Where do ideas come from?

"Springboard for ideas"

Recently, I gave a demonstration for a local watercolor group; my topic was how I get my ideas for abstract paintings.  The idea for this 30 minute sketch actually came from a handmade card that I recently made for a good friend.  I've had painting friends sometimes tell me that I shouldn't waste my time making handmade cards.  Each one does indeed take about 1 hour and 30 minutes to make, but I always get ideas for paintings or discover interesting new color combinations when I allow myself to "play".  It's refreshing to me when I don't have to think about design, color dominance, etc, when I'm making a card. I used scraps from old paintings to start with, and just added black marker and brads.   Although, I have to say that when I did this 30 minute sketch, which was based on the card pictured below, I did remember to focus on design, color dominance, zinger colors, and center of interest.  Watch future posts, because this 30 minute study will turn in to a real painting very soon!



Handmade card which folds inward from both directions.



Redoing Old Paintings

I belong to a critique group, called Critical Thumb Group.  We meet once per month and critique each other's paintings.  By the way, I encourage all of you to form a critique group.  It's a great way to get feedback from other artists.  A new set of eyes to challenge you to be a better artist.  Our group has 10 members, and that is the maximum that I would recommend.  This month, we were instructed to bring old paintings that we didn't like.  We all exchanged paintings, and then painted revisions, using acrylic, caran d'ache crayons, and whatever else we could find.  It was great fun, a lot of laughs and a great lesson for me.  Below is the painting that I started with.  My favorite part of the painting was the right flower section.  I liked the rhythm there.  These were colors that I usually don't use, so that was a fun challenge too.  I kept telling myself, get big simple shapes in, but my brush had other ideas.  We only worked on these for about an hour, which is hard for me, since I am typically a slow painter.  In analyzing the finished painting now, I can tell you that my brain was right.  I should have gotten the big simple shapes in there first.  Way too busy!  Tomorrow, I will show you what I do with busy paintings.  This one's not done yet!