Monday, March 30, 2015

Painting Drama 2 - New Horizons Pt. 2

One of the biggest challenges in Painting Drama 2 is painting an entire color script. It was hard, so hard that I forgot I was painting. I forgot to let my hair down and just discover things.
In the previous post, I talked about how I learned to let go of perfectionism. Well. During the color script weeks, I forgot that lesson.

I think as artists, and maybe even as humans, we can forget the things that ease stress on ourselves.

So, I focused on all the wrong points for the color script, like local color and accuracy. And it turned out...well... not the best. I should have focused more on story, lighting, and mood.

But I didn't.


Overall, the script was a let down and a very hard letdown. But it wasn't a failure. It was a wonderful learning experience. And that learning experience shows with what I did for the assignment after the color script.


This was the Time of Day project. After a huge challenge of a color script, these seemed like a breath of fresh air. I was reminded, once again, to let go and paint, to try new things.

The unicorn is about to enter a forbidden and treacherous land. A land where unicorns have never returned. Had Chris allowed it, I would have considered these my best works of Painting Drama 2.

But he didn't.

There was one final assignment and, I have to admit, it's one of the best pieces I've ever expressed. I'll go more into detail for that in Part 3 (the final part)! So stay tuned!

Have any questions? Feel free to post in the comments
or find me on facebook!


Friday, March 20, 2015

Painting Drama 2 - New Horizons Pt. 1

I've survived.

Survived Chris Oatley's Painting Drama 2.
If you're not familiar, please check it out.

Over the next few weeks, I'll be sharing some experiences and paintings
from the class. I improved quite a bit!

This is a scene from The Book of Lost Things,
by John Connolly. If you haven't read the book,
I highly recommend it. Especially if you're
into fairytales.

The boy is about to enter a frightening
tower to retrieve his friend.

It's a low key study of analogous colors.
I started using different brushes and
decided to try things I wouldn't normally try.
Much to my surprise, it wasn't terrible!

It actually became a bit of a turning
point for me. This is where I realized
that I could do anything I wanted,
so long as it conveyed the story.

Once that thought materialized in
my perfectionist brain, I let my
hair down and began to try more
and more things. Techniques, color
combinations, and more.

It became less hard to begin.

And beginning is always the
first step.

Stay tuned for Part 2, where
Time of Day became my favorite
assignment!