At the beginning of this process, I set many goals for myself and had a lot of ideas for paintings that I wanted to create and materials and techniques that I wanted to try. Well, it’s now the end of the semester, and while I can’t say I met all those goals, I am still very proud of the work that I did and I really enjoyed the process. One painting isn’t bad at all considering that every past semester I’ve started, worked on, or completed a grand total of 0 works. This project allowed me to integrate an activity that I usually only do during the holidays and summer into a year-round endeavour that brought me some much-needed fun and relaxation.Â
Here’s a recap of the goals I started out with, and the progress I feel I made with them:
What new materials and methods, including use of different mediums and surfaces, can I explore and what effect will this have on my artwork?
I didn’t try out as many new materials as I would have liked- I’ve used both paper and acrylic paint before so I guess none of them were new. And the methods I used were pretty similar to what I’ve done in the past. But the whole process of creating a painting felt relatively “new” to me; it’s been many a year since I’ve completed a work. So the Still Life was really about getting back into it and getting the hang of it again. So, umm, we’ll call this one a work in progress.
How can I develop my own personal artistic style?
I think the answer to this one is pretty simple: I can develop my style more by painting more and by trying out new things! After doing some painting I’ve come to realize how style isn’t necessarily something you consciously do but something that arises naturally in your work. So there’s no point in stressing over whether I have a specific “style” or not- and there’s no wrong way to make a painting, so long as you are happy with the work.
How can I get better at completing larger painting projects?
Similar to the last question, I think practice is the key element here. And persistence. And some patience too. There were several points while working on the still life where I felt frustrated and wanted to give up. Like when I made a failed attempt at making a patterned background, for instance. I found that the fear of failure was the worst part of these moments, but once I was able to convince myself to just keep painting, I was able to work through them, and it never turned out as terrible as I feared. So overall this project has been a nice reminder that, in this instance, you can always paint over mistakes!
What most inspires me to paint? What themes and subjects do I want to explore while painting?
Rather than being inspired by a specific topic or subject, I was very motivated by the enjoyment I got from the process, and the feeling of completing a project, even if it was just some pieces of fruit. But then again, I do really like fruit, so maybe I will just keep painting food items. Going forward, I might also explore some nature themed works. I would also really like to do a painting with people in it, which will be challenging for sure! There are endless possibilities, but once again the most important thing is to keep practicing- I think I need to paint many more things to find out what things I love to paint.
In general, I really wanted to explore my style and experiment a bit with techniques. For the Still Life project I mostly stuck to a realist style, though there definitely were elements of my personal style in the work (can a painting ever be 100% realistic? I think there will also be some interpretation on the part of the artist. Just like anything else, I guess). I think I would have been able to play around a bit more if I had had time to do more projects. For example, one project I wanted to do was to paint over a blind contour drawing (a drawing done without looking at the paper) while using acrylic gel medium to add texture. Now it’ll be a project for my free time during the holidays. For now, here’s a video of me painting one last quick piece- something a little bit more playful!
Overall, the best part of this project is that I think I will try to keep up the painting throughout my everyday life, even if it’s only for 1 hour every other week or so. It felt good to have a painting that I was working away at, something to do when I needed to take a break and didn’t want to stare at a computer screen any more. I think it also gave me a creative boost that had a positive effect on my university work. I have no scientific data to back that statement up, so don’t quote me on that one, but it does feel pretty true to me. To conclude, I feel like I’ve learned a lot about the painting process, and I am excited to start my next project!
