I am incredibly fond of the rain. I like the fresh smell and the chill it brings with it. I like wandering around in it with an umbrella and a pair of boots. But mostly I like that I can sit inside, and just watch and listen to it without anyone urging me to go outside.
This time around it has also brought me a great amount of creative energy, and motivation to start new projects.
Which is not always appropriate when you have a million other projects you really should finish first.
But as all of my other current projects have no deadlines or real stakes involved, I’d like to take my inspiration when it comes and follow it to see what it brings me. If it amounts to anything before I get distracted by another idea, I might even tell you about it.
For now let me show one of my most recent finished paintings, based on a picture of Monets garden.
As usual, this one took me 1 hour to make, over the course of 10 days. During which I jumped between 3 different paintings, working on whichever I felt most inspired by on a particular day. My focus was colours, and I am pleased with the end result. I struggled with the front cluster of water lilies, deciding the right amount of attention and detail I wanted to put in. In the end I finished the painting unsatisfied with that particular part. You win some, you lose some. Sometimes you just gotta cut your losses, and in this particular instance, I reached my 1 hour deadline, I was satisfied with my initial target focus, and next time I’ll do better.
Despite the rough water lilies, the painting as a whole is still a great improvement over one of my earlier paintings
This was the second painting I did after starting the challenge. One of the things I am noticing in particular, is how much details I can get in, in only one hour. And this seems to be increasing with every painting I do.
I was really inspired by the colour scheme in this photograph - but looking back, my own painting is lacking intensity and vibrancy in the colours I found so inspiring. Lately I have felt particularly inspired by the colour orange, especially photography of forests and trees turning into all the beautiful shades of oranges, yellows and reds. The forest where I live haven’t quite gotten to that part yet, but I suspect it will happen soon. And with that I’ll propably do at least another painting or two to try and capture it. Then perhaps next time I’ll get that vibrancy I so admire.
Besides my almost daily painting practice, I’ve been sketching a lot of thumbnails as preparation for doing some original paintings. In this I’ve been a great fan of ‘TheEtheringtonBrothers’ Blog, and their incredibly useful tips and tricks for drawing almost anything, along with lots of inspiration for compositions.
Perhaps you’ll find it helpful as well.
Thank you for taking the time to read my newsletter, please let me know what you thought of it, if you found it helpful or if you have any questions. I’d love to hear from you.
See you next time!