Art Miscellany

My Mantra:

Stay calm.

Stay positive.

Think creatively.

Things I remind myself when I paint - in no particular order

• Talent has nothing to do with it.  Persistence has everything to do with it.
• Paint a lot.   Paint bad stuff.  Paint good stuff.  Just paint. 
• Don't fiddle.   Let it dry.   Do a second layer after it's dry if you need to.
• Put as much HOME as possible into every painting.
• You're not painting the THING.   You're painting how the LIGHT hits the thing.  
• Composition is more important than technique.
• It's about the LIGHT.   Don't worry about the other stuff.
• Layers are good.  Go to lunch.  Let it dry.  Look at it again and put on another layer.
• Change of plane = change of color.
• Distance is good. Put distance in every painting.
• Distance is good.  Step back and look at your painting from 10 ft away.
• Paint standing so you can step back easily and look at things from distance. 
• Do the art.  Don't judge the art.
• You love the art, right?   Let the art love you. 
• Get feedback.
• Put it away for a bit, then pull it out and see what it tells you.
• Simplify the shapes.
• If the painting works SMALL, it will work BIG.