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Message
Posted
I confess that I do not go to this forum as often as I should and I do not compliment others as often as I could. However I cannot help but say how pleased and happy to see that most of the paintings that appear lately in the Gallery are a wonderful celebration of colour and ability. Well done everyone! After a preview of the entries in The Turner Prize it is easy to feel that painting is at a low ebb. However it does my heart good to see confirmation that in two dimensions the best is kept alive outside the officially recognised art establishment.
Edited
by johnk7
Posted
johnk7 ...Thank you, that is so encouraging...we do seem to have a basic core of those who contribute and those who do not, for many reasons. I am a self confessed 'Butterfly' in that I sip here and there, in and out and off, not to be seen again for some time and I am not proud of this, but it happens, life intervenes.
Posted
I have been a bit critical of the gallery in the past when I've felt it was a bit predictable but looking at it today I must agree the content is varied with different styles, subjects and with different levels of ability. I agree we are lucky to have such a great resource.
One thing I would like to see is more experimentation and diversity of styles etc by individual artists which can encourage others to have a go. For example I've just posted another abstract in which I've used Iridescent Medium for the first time - not convinced by it as yet but will persevere. If anyone wants to see the result it's at:
http://www.painters-online.co.uk/gallery/art-view,picture_160458.htm
Posted
Michael ,experimentation is good for the artist, rather than painting in one's comfort zone its good to try different techniques and also different subject matter.The gallery shows many different approaches to painting we all travel along the same path as artists trying to improve and produce something we are satisfied with.I am sure most artists are self analytical as they strive to produce greater things.The gallery represents people at different stages of this path it is a slow progression and experimentation for its own sake is not always the answer .Passion I feel is also very important we sometimes have too much concern with technique and the science of painting
Posted
Yes I do agree with you David - experimentation is not always the answer but it is a useful tool. As I said above I enjoy experimenting and also getting feedback from others who have a go with, or at, something different and would like to see more along these lines.
As you say most artists strive to improve but I do see quite a few, both in groups to which I belong and in groups where I have taught in the past, who are content to continue in a set vein and never seem to improve or have any desire to do so. I often wish they would experiment whether it be with style, different materials, or simply taking on board advice given but they clearly enjoy what they do and who am I (we) to judge them. Enjoyment is what really matters and when it develops into a passion then things start to happen.
Posted
Well, comfort zone is a term for those who fear to tread beyond their own limitations, I suppose; And I certainly feel that if I had never tried to do things I'd no confidence I could do - I'd never have been able to do them.
Experimentation for its own sake perhaps shouldn't be the point - I try to think of painting (and don't always succeed) as a bit of a game: so I'm playing with paint, composition, materials, ideas ... that way, I get less frightened of trying new things: I suspect it's the fear, of "going wrong", making a mess, spoiling a canvas, that can hold us back. I cursed myself for an idiot a while ago when I spoiled a lovely piece of stretched watercolour paper, until I thought, well... it IS only a piece of paper. It's not actually a tragedy. And I was able then to tear it up, throw it away, and - crucially - try it again on a clean sheet. Which, thank goodness, worked - and worked I think because in the end I was able to shrug my shoulders over it and say what the hell....
I think many of us experiment all the time without necessarily thinking that's what we are doing - in a sense, you're embarking on the unknown every time you put a canvas on your easel, because while you've painted before, you've never painted THIS painting before (not even if you're copying something you've done already).