As far as I am concerned there are two essential components in a painting: the idea, feeling or concept the artist wants to transmit and the technique applied to convey it.
Since I am self-taught, technique came about by trying and practicing and reading “how to” books and observing a couple of painters doing their craft at two widely apart periods of my life. As a matter of fact now that I think of it both men were also self taught… And passionate about their work.
Techniques vary, and every artist cultivates their own style through the technique they feel most comfortable with and the tone of their painted world so to speak. Which keeps evolving along the years as we grow. A self taught person might make a lot of mistakes but has the advantage of being truly an explorer and going at things with an adventurous spirit…
Today I just completed a large painting on canvas : “Sea Whisper”. I knew before hand that the effect I was looking for required a technique of glazing over and over many thin layers of diluted colors, like veils, creating the sense of depth and the slick surface of very still water. Thanks to the many paintings executed before, I now know how to get where I am going… a lot of the time. It is a wonderful thing. Of course I want to go past it and increasingly master more and more, to be able to paint more challenging effects. And I will.
What strikes me is the parallel between acquiring more technique as a painter and developing mastery in my life in general. Self-mastery is a journey and it affects positively every area of our existence once we commit to it. For mastery in real life is also requiring to have an idea, a feeling of what we want and to acquire the techniques that will permit us to reach it. In the same way I keep refining the way I paint, I keep applying what I learn from the masters, from the successful people I look up to, from the authors, the mentors, the speakers, who inspire me. Day after day, I keep in mind where I want to get, who I want to be and I take the steps from here to there… while having an idea in mind.
It’s not very different if you think of it, from creating paintings!
I believe Art starts when we organize things around an idea or a concept to convey it to the world. Living deliberately is an art. Creating our future is a choice, one worth every effort to make our life a master piece…!
To your beautiful life!
Passionate about this and loving the process, I offer self mastery coaching. Please visit my Artistry of Life page or Artistry of Life Coaching Facebook page to learn more or contact me for a free session to determine if we are a good fit: emmeline@www.emmelinecraig.com or 415 868 9741 (10 am to 4 pm).