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Putting it away - taking a fresh look
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Message
Posted
Sorry to disrupt the Acrylic pour thread, which is interesting - I expect someone will restore it to prime spot. But I wanted to share something which may be helpful to some.
I've been working on an acrylic, to a specification I'd not tried before - basically, the client, bless him, sent me a photo of a telegraph pole, of all things, and wanted me to paint it. I don't have many clients these days, so took it on, and had all the trouble you'd expect with the power lines - I'm just not used to painting fine lines, haven't done so in decades: thank God, once again, for the Dalon 3/4" inch flat.....
I didn't like it - in fact, I felt it was awful. So I put it away, face to the wall, and did something else (my latest oeuvre, if I may be pretentious, of Charlie the dog in repose) before looking at it again. The problem was obvious when I looked again, but insoluble at the time - I'd over-complicated a simple composition - the damn' lines were going everywhere, but didn't need to. So I've painted the extraneous ones out (glad it wasn't watercolour...) and already it's looking far better.
I am an exponent of fiddling with paintings; I am not a disciple of the 'less is more' school, because it often isn't - but if you've decided on a simple composition, for Gawd's sake KEEP it simple; and if in doubt, put it away and take a fresh look.
Here endeth the First Lesson.
Posted
Quite agree Robert .... come back to look at it at a later date works .
painting lines oh what a faff... I think I would have used the edge of a credit card varying the colour...e.g. A bit of white/ light for variation and leaving bits out....well I know what I mean.
But yes putting paintings to the wall for a while is a great way to suss out ideas at a later date. Another one is looking at it through o mirror.
Posted
Agree with Triduana. I photograph all my work as it progresses and often upload them to private Pinterest boards so that I can study them on the laptop/iPad/TV. It helps me identify what is and is not working with the work. Not sure why this should be so; I reckon it's to do with the process of digitising, reducing to a jpeg and taking the image out of the real world, so to speak.
Posted
I agree - looking at a photo of the painting, on a smaller scale is the secret. If it is small, the you will not be distracted by the detail and the obvious mistakes or areas that do not work, stand out like a sore thumb. But lines are easy. I do them free hand in a standing position - using your arm, rather than wrist makes it easier. A little practice goes a long way and helps with confidence. If you do it with biro and then use a wash of acrylic over, then the paint will crawl off the biro lines. Best of luck.
Linda