and shoulders, I had wanted this to be one that I could put in a show but it honestly is not my best work. The other portrait had lots of orange color (background and flowers) which also was appealing. I could not get the eyes right and the hair which was pulled into a braid does not look right. Perhaps I need to take my photo references and work on these, or I can call it and these two works can go in the trash. I do not want to show either work here, no thank you! Both portraits remain in a TBD pile--I may or may not work on them.

The good from last week is that I did get in the painting time that I wanted. But, wow, I am disappointed in my results. I have got to be more focused and really get back to where I want to be as an artist. Perhaps this week I will be better!

Time to think About Goals

My BIG 2018 goal was to "paint more!" 

Me & Marilyn, Art Inst. Chicago

2018 Art Goals that were completed:

• Paint more! 
• Update my blog 2x per month
• Update my website 2x per month
• Stay on top of my art inventory

Paint More!
This was achieved through  painting quick studies each day for a month (started in Jan), painting Richard Schmid's color charts, continuing to paint portraits each week (2x) at the studio plus attending extra sessions. Plus painting en plein air and painting in 4 plein air paint outs. I tried to paint more at home when I could but I definitely fought distractions, I totally see the value of an out of home studio<<<A Girl can dream!

Lessons Learned
So what have I learned this year?

Paint outs are quite a lot of work, much time and much attention is required and all are organized differently. I enjoy the paint outs that are closer to home, it is easier to be organized when you get to sleep in your own bed at night. Many works don't sell, but the experience is important.

Richard Schmid's color charts are a time consuming value add. Each chart that I created took a time consuming three plus hours to paint. The color mixing really helped me, I am a faster color mixer and I learned more about what I can do with my palette. I am an 11 color palette artist now. Week to week I only need these 11 colors.

Researching and joining a national organization for your art is valuable and beneficial. I joined the The AIS (American Impressionist Society). I really like the organization, the way the organization is run, the AIS artists and the member benefits.

As always, I want to be more organized and have a better painting schedule. I am terrible at having a daily art schedule, I am an organized person but I struggle with this--so tracking my art continues to be a goal. I did get a great suggestion from a mentor on this one, she said to keep a journal at my easel and track my time, yep this is going on 2019 goals.