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Vianna Szabo · 12-05-2005, 05:44 PM

Hi Kimber

Wow, do I know the feeling of watching a perfectly good painting desinagrate before your eyes. I have found this so frustrating in the past that I actually wrote down some steps that I can take that will help dig me out of the hole. I have posted these in a binder where I can look them up easily. I find that by writing it down I can refer back to a more logical self. Hope this helps!

Step 1. Take a digital photograph of the painting and put it on adobe photoshop then use abobe to paint on the image and make any changes you need. This way you are free to make all the radical corrections you like without doing harm to your canvas. Once you have the image corrected turn the easel to the monitor and make the adjustments.

Step 2. Walk away! Turn the painting to the wall and do not look at it for at least a week. Then you will have a fresh perspective.

Step 3 Get a critique from a trusted artist friend. Your good friends will give you an honest appraisel and suggestions to correct your errors. Sometimes its not as bad as you think. (Sometimes it is and needs to be trashed)

Step 4. Learn different ways to create a painting. If you start a painting one way and it is not working then approach it using a different technique. If you massed in the painting and its not working then wipe down and draw it in and block out the values. Perhaps defining the sharpest edge and working from that point outward. If you are painting alla prima then try working out the values then glazing. By using different methods of painting you can jog your brain to see correctly.

Step 5. Even the best artists make a lot of bad art. Give yourself permission to mess up. I am much kinder to my students than I am to myself in critque and think I would do better to treat myself as a student.

Step 6. If all else fails, It is the process not the product. Never be afraid to start over or wipe down.

Sorry to sound like a self-help guru but we are often too close to our own artwork and need to find a way to gain perspective.

Good luck, Vianna

12-05-2005, 05:44 PM	#19
Vianna Szabo Juried Member Joined: Feb 2002 Location: Romeo, MI Posts: 200	Yuck, I've been there Hi Kimber Wow, do I know the feeling of watching a perfectly good painting desinagrate before your eyes. I have found this so frustrating in the past that I actually wrote down some steps that I can take that will help dig me out of the hole. I have posted these in a binder where I can look them up easily. I find that by writing it down I can refer back to a more logical self. Hope this helps! Step 1. Take a digital photograph of the painting and put it on adobe photoshop then use abobe to paint on the image and make any changes you need. This way you are free to make all the radical corrections you like without doing harm to your canvas. Once you have the image corrected turn the easel to the monitor and make the adjustments. Step 2. Walk away! Turn the painting to the wall and do not look at it for at least a week. Then you will have a fresh perspective. Step 3 Get a critique from a trusted artist friend. Your good friends will give you an honest appraisel and suggestions to correct your errors. Sometimes its not as bad as you think. (Sometimes it is and needs to be trashed) Step 4. Learn different ways to create a painting. If you start a painting one way and it is not working then approach it using a different technique. If you massed in the painting and its not working then wipe down and draw it in and block out the values. Perhaps defining the sharpest edge and working from that point outward. If you are painting alla prima then try working out the values then glazing. By using different methods of painting you can jog your brain to see correctly. Step 5. Even the best artists make a lot of bad art. Give yourself permission to mess up. I am much kinder to my students than I am to myself in critque and think I would do better to treat myself as a student. Step 6. If all else fails, It is the process not the product. Never be afraid to start over or wipe down. Sorry to sound like a self-help guru but we are often too close to our own artwork and need to find a way to gain perspective. Good luck, Vianna