Monday, January 10, 2011

Painting in You Head

Lookin' At Ya
3"x5" oil on panel
$35

I think many artists paint in their heads.  They think about what it is they want to paint, and maybe even see the future painting in their heads.  I do.  I had a dream one time about how to re-do a painting I was having trouble with.  I woke in the morning, did what I saw in my dream, and the painting sold almost immediately.  I know, it doesn't always work that way, and many times what is in our heads is not what appears on the canvas, panel, paper.  Lately I am trying to keep things simple in my head, but what appears on the canvas is not what I am thinking of....yet.  It just needs to simmer, and brew in my mind for a while until I'm ready to really understand and put it into practice.  


“If you do not ask the right questions, you do not get the right answers. A question asked in the right way often points to its own answer. ... Only the inquiring mind solves problems.”  -  Edward Hodnett

1 comment:

Bobbi Heath said...

Yes, yes, yes! I do it too. I think about what I'm going to paint and how I'm going to paint it. Lately, it's been in the opposite order, I want to paint something this way, so what is the something that will be amenable to being painted that way? Then I may have to sketch it a few ways and try some values before getting out the paint. But it is sooo much fun to do something new. Go for it! I'll be watching and enjoying the results.