Thursday, October 15, 2009

Paint paint paint.... or Stop?!

Sigh.... is it me, or do my oil paintings look best when they are just the very first draft...? i keep thinking the first photo is the best part of what i painted today:



what it looks like now:



and the wip from the day before yesterday, before the dark field was painted:



i am having a lot of fun, but i think maybe i paint too fast and didn't plan enough for it to all come together.... Patience, Patience, Patience~

shell

6 comments:

Peter Underhill said...

It's just you. You just have to punch a hole through the curtain of self-doubt. You'll get there - eventually. Patience surely is a virtue.

Anonymous said...

Hi Shelly, i humbly think i understand how you get the feeling that, the more you paint on a same canvas, the more 'endless fields of your artcraft possibilities' are focused to a single goal and so leave a strange taste of all the directions/variations you could have chosen but are only existing in your mind. Plus, the more you construct an image, the less imagination of the viewer can complete the picture, it's always been the case with the wonderful 'non-finito' of ancient masters. So it all seems perfectly normal to me as it reflects your will to keep the 'life' of the first draft in the finished piece. In my humble opinion it's the hardest to achieve and the fact that you're asking yourself this is a clue that you'll find a way to solve this problem eventually... you art is still improving and getting more and more impressive, strong and delicate, keep up the wonderful art, thanks a lot for posting these beauties! (i hope i don't sound too gibberish since it wouldn't be easy to tell in french either) best, pierre.

William Bradford said...

That's the curse of most art forms, i think.... the first rough gesture or fresh sketch is always has the most vitality. the toughest part is hanging onto that all the way through the project, or at best minimizing the loss thereof.

Rachel said...

Yup, I've had the same feelings, Shelly. I often enjoy the beginnings of things just as much, (if not more sometimes) as the finished product. :)

bee_low said...

Well, I think it is just you. It all depends on what you intend to do. If you want it loose and let the viewer use their imagination to makeup the image or if you want to interpret what you are trying to compose. It's not on us to decide weather you should stop or not, as people who come here love and appreciate your work. What do you feel? Do you feel that you need to stop? If so do so, if not keep going. I don't think anyone is going to say 'that was a terrible image, what the eff was she thinking.' Everyone has their favorite images that was compose and well put together. Everyone, also, knows what you are capable of. I am just one that like to see what other artists are up to. Sometimes it is just time to noodle around and try something different. Maybe you are at that point, with painting. I like it, but I am not crazy about the image. Love the softness of it. Take it easy though. At least you are getting paid and have a lot of fans. Now me... LOL. Lets say that I am trying to play catch up with you. Later Shell.

Eduardo Pena Chinorino said...

hey love a lot your paintings,,, the narratives,, and the sense of your temperament//////