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This is a old thread at this point but I felt I would add a bit for people who may read later on.
I know this thread started about Painting after not working with paint for awhile and the best way to work that out is to paint more.(Or for some you may need more painting instruction to help work on your painting skills more.)
But I also find find that I can trace problem paintings back to poor preparation. Not bad stages as you go but paintings that never seem to be getting any better no matter how long you work on them.
First off I had been away from my own art for about 5 years now Due to a combination financial obligations and mental illness. I broke down mentally and could no longer paint at all. for about 2 years I struggled I would start and then start again never finishing anything and then go into deep depression. Since my art was how I earned my living you can see how not being able to finish anything could be a problem. I had to give it up add do something else to earn a living. It was artistic paralyses due to depression and it is very hard to survive as a full time artist when you can't finish a painting.
So in addition to therapy I was building homes for a living (took the pressure off trying to earn a living from art) but I feel that time served me well and through that I can draw this analogy of home building and painting.
The start of a well built and well designed house is a Architects drawings in painting is it a combination of studies, sketches, knowledge of your subject, good reference, Lighting, painting from life. In painting you are the Architect you must have a solid plan before you start building.
The next step in building a house after the plan is a solid foundation. Now in a house this is both the actual concrete base, But is is also your knowledge of carpentry and building materials and your skill with your tools. In a painting the foundation is also the actual base a well prepared canvas or board as well as your knowledge of your materials and skill with your tools.
The next step in a house is the framing in a house the framing is the structure it provides the shape of the house and if not done right the house will fall down. No matter how expensive the finishes on top of a poor frame the house will not last. In painting your drawing is the frame and if your drawing is not good no amount finishing touches or quality of paint or canvas is going to save the painting.
But if you combine a solid foundation a great plain and all the best finishes you have a house frank lloyd Wright would be proud of. Same with a painting you must have a great plain a solid foundation and frame and then and only then can you decorate it.
If a painting is not getting any better no matter how long you work on it you can usually trace the problem back to one of these basic stages.
I hope this helps it also takes knowledge to be able to sort out where the problem lies but it is pretty safe bet if you have had pervious success that the basic foundation is there so it most likely lies with the planing or the lack of knowledge of your subject
If you only saw a elephant once in your life you would have a hard time painting one in it's natural environment convincingly even if you had a photo all you could do is produce a painted copy of that photo not produce a painting the captures the strength and majesty of a elephant in nature. To do that you would have to travel to where there are elephants and spend time observing them and their surroundings.
In portraiture you can paint from a photo of someone you have never met and get a limited likeness you can even produce a attractive painterly expression of that photo but unless you meet the person spend some time getting to know them observe them from different angles under different lighting, interact with them in person you can't really capture that person. you can only paint what you know and see from the one photo.
The beginning of this thread was about painting vs Drawing and not having painted in awhile and having trouble painting again and I can relate to that as I have started painting again myself and I am thinking of returning to my art full time. (my depression is under control with therapy)
I was not expecting too much from my first painting in 5 years but I knew I had To paint in order to get my skills back in shape. But I am not going to jump straight into a attempting a finished painting first I need to go back and build that foundation again.
People have asked me if I felt my Art school degree was a waste since I had not been working as a artist and I said no because my time in school taught me more then just the basics of art it taught me how to learn how to work on a skill how plan out a project solve problems and to build a foundation for life and that you never stop learning.
I hope this helps someone else out there struggling we all have those moments for me it meant taking a break completely for a long period I am not up to where I was before. Just like the saying "it is like riding a bike you never forget"
But even Lance Armstrong is not going to be able to win a race if he took years off then started riding again no he would need to train to get those muscles used to being used again.
So no I have not forgotten how to paint my painting skill are just out of shape.
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