I learned this from golf: when you're in the middle of a swing and it just doesn't feel right, stop and start over. It's hard to do. Recently I posted a painting with two ducks and some fish that I spent three weeks working on. Last week, though, I stepped back from my drafting board to check the tonal values and I knew it was time to quit. One of the ducks looked stiff to me. The water wasn't showing any movement. I couldn't get the fish to disappear underneath the water. I realized I'd used the more textured side of the Stonehenge paper. So, even though I invested three weeks of my precious art life in this painting, I'm glad I quit. I learned I love the smooth side of Stonehenge because of the way it takes color. I was trying to change the photo too much and it just didn't work for me. I just finished a new painting and I love the reflection of the grapes in the silver bowl.
Grape Reflection by Susie Tenzer, 8" x 10" colored pencil (all rights reserved) Buy this painting
I'm participating in a blog hop this week. What's that? It's a fun activity where you can visit a lot of wonderful blogs. Click on the Blog Love Therapy below & start hopping! See you in a couple of weeks, I'll be out of town visiting my adorable grandkids.
I'm getting ready to start a new series of work, so I've been thinking about subject matter, color palette and composition. For me, the photo's the thing - if I have a few great reference photos, I'm set! I work from my own photos, so I'm learning about how to shoot great pictures. My latest project was to make my own soft light box so I could shoot beautiful still life subjects. My new favorite photo blog is Strobist. There are tons of great tutorials on photography, written in an easy, funny style. I made my light box from an old cardboard box, inexpensive muslin fabric and white poster board. Here's how to make it:
It works great! I have a Nikon point and shoot camera, not fancy at all. I use either one or two desk lamps on either side of the box (you can adjust light for "tungsten"in your camera menu). I'm practicing all sorts of cool shots - hopefully I'll take one that will be my next painting.
