The Challenge of Working in a Series
This blog post first appeared on wordpress blog.
One of the many things that helped me personally grow as an artist was the challenge of working in a series. Disciplining yourself to explore a subject or idea in depth can carry you past the standard “yawn” and “seen-it-all-before” paintings. Doing a series can provide tons of inspiration and help you to develop your own unique style.
Even using everyday subjects, such as a coffee mug can offer a new world of insight. For me it was the way through repetition that brought me to new exciting ideas. Painting this way will also strengthen your paintings skills. It will improve your visual perspective and understanding of the subject and help your design capabilities.
If you haven’t worked on a series before maybe you’d like to try it? You can begin with making a list of things that interest you. Then identify why you are attracted to it… is it the lighting? The shadows? The color? The shape? The location?
If you’re not quite ready to paint 30+ paintings yet, consider a smaller scale – a series of postcards or mini pictures. Try it and see what happens. You just might enjoy it!
If you have worked in a series before, what tricks and tips do you have? Please share.
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