Being successful at art involves what I call the "Three P's": Perception, Passion and Persistence. Over the nearly fifteen years that I have been teaching art, I am still struck by the role those three aspects of creativity play in how successful (or not) a representational artist becomes. This web page is dedicated to helping artists hone their powers of perception, enhance their passion, and develop their abilities to persist in the pursuit of artistic excellence.
- Perception: We cannot paint what we cannot accurately see. It is incredibly tempting to jump right into a painting...we are fired up about the subject, enthusiastic about getting that canvas covered with paint, excited to be creating. So we often skimp on the most essential part of any painting: taking the time to observe, to think it through....to perceive accurately everything that goes into that particular work of art. Perception is a talent, but it is one that can be learned:
- --Decide what is the most imperative aspect of the subject. What motivates you to paint it? Is it the light? Color? Value? Shape? Let one aspect be dominant.
- --Is the composition perfect as is (rare), or are there changes to be made? Art is interpretation, and even a photo-realist must decide what to leave in, take out or move around.
- --What is the focal point? How will you guide the eye to it? Some choices would be via compositional elements; value contrasts; hue contrasts; lost and found edges. Study a painting you find compelling... look for the focal point (where your eye just naturally lands first), then look for how the artist directed your attention to that point. Did he/she place the greatest value contrast there? The brightest color? Does the composition itself direct the eye to a certain area?
- --What are you really seeing? Photos can deceive us if we rely only upon them as our subject resources. Much better to paint from life, whether it is a still life or landscape or whatever. There is an accepted maxim here: "Paint what you see, not what you know". Essentially, this means that while you KNOW that grass is green, you might SEE it in shadow as blue-green, or in bright light as pale yellow-green. Observe, and then paint what you see.
- --What do you know about what you are seeing? If one established maxim is to "paint what you see, not what you know", it is equally true that you should "Paint what you know, not what you see." If this sounds contradictory, let me explain: Our powers of observation must be tempered by our knowledge of the actual shapes and colors of what we are seeing. And they must be tempered by our knowledge of basic principles of art. We might SEE distant mountains as sharp silhouettes, but if we want them to recede into the distance in our painting, we KNOW we should soften and mute their profiles.
- --Accurate perception can be aided by training your eye to measure one object against another, or one portion of an object against another. Say you are painting a building; ask yourself how many widths (of the building) comprise it's height. How many window widths comprise the width of the building? By checking these measurements against each other, we ensure that our perception isn't distorted either by what we think we see or what we expect to see.
- Passion: If your choice of subject to paint is not driven by at least a degree of passion, put away your brushes for the day. Or choose a different subject, one that makes you smile with anticipation, challenge and enthusiasm. If you are feeling these emotions as you paint, your resulting work will reflect that. If you don't have an emotional connection with your painting, how can you expect your viewers to have one? On the other hand, if you rarely--or never--feel that excitement as you start to paint, maybe other factors are at play: stress, fatigue, ennui...whatever is standing between you and your artistic passion, tackle it. Don't try to ignore it because it will always be there, hovering over your shoulder and....blocking passion.
- Persistence: Of the Three P's, persistence may well be the most important to your success as an artist. Cezanne, for example, once said: "Chance has not favoured me with self-assurance." Cezanne never felt as though he'd "gotten it right", so he persevered, kept at it, repeatedly painting the same subjects, driven by his determination to improve. Discouragement is an ever-present specter for nearly all artists; we are often only "as good" as our last sale, our last award, or the last compliment we received. Persistence is what must sustain us, push us to new levels of creativity and competence.
Resources:
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