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Three colours and an inner critic
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Message
Posted
I have enjoyed the exploration here, and I'd appreciate anyone's thoughts on it please. Apart from the invented foreground tree we as viewers are 'under', it is an actual place.
I've limited myself to three colours, plus a neutral, for the first time.
There is also a lot I'm experimenting with here, and I'm happy with a lot of what I've achieved. Size is approx. A4.
My inner critic voice is not being silenced, so one of my questions is are we our own harshest critic, and if so, does that inner voice get quieter as time goes on?
The colours are;
Alizarin crimson, lemon yellow, cerulean blue and Payne's grey.
The other experimentations are exploring contrasts between;
- lost and found areas
- warm and cool colours
- detail and simplicity/ambiguity
- built and natural environment
- dark and light
I was going to put this in the 'for critique' section, but I'm not sure whether it is still wip...so please feel free to critique, and feel free to tell me to stop because I'm in danger of overworking.
Any thoughts on inner voices, colours, and contrasts, would be grateful received.
Thank you folks.
Posted
Are we our own harshest critic? Answer - not everyone is, there are plenty out there who think they’ve got it sorted. Personally? I always have a “ critical” inner voice. But I also know that it’s because I’m too close to a piece of work and therefore not objective. Sometimes we can be too self- critical, we should be allowed to feel pleased with what we’ve produced yet know we might be able to push it further. I like what you’ve done here Gerry, it all harmonises well and I think you have permission to feel pleased!😁
Posted
Bless you Marjorie. Thank you.
I try to be objective about my own stuff, but I think the desire to constantly improve can drive me to focus disproportionately on what can be improved and play down the successes...but then I guess this is one of the huge benefits of being a member of a supportive forum such as this...others can see it for the first time, and not be as close to it like you say, and the supportive comments help keep things in proportion. So the other voice in me is trying to say to the inner critic "well, yes, you may have a point, but here's what went well..." and I'll try to feel pleased about this one. Thank you
Posted
I wouldn't want to generalize, but I suspect that we all have that inner voice hissing in our ear; it can be stifled, I find, if we've forgotten painting a particular picture and are able to be a little more objective; but while we're close to the point of creation, I think it's inevitable that we flagellate ourselves (metaphorically speaking - I know there are those who find it a relaxing hobby, to which 'ooh-er' seems an apt response). The only major artist of whom I'd think 'doubt never entered here' would be Salvador Dalí - and I could be quite wrong about that.
Your experiment has paid off, especially if you've learned from it - it's not just about trying something different, though there's nothing wrong with that, but applying principles in painting that take us a step away from that comfort zone we're all presumed to inhabit (I've always found the expression 'get out of your comfort zone' peculiarly patronizing: how does anyone else know whether we're 'comfortable' or not?). Trying a new palette, a different way of applying paint, be it layering, glazing, scumbling, collage, is always interesting, can be very informative, and yet quite often takes us back to where we were when we started, but maybe just a step up - which I think is one definition of creative progress (there are others of course).
Posted
Gerry it’s a fine piece it’s an experiment that turned out well . I think we all have that niggling doubt about our own work and only notice the slightest mistake and not the whole thing. Experimenting is how we develop, even if it one new colour we have never used it’s an experiment, I have always looking to changing how I paint and never really succeeded.
Just recently I made the conscious decision to go back to how I originally painted, but we never go back fully as our skills have developed but what is happening is that in more content with what I’m doing and getting a better result.
It won’t stop me trying out different techniques etc but now I’m not bothered about it not working out.
Don’t be disheartened, just keep doing what you love to do and enjoy the time doing it .
Posted
Gerry, personally, I do think we are our own harshest critic. It can be a good and bad thing. This is because you never feel happy with your work yet, it can push you on to explore and experiment and improve. Your painting, I like the limited palette you have chosen, the colours work well. I think you have framed the composition very well with the dark leafy canopy leading the eye into the building and the story of the painting. I think you have much to feel pleased about here. If anything you could have even gone a little darker on the shadows under the roof and on the steps.
Posted
Really enjoyed your thought process behind this piece. Limiting your palette to three colours created a strong, unified composition, and it's so relatable hearing about the inner critic—every artist has one! Keep pushing through it. The result speaks for itself beautifully. I’m a first-year student, and time management isn’t my strength yet. When I had three assignments due, I looked up "do my assignment" and found Academized. Their site https://academized.com/do-my-assignment helped me get a polished, well-referenced assignment that impressed my professor. It took a huge load off my shoulders.
Edited
by Noah Butler