One Last Handout
Tomorrow is my last day of weekly classes at the Birmingham Bloomfield Art Center. Unlike the past seven years I did not sign up to teach again at the art center for the fall. I also did not sign up to teach my beloved portfolio prep course for the summer. Instead I have been offered wonderful opportunities to teach workshops around the country. While I am excited for this new journey I am ambivalent about leaving the center where I learned so much. I have had the best students a teacher could ask for. Each week I create challenges and the students do their best to the meet them and they often exceed my expectations. My classes are not easy and casual chatter is not part of our routine. Over the years I have watched individuals struggle then soar as they find their artistic voice. There is no greater reward than to see someone find joy in their potential.
I teach using a combination of demonstrations, personal critique, and gobs of handouts. Here is the last handout for my classes that have taught me so much.
One more handout……V Szabo
Always come to the easel prepared for a surprise- There comes a moment whenever I am working where something surprises me. This can happen during any phase of the process and never fails to delight me. Artists are perpetual students.
Learn the basics and practice- draw, draw, draw! Mix paint, do thumbnails, learn how different amounts of paint affect the brushstrokes. Study light and how it affects local color. A great painting is built on the foundation of value shapes which will support the color key.
Assess-Action-Analyze- Every time your brush touches the surface it should be for a purpose. Before you make a brush stroke stand back from your work, evaluate what you have done and what needs to happen next. Make one decision and then use whatever technical means to make it happen. Stand back again and analyze if your action was successful. This sounds laborious but every decision moves the work forward rather than spending time fixing mistakes.
When in doubt paint around- If we obsess on a spot then we fail to see the relationship to everything else around it. Isolating a thing as the problem will make that very spot a problem. John Singer Sargent knew that to paint an eye you needed to construct the brow bone, the cheek bone and the side plane of the nose.
Simplify, Simplify, Simplify Most painting fail because they contain too many bits of information. A good painting tells one visual story. Simplify the planes in the drawing; simplify the values so they connect as shapes. Simplify your palette so you can create harmonious colors.
Paint by yourself- This is where you will have time to think and absorb the ideas that are introduced in class.
Create a challenge that is not too challenging- You will learn only by pushing yourself out of your comfort zone. Try out new ideas with a purpose but don’t make it so daunting that you set yourself up to fail.
Choose carefully who critiques your work Choose someone whose work you admire and who can explain themselves using the language of visual elements; drawing, value, edge, color, and texture. Ask your question and be prepared to listen.
Listen to your intuitive voice- If you have a solid grasp of the basics it will free you up to experiment. When we are in the “zone” we can follow inner suggestions. Trust me you will know when that inner voice is talking to you. It is the knowledge of basics mixed with intuitive voice that creates personal style.
Do not take your work personally The worst thing that can come out of a bad painting is that you messed up a canvas that needs to be tossed. Learn from the experience and move on. If you have a painting that is successful and wins awards, be happy, learn from the experience and move on.
Teach- If you can teach a concept you own it. Listen to your students, they ask great questions.
Thank you for being my student and my teacher.
Enjoy the journey, Vianna
