New Horizons

Getting Motivated

It is so easy to get into a rut with painting and even easier to fall into the trap Picasso so aptly described: ‘Success is dangerous, one begins to copy oneself, and to copy oneself is more dangerous than to copy others – it leads to sterility.’ So if your painting has hit the doldrums perhaps it is time to adopt a completely new approach to the way you work.

Why not have a crack at some of the following ideas: Rather than sitting in front of a scene or still life, drawing it carefully and then applying the paint, why not be more radical. Stare at the scene for about five minutes; note in your mind the things that are important, tones, colours, shapes even the feel or emotion the scene evokes. Move away from the scene, or hide away the still life, now draw what you ‘see’, feel and remember. You won’t be able to put in all the detail, but what you will draw is what is really important about what you have seen and that will be much more interesting.

Do the opposite of what you would normally do, for example; if you start drawing objects from the top down, reverse it. If you normally paint from the back and come forwards as with a landscape, for example, you might paint the sky first, then the background hills etc. Try painting the foreground first and working backwards, it produces a quite different effect and can be very liberating.

Try breaking one of the habits that you have got into with your drawing and painting. Be honest with yourself. Do you rely on drawing only things seen, do you rely on photographs, do you always draw out your idea before painting, and do you always use the same colours / colour scheme? Why not ditch the habit; it can be quite a liberating experience. Go on you know you really want to give it a try!!

• • Buy a small sketch book, A5 or even A6, and a pen and pencil and try to carry them around with you where ever you go. You could have one in each case/handbag you carry, or jacket you wear. Whenever you have a moment, try to do a little sketch. Don’t worry about how it turns out just keep drawing. Try drawing things that are easy, hard, are still or are moving, interesting things and boring things.
  • If you happen to be somewhere without your sketch book, produce imaginary drawings in your mind’s eye. Focus on something, it maybe a cup, a vase of flowers, someone’s shoe, it doesn’t matter. Start thinking about how you would draw the object, analyse its shape, can it be reduced to simple shapes, where is the light coming from? What colour is the object, it maybe blue, but is it all the same shade, does the blue colour vary from a cool blue to a warm blue. How would you mix that blue? Think about how you would start to draw the object, what medium would you use? Imagine the drawing emerging on a white piece of paper. Smile when you see the wonderful drawing you have produced.
  • Do you always draw to a system, by starting with simple shapes, adding more details and finishing by adding light and shade? Why not reverse the system and start with the light and shade and see what happens.
  • Why not try drawing the spaces in and around an object, the so called negative space. It will get you looking at objects in a new light.
  • When painting, why not restrict your colours to just two primary colours plus black and white and see how many different shades and tints you can mix? Try painting a landscape, or a portrait with just the colours mentioned, it could be a liberating experience.

All these tips are intended to get your brain working a little harder and to challenge you to do the things you can’t do, just that little bit better. Go on and have some fun!