Getting paid to make your art doesn’t necessarily prove that you’re a better artist, but it should help you to develop your work.
And it’s a good thing too!
Canvas isn’t the only material available to a painter, and I heartily recommend exploring other options.
Starting out, I had far too many pigments in my palette. I had so many that I couldn’t even imagine a color to mix. I was thinking within the parameters of given options, not creating my own possibilities.
I’ve always had a fascination for family resemblance--among my own relatives and everyone else’s too!
And show openings are full of unexpected opportunities. After all, what other party helps you learn about yourself and your work?
I usually include a self-portrait in any conceptual series I am working on, and Apple Pie is no exception.
A square is a rectangle but a rectangle is not always a square: similarly, a portrait is usually figurative but not all figurative work is portraiture. Just what makes the painting of a person a portrait?
According to someone who came to a recent show of my work, my portraits are more vibrant in person than online--something that’s unfortunately not always the case, they asserted.
Painting from photographs: the best way to make a lively and lifelike portrait.
The in-home studio versus the outside one: it’s not just a matter of preference and practicality.
The sweet science of making art for commission.