Authored By Christy Olsen.
Sometimes, if you experiment on a painting at home and it goes terribly wrong, it may discourage you. In the beginning, when you are trying to learn a skill, that's not necessarily what you want. The great thing about experimenting during a class or a workshop is supervision, i.e. there is a "safety net," so if you find yourself having a meltdown using that new color you just purchased at the art supply store, help is on the way!
When I take a painting workshop or a class, I learn from experience to challenge myself. I push myself outside of my comfort zone. That's it. I try to fail on purpose! I know it sounds crazy, but it also gets rid of those high expectations that you might have. If you try to experiment, you will get more from experience in the long run. The teacher is there to help and may have insight into what went wrong or great advice on a path forward.
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| Still Life Study. oil on board. 12x16. |
This study was done in a workshop early this year. I noticed during the demo that the artist only used a few selected colors from the multiple ones that were laid out, so when I went to paint my own, I used a limited palette. I wanted to see what would happen, and here is the result.
I used Rembrandt's Transparent Oxide Red, Holbein's Indigo, and Permalba White. I know using a limited palette can create harmony in your painting but somehow, seeing the concept happen in real-time before my eyes in that particular environment really resonated with me. It also made things much easier. I didn't have to worry about complex color mixing and noticed that I could then focus more on each brush stroke.
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| Detail from Still Life Study. oil on board. 12x16. |
Studies that I do in workshops are my class notes; each time I review them years later, I remember the epiphanies that I had at the time. There are some drawing issues with the symmetry of the pot on this one, but I left it alone to preserve the fantastic lesson that I learned at that particular moment in time.
The close-up detail shows the brushwork on the bottle that made me want to perverse the lesson without the overly rendered look.
