Friday, June 3, 2011

Work in Progress, Abstract Watercolor Beach painting

I finally got a chance to put a few more hours into this painting. I'm actually almost done with it, just have to do the water swirl. Today I finished the palm tree and the sand swirl. You can see some of the details of the palm tree here as well as a part of the swirl. This painting is coming out way better then I expected. The added benefit is that I'm trying new techniques on it. I was watching a youtube video yesterday about this guitar lesson. The guy was basically showing that you don't have to always follow the rules, play the same things everyone already have played. You can find your own way. If it sounds good, why not do it? The example he was showing is called "triangles" where he literally was forming triangles with his fingertips while playing the guitar. It sounded great, but you will never find "triangles" in any book or guitar lessons. This is my approach to art. Some of the best artists I've met are self taught. They always stand out, because they do something different from every other artist. They don't use the same techniques. Instead, they develop their own techniques. This is the route I went with this painting. I didn't use watercolor the way it's taught. I used it in my own way. It actually turned into a combination between watercolor, marker and inking techniques. You can clearly see the inking techniques in the was the leaves are colored. What I did was basically mixing paint a lot thicker then you would normally mix for watercolor painting. With a very thin brush I applied it as if I was using a pen. As a result you have these thin ink0like lines on the leaves.

Every form of art, be it performance, fine art, craft or any other form is based of imagination, expression of an idea or feeling, innovation. If we always walk the same walk, nothing new will ever be developed. The techniques everyone is using now have been discovered some time long ago by some artist who was thinking outside the box. Art has no rules, it has no boundaries. Why do we keep on putting those limitations to the way we express ourselves? Do an experiment, do something completely different. There is a good chance you will find a new way to improve your skills through this experimentation. The amount of new recipes I came up  with by accident, the amount of new cool discoveries I've made by messing up what I was originally intending to make. Don't be afraid to do something unusual. Break those boundaries.
______________________________________

Apocalypse update: When am I ever going to get tired of making fun of people who believe in this nonsense? Oh, I don't know... when the lobster will whistle on the mountain. Or at least croak a few times. Anyway, it cooled down to comfortable temperature here, the air is great, no humid. I think Yahveh is loosing the battle. Hopefully it will stay this way because I really want to go to the beach tomorrow. Get away from the computer so that I can get more drawings done. I might even dress up as a pirate to pastafarians my support. They are doing such a great job. Who cares about football and baseball when you have such epic battle going on? GO PASTAFARIANS!!! GO FLYING SPAGHETTI MONSTER!!!

2 comments:

  1. you are so right. i love how your palm tree painting is turning out! we need to constantly be pushing & challenging ourselves.

    ReplyDelete