Being My Own Art Teacher

At one of the demos I attended during the Plein Air Convention in San Francisco in April, the presenter/artist (can't recall her name) talked about how painting the same scene several times can help you become a better painter.  So I chose this photo that I took on the way to the Viansa Winery outside of San Francisco. It was an old boat sitting in a field of flowers. Who knows why it was there.  It was pretty, though, and so I took a bunch of photos of it.

The first photo below was my first attempt. My goal was to paint quickly and without getting bogged down withe details. I had difficulty getting the boat right, and the flowers look exactly like what I did - just dabbed an orangey-white color all over the grass. 

The second try was better.  I actually got the boat name (Edith) on the boat.  The boat shape STILL isn't right, though - although it's not bad.  The flowers look a little better. Still not happy with it - although this is my favorite of the three paintings I eventually did.

After painting the scene twice, I thought I'd do something different - I'd do it entirely with a palette knife. Hmmmmm. Some people can make gorgeous paints using only a palette knife. I don't know if I even want to develop that particular skill. Palette knives use a LOT of paint - and I have a LONG way to go to make it look right. I got this far with it and decided that palette knife painting isn't for me. So I stopped.  It is interesting that the color didn't look right with the palette knife, and I have no idea why since the tool used shouldn't affect the color - and I was using the same palette of colors as I did with the other two paintings.

Looking at these paintings, I know I need to make the boat a little smaller to make it appear further back in the scene. Most of all, it doesn't LOOK like I want my art to look. I am being too literal in some ways and not literal enough in other ways. I'm still working to develop Mary Carol's art.

I decided to stop after these three tries.  I threw away the palette knife version and will probably throw away the first version as well and only keep the second one. I don't have the stamina or desire to paint the scene a fourth time.  LOL!  I don't think painting the same thing more than a couple times is appealing at all to me. It was a helpful practice, though, and I kinda/sorta like the second painting.

Back to the demo from the PACE19 class. The point was that by painting the same scene repeatedly one, in effect, becomes one's own art teacher - seeing more clearly what needs to be worked on and improved.  I probably should paint this scene a fourth time and follow Kevin Menck's mantra of painting the big shapes and values and see how the scene will emerge.