How do you get in the zone as an artist?

How do you get in the zone as an artist?

Go on an adventure.

You want to create a work of art. Start by asking yourself:

What is my mission?

What is my goal?

Then it's time to search. Find a subject - landscape - still life - etc. Plan plan plan - search and research.

Every work of art is comprised of endless choices.

When you get a good idea, you want to give yourself as many options as you can imagine.

Consider these variables:

Chosen type of media - size of surface you work on - horizontal or vertical orientation - changing the light source - seasons and time of day.

Get to understand your materials. Search. Question your idea - maybe a better idea is hidden in the research.  Everyone reads from left to right - try reading from right to left or upside-down. Every choice opens you up to new ideas - ways of doing things - awareness of higher planes of mental connections. When you start painting you are ready to work with your muse - your higher self. The power in you that whispers in your ear or flashes an idea into your mind just when you need it.

Then it's time to create. Start with a simple drawing. Spend time studying your subject.

What inspired you to choose this subject? What is your center of interest? Motivation?
You are free to make choices and free to change your mind. 

 

Thumbnail sketches help build your connection with your subject and strengthen your choices of composition. They take approximately 1 minute. Shape - values - change. Keep it simple. 

Your creative power changes with the introduction of color and brings on a new set of challenges - capturing the mood of the setting according to the time of day in appropriate warm or cool tones.

 

I chose a lighthouse. Why? For many years when we traveled around Lake Michigan our favorite stops were the lighthouses. I loved the water, beaches, sand, and trees. I loved the morning, evening, rain, and wind. I could have walked forever. I have a great many memories.

 

I began with a light pencil sketch, then I did several thumbnail sketches for composition. It should have been a simple choice - the sketch I chose started out to be a good composition but after I laid it in, it became clear there was no drama. When I get this far, the piece should be heading toward great. If not, then I know I need further study into what inspired me to do the piece of art. I need to know what is missing. When I study it, I should feel it is the greatest artwork I have ever done, not that it needs something.

 

I have other artwork that has priority so this one will go on the shelf where I can study it while I work on other pieces. When I get back to this piece I will be ready for the next step in my process. When I finish it I will frame it and send it to a gallery. If I don't finish it... ?

Nature in Action: A Drop of Rain

Can you imagine the adventure of a drop of rainwater must have? From the heavens to the ocean and whatever is in between. It drops, lands on a leaf, following millions of other raindrops and becomes a powerful force of nature. The wind, hot or cold, make it a drop of water or a snowflake. But my story is just a small part of the journey of one rain drop.

I was in Brown County Indiana State Park, sketching and photographing the forests and streams, searching for those perfect compositions that inspire great works of art. I saw hills - mountains - cliffs, made of limestone, and creeks that all had a history with the rainwater that carved its way throughout the hills down to the streams. I could feel the wind, the sun, and the cool mountain air. This is what I want to see in the paintings.

 

I did a detailed pencil sketch, hunting for a composition. I followed that with a broad value sketch using vine charcoal and searching for direction. The land pitched and moved in so many different directions with cracks in between the layers of limestone. There were abundant trees growing tall like telephone poles and a stream trickling down from the secret places in the hills to a lake.

I chose to use this study for a demonstration at a gallery solo exhibition.  For the demonstration I used pastels. In broad strokes I started laying in the cool colors with shades of blues for the sky and greys for the trees. Then I began laying large warm browns and ochre for the leaves on the ground. The hills were alive with rust colored leaves flying to and fro in the winds. 

 

As the water in the stream came forward, the colors got stronger and the details in the rock seemed necessary. I started softening the edges in the distance and sharpening the edges in the foreground. Then I applied layer after layer of color to deepen the colors to a richer hue. 

Halfway through I had run out of time and had to save finishing it for another day. 

"In matters of art, one's state of mind is three quarters of what counts, so it has to be carefully nurtured if you want to do something great and lasting." - Paul Gauguin