It's been a good weekend even though the weather has not been as lovely as one would like. We were able to walk in the mornings, and after some weeks of not getting out, it felt good (even if a hip is protesting a little).
My latest sewing project is very close to completion so I took a break from it today. My plan was to get back to at least one of my oil paintings, but it turns out the UCONN women's basketball team (of which we are near rabid fans) had a televised game at 1:00 p.m.. So, instead of painting after lunch, I decided to get ready for the next watercolor painting.
First of all, my color choices will not be the same as they were for the dramatic sky painting so I knew I had to clean my palette of all the mixed colors I had saved. It wasn't a lengthy process as I wanted to keep the paints themselves. All I had to do was clean the mixing areas which was done by soaking that part of the palette, and then, once the mixed paints had loosened, I removed them and the water using paper towels.
Second, I thought it might be time to be more deliberate in planning the next painting which for the first time I will not be using my own photograph. D said he'd like a painting from Key West, and the only photos of mine that I really would enjoy tackling are more suitable for oil. I had a picture very similar to some of mine that looks like the sunsets we loved watching most days we were there. The only difference is in the vegetation in the photo which was not part of our view.
Anyway, I had already done a quick sketch so I decided, having cleaned my palette, to think about the colors I would need to use and what I might mix together to achieve a Key West sky. One of the things I want to do is choose more transparent paints where possible so I went to a source on-line that would help me with that information (and a whole lot more). It will take me quite a while to learn and retain everything, but I am content to settle for being able to find the on-line site again!
One I had tackled that, I also made a list of possible ways to achieve the specific colors I want to use. Which color should be added to which color in order to achieve the color of the sunset near the horizon? I wrote down several possibilities for several sections of the proposed painting.
Third, is there a specific emotion I'd like a viewer to feel when looking at the finished painting? If so, are my proposed colors going to elicit that emotion? Is there an idea or message I want to convey? If so, how can I get that across? Composition? specific items or figures in the painting? what about the time of day?
Whew! I wonder how many people care about all that, and whether or not I should. Certainly some of the above is worth considering, but since I am not a professional artist who is going to try to sell my work, will it matter? I believe my answer has to be to pay attention to what matters to me and to the few people who will see my work on a painting by painting basis.
I believe you are right. Consider what is important to you. You aren't really an artist unless you leave some of yourself in the project. Otherwise you are just copying someone else - or there will be no one's soul in the project!
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