Study for Papaya with Bowl of Walnuts graphite/colored pencil/gouache on hand-toned paper 11 x 15″
Do you make studies before you start a painting? Seems like most painting students don’t. We want to paint, not prepare to paint. Making a study prior to painting isn’t required for good artwork, but we learn about a subject every time we draw or paint it, so the act of sketching sure can help to clarify the conversation before we get knee deep in the sloppy stuff.
If drawing before painting causes you have fits of impatience because you want to paint and you want to paint right now, then let ‘er rip!
Here’s the test: take a look at the painting after you’ve made it. (“After” is wide open on the time scale. This be minutes, hours, or months.) Disregarding efficiency, did you get what you wanted out of both the painting session and the finished work? If yes, then continue with your sketch-as-you-go process. If no, then consider shifting how you think about your creative time. It might just be a matter of renaming your “painting” session to a “creative observation” session, or something that includes sketches. That way drawing and studies are seen as part of painting, not something in the way of painting.
Take a look at these drawings below. Notice the attention to individual objects, the spaces, proportions, and the interactions of shapes. Notice the compositional changes that were made after the drawing. She still had plenty of puzzles to figure out in the painting phase, but the conversation behas been clarified.
Blueberries in a White Cup
Study for Blueberries in a White Cup graphite/colored pencil on hand-toned paper 11 x 14 3/8″
Grapefruit with Black Ribbons
Study for Grapefruit with Black Ribbons graphite/charcoal/colored pencil/egg tempera on hand-toned paper 10 1/2 x 13 1/2″
Blueberries in A Bowl with Bean Pod, Cork, and Knife
Study for Blueberries in A Bowl with Bean Pod, Cork, and Knife graphite/colored pencil/gouache on hand-toned paper 11 x 13 1/2″
Elle
Study for Elle graphite/colored pencil/gouache on hand-toned paper 11 1/2 x 12 3/4″
Papaya with Bowl of Walnuts
Study for Papaya with Bowl of Walnuts graphite/colored pencil/gouache on hand-toned paper 11 x 15″
Painting above by Fredericka Foster. More by Foster at the end of this post. What makes painted water look like water? Is it the tone of blue, or by the reflective color of the sky? Is it optic magic from glazes and transparent pigments? Or is it indicated by perfect color mixes, sequences of color matches? What about …
According to her website, Carol Marine was showing in 7 galleries, but still not making a living on her artwork. In addition, since art school she thought paintings had to be big, and that was causing her a lot of misery. After adopting her baby son, she had no time for painting, but when her …
Welcome to day 4 of our 30 Day Creative Challenge! This is a composition day in our 30 Day Challenge. Here’s an exercise that improves your compositions, without you even thinking about composition. It worked for Diebenkorn! The primary challenge is to respond to the creative prompts in these posts, and see what happens. The …
I had a couple of extra long work weeks, and a few days ago I decided to zonk myself out with bit of TV. What I ended up watching didn’t zonk me out. It rejuvenated me. Days later, I’m still smiling about it. The movie was “Nothing Changes: Art for Hank’s Sake” a documentary about …
Studies by Susan Jane Walp
graphite/colored pencil/gouache on hand-toned paper
11 x 15″
Do you make studies before you start a painting? Seems like most painting students don’t. We want to paint, not prepare to paint. Making a study prior to painting isn’t required for good artwork, but we learn about a subject every time we draw or paint it, so the act of sketching sure can help to clarify the conversation before we get knee deep in the sloppy stuff.
If drawing before painting causes you have fits of impatience because you want to paint and you want to paint right now, then let ‘er rip!
Here’s the test: take a look at the painting after you’ve made it. (“After” is wide open on the time scale. This be minutes, hours, or months.) Disregarding efficiency, did you get what you wanted out of both the painting session and the finished work? If yes, then continue with your sketch-as-you-go process. If no, then consider shifting how you think about your creative time. It might just be a matter of renaming your “painting” session to a “creative observation” session, or something that includes sketches. That way drawing and studies are seen as part of painting, not something in the way of painting.
Take a look at these drawings below. Notice the attention to individual objects, the spaces, proportions, and the interactions of shapes. Notice the compositional changes that were made after the drawing. She still had plenty of puzzles to figure out in the painting phase, but the conversation behas been clarified.
Blueberries in a White Cup
graphite/colored pencil on hand-toned paper
11 x 14 3/8″
Grapefruit with Black Ribbons
graphite/charcoal/colored pencil/egg tempera on hand-toned paper
10 1/2 x 13 1/2″
Blueberries in A Bowl with Bean Pod, Cork, and Knife
graphite/colored pencil/gouache on hand-toned paper
11 x 13 1/2″
Elle
graphite/colored pencil/gouache on hand-toned paper
11 1/2 x 12 3/4″
Papaya with Bowl of Walnuts
graphite/colored pencil/gouache on hand-toned paper
11 x 15″
See more on her website: https://www.susanjanewalp.com/
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