My version of quiet pond. I did this one at a point where I had been trying to make up paintings on my own and had grown tired of the internal struggle, so I set out to follow Bob line for line in an attempt to take some weight off my shoulders. I ended up making some changes with the foreground. I'm pretty happy with the way this one turned out.
Comments
Thank you for the insightful comment! :D When it comes to creating original pieces, I struggle mostly with the foreground. Color choice, composition, and placement are hard for me. I wish I had an undo button so I could try various things until it looks right. I'm still learning what makes something 'look right' within the piece as a whole.
I honestly think we, as amateur painters, put too much emphasis on the composition elements. #1...Have fun. #2...Paint what you enjoy painting. #3...With practice, we get better and better. Doesn't mean we won't make mud every now and then. But we'll be moving in the right direction. After all, as I said, we're amateurs. 🙂
agreed. But it seems like no matter how hard I try to relax and not take it seriously, I just can't. I guess I've always been a perfectionist...even though nothing is ever perfect. I struggle with getting into my own head, and I just want everything to be a masterpiece. I got in to this hobby to experience the asmr of working with paint on canvas, but it's morphed into an obsession for making beautiful art. I hope to one day get there. In the mean time, hopefully I'll learn how to let go and just play, as Bob often said.
Best thing I can say is the more you paint, the more experience you get and the more confidence you get. With confidence, you start to relax while you paint. My last painting, I literally dropped in the sky and mountain in 10 or 15 minutes. Normally, that would have taken me 30-plus minutes to do...maybe an hour. Now, I have the experience to know that I don't have to agonize over a sky and mountain. So, keep painting.
Thank you for the encouragement. Maybe passing through Agony City is a rite of passage, haha.
Agony City. 🙂 Funny.
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Nice painting, especially those distant trees. It can be difficult to get that subtle look. It seems easy, but it's also easy to make mud. Yours have a lot of faint variations going on. Well done.
And I can relate to the internal struggle you mentioned. I had the same struggle. Finally, I just began dropping in a sky, some clouds, maybe a mountain, and stepped back to see what I had...and to see what the scene was "telling me" to paint next. Suddenly, it was fun coming up with my own unique creations.
Good job on this one. I like it. 👍