100 Paintings Challenge: Kelly

Quantity over Quality

Sounds odd doesn't it?! Quantity over quality………

The purpose for quantity over quality is because most of us strive to paint a quality painting each time we touch brush to paper. We sometimes get too caught up in the quality of our paintings and don't finish them for a myriad of reasons including "it's not good enough," "it doesn't look right," and "it looks nothing like I thought it would."

By focusing on quantity, we set aside the search for perfection and begin to paint for the practice of it, to learn what works, what doesn't and to keep going - no matter how good or how poorly a painting is turning out.

Giving/Receiving Encouragement

One of the things that can help us to grow quickly is encouraging comments - it keeps us motivated to continue painting. We are often “too close” to our own work and someone else, with more distance, can easily see areas to be improved.

Giving Encouragment:

• Be positive and upbeat!

• Use constructive criticism if you offer a critique.

• Be specific about what works well and why OR what does not work well and why.

• Re-read your comments BEFORE posting to make sure they say what you want them say!

• Be kind and courteous.

• Consider that you may not know what the artist’s “vision” is for a particular piece of artwork.

Receiving Encouragement:

• Try it on for size - if it fits, great. If not, disregard the comment(s).

• Take the comment in the spirit it was given - to be helpful.

• Do not fire off a comment in anger or hurt.

• Do not retaliate by being hurtful in your comments back to someone who has hurt you.

If you feel someone is being unfair on a repeated basis, contact me directly so that we can discuss it off-line.

PLEASE NOTE: As moderator of this blog, I reserved the right to delete any and all comments and/or posts offensive or harmful to other participants. This includes excessive negativity. I reserve the right to remove a participant from the blog if offensive behaviors persist after a written warning is issued. All decisions will be final and not open for discussion.

Friday, December 31, 2010

Kelly - Painting 100 :-D

Acrylic, 18x24

The canvas was big...and the lighting poor, so the photo doesn't capture the painting very well. I need to learn how to photograph large canvases because after working on this one, I know I'm going to want to keep getting larger with my art! Mostly I stuck with 9x12 or smaller for the challenge.

(Same painting just cropped for detail.)

To help a bit, I cropped the image down for a better look at the American Tree Sparrow. These little sparrows are so sweet, and I was trying to capture their "polite" personality.

Yeah!! I can't believe I finished the challenge. Thank you, Laure for hosting the challenge. I've learned so much, and I'm so glad I did it!!

6 comments:

Elva Paulson said...: Congratulations Kelly! Bravo!

I especially like this tree sparrow .... a perky little fellow.

Here are some comments on photographing paintings, which I have done a lot of for myself and others:
I usually take my paintings outside to photograph. I prefer a very light overcast day, but with digital I can compensate for darker days. Watercolors with white paper are the hardest. Many a time I have spread a white sheet on a sunny day and put the painting underneath this white canopy. It is worth the effort when you need a really good photograph of a painting. White paper glares in the sunlight and textured paint catches bits of light. ..... or you can buy the right kind of lights and do a professional job indoors.; January 1, 2011 at 1:04 AM
Kelly said...: ...thanks, Elva! I like the sheet idea. I wonder if outside on the north side of the house...in the shade might be good? The fact that the thick yellow paint was still very wet didn't help matters, either. I can see it will take a lot of practice.; January 1, 2011 at 10:13 AM
Elva Paulson said...: You can photo in the shade if you know how to change the white balance .. either on your camera or with something decent imaging software ... otherwise the painting will probably look cold.; January 1, 2011 at 11:10 AM
brincrish said...: What a wonderful picture to complete your challenge! Congratulations Kelly! I have really enjoyed seeing your pictures.; January 2, 2011 at 12:54 PM
Teri said...: CONGRATULATIONS KELLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
What a great feeling of accomplishment this is.
Your birds are all so beautiful!!!!

Welcome to the Alumni club.; January 3, 2011 at 1:28 PM
Gabrielle said...: I wanted to stop by and say congrats when you reached 100, but when I saw the actual 100th painting, it just blew me away! Wow! I love how you combined an abstract background with a realistic bird and took this painting to another level. What a great way to end the year and your challenge!; January 4, 2011 at 11:45 PM

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Artistic Development

• This blog is dedicated to artistic improvement. It is a venue for the committed artist to receive ENCOURAGEMENT while taking on the 100 Painting Challenge.

• It is a place to discuss struggles with the challenge.

• It is a place to celebrate milestones, accomplishments and breakthroughs.

• It is a place to offer encouragement to others.

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• It is NOT a place to share negativity or any off-topic subject. This is an art blog.

• It is NOT a place to lurk. The expectation is that each artist will be posting at least 4 paintings a month, one per post.

• A painting may only be posted once.

• The painting should be posted on this blog and not direct participants to another link.

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• Up to two paintings may be posted by each artists for critiques and feedback each month.

About the Challenge

The 100 Paintings In a Year Challenge is intended for artists that are dedicated to the growth and development of their style as well as their artistic voice. The challenge also provides a means for overcoming areas in need of improvement.

The paintings should be a mix of small, medium and large pieces, some sketches, plein aire, and studio work; work from life as well as from photos. The variety is meant to push the artist out of any rut, to provide ample opportunity to create no matter what other time obligations are going on, and to challenge the artist if they do not create in one of these categories. The work can be done in any medium, but it is strongly advised that the artist consider choosing one medium in which to do the Challenge as this will help facilitate faster growth than trying to master multiple mediums.

DO NOT JUDGE the artwork! When a piece is complete, set it aside and move to the next piece of work. Learning to suspend judgement of our work is a major step forward in the development our skills.

Once committed, the expectation is that the artist will fully participate in the blog by posting on a regular basis as well as leaving encouraging comments of others' artwork through comments.

The challenge may be started at any time.

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