"Earthscape" © 2004 Chris Dunmire
An acrylic and gouache landscape painting
on watercolor paper. "Earthscape" is the
impressionistic essence of beautiful, fresh nature
with a cloud-grazing blue sky backdrop.
Unpretentious Painting
By Chris Dunmire
Today I'm ready to become an authentic artist. I'm determined to teach myself the fundamentals of fine art. No, not just teach, but really learn. Apply. Become skilled at. Become comfortable with.
Like Claude Monet. And Paul Klee. And Wassily Kandinsky. Maybe even Georges Seurat. I choose these people to align myself with because their work resonates with me. It speaks to me on a familiar level. A simplistic level — one that leaves the nitty-gritty details to the left-brained artists. And we surely know that I'm not one of those!
The Finer Details
 It's obvious that I'm a right-brained person full of spontaneous ideas and urges. This is a double-edged sword because while I'm great at brainstorming ideas, I don't have enough patience to be another Norman Rockwell. Not yet, anyway.
If I had enough patience, I would be a doctor instead!
Seriously, I need to develop more patience when it comes to my artistic endeavors. I believe patience will help me to better develop my skills and become more apt at incorporating finer quality detail in my work. Not that I expect to adapt a style that's not my own, but I want to hone in on a more realistic perspective. (Note to self: Add "patience" to the to-do list.)
This is such an an exciting journey. I've been listening to how I "feel" when working on something and am overjoyed when I see the essence of me flow into my work. In the case of "Earthscape", I communicated my appreciation for the the beautiful life and color found in nature. Nature is the ultimate work of art.
The more time I spend creating with any medium (such as clay, paint, or crayon), the clearer I can see my personal style developing. My style is definitely loose and free. Impressionistic. It's full of feeling and mood.
 Head in the Clouds
What did I learn from the process of creating this earthscapey painting? I learned to look at clouds and landscapes with new eyes. Clouds are not completely solid white, and the sun is not a yellow circle, by the way. (Having that gently pointed out to me by a master artist made me feel like a first-grader with a big yellow crayon. No matter, I learned something new, see!)
5 Secrets to Playful, Joyous Painting
- Plan ahead. It's good to think about what you want to accomplish before you start painting. Like any project, rough sketches and light pencil outlines on the canvas can act as guides and make the execution flow easier.
- Work in stages. A good-sized painting shouldn't be / doesn't need to be completed in one sitting. Coming back to it with fresh eyes will help renew your focus and gave you more energy to put into it.
- Less is more. Acrylic paint can be layered and reworked with water and more paint. But there comes a point where enough is enough. Non-stop adding to and reworking a piece will probably not result in perfection. I decided to turn my mistakes into “corrected” opportunities next time.
- A brush is a suggestion. Applying paint need not be limited to using a brush. I used cotton pads, toothpicks, brushes, and my fingers to apply the paint to my piece. Each has a unique texture and gives a different effect.
- Intentionally experiment, mess up, and play. If you're not having fun trying out new techniques, try shedding your expectations about what "should" or "must" happen. Be okay with "ruining" a piece of watercolor paper or a canvas in your quest to play, dabble, and learn. •
© 2004, 2008 Chris Dunmire. All rights reserved. |
