When you fall in love you don't just 'fall in love' and that is it. It is a growing process and the more you love the more you are able to love. That is just like painting with me. After spending the last few weeks really immersing myself in learning about art and watching some long demonstration videos from amazing artists like Morgan Weistling and Jeff Watts, I'm all caught up in this affair, which is going to be one which will hang on to me for the rest of my life I'm afraid...
I've been learning so much and trying to put it into practice in my own paintings, which I'll share photos of in my newsletter next week. Sometimes it works and I'm on top of the world thinking I've finally getting it! And then a couple of hours of painting later I realize that this painting thing really is an impossible mystery and the great artists are just some extraordinary people with gifts that only they are born with. My love affair is elusive; hopeful and hopeless by turns, but when you are in love you never give up and everything is possible. I'll keep on going and one day perhaps I will be able to paint like some of the worlds greatest painters. Here are some of their works that inspire me and lead me on.
Since The Art of the Hut project was first formed I've been gathering inspiration from various artists and visualizing all the drawings of huts I will be doing this coming summer. Studying paintings and drawings that I admire helps me with things like what works in perspective, composition, and focal points. The great artist Richard Schmidt is one of my main inspirations and I admire all of his work, and at the moment particularly his paintings of buildings. He says so much with each brushstroke and he keeps his focal point clear and the painting unconfusing which is hard when it comes to buildings.
Here are some more sketches of buildings which inspire me found on Google images.
Here's some sketchbook inspiration from YouTube:
Both watercolour paintings, I might take a few watercolours with me and keep a watercolour sketchbook while we are on the trip.
Speaking of sketchbooks I have ideas of making a few of my own. I love all kinds of sketchbooks, but it is hard to find the perfect one. I may get close to what I want by making my own, using the Coptic binding technique which will allow me to open it up flat. And I also have some inspiration for covers from Pintrest.
