Hello artists, you’re moments away from understanding how you can really unlock your
true potential and rid yourself of that burning desire to destroy everything that you make.
So let’s jump right into 3 simple steps that will allow you to “find your style”.
Haha.
No the light is you getting yourself together and organizing a fantastic database of works
you absolutely love on your desktop, notion or whatever suits you best.
For those of you trying to get away with bookmarking stuff on Instagram or downloading some pics
from google images on your phone (points finger up with angry face) -
GET IT SOMEWHERE AWAY FROM DISTRACTION AND BRING SOME ORDER INTO YOUR LIFE because the
next stage:
I’m challenging you to just choose 3, and only 3 of those artists because you really
need to hone in and become lazer focused.
Looking at too much work and flip flopping here there is just going to make you jump
from practicing one type of imagery or painting technique to the next and you actually never
really get a good look at the work you’re admiring.
I get it, I’ve been there before and it’s still hard for me to resist just copying (for
learning purposes) the top 30 artists who’s work I adore.
But you need to stop oversaturating your brain and come here so I can go through some practical
tips and show you my current big three.
You can see here in my notion I have set up my current interests because yes, even though
you’re only super-focusing on three at a time you can of course take an artist in or
out depending on the direction your work is moving in.
As you can see I’m looking at the absolutely breathtaking Matthew Wong, the magical Dominique
Fung and how can you not appreciate Pierre Bonnard.
This now brings me onto tip number 2.
The big WHYYYYY.
You now need to transform into that kid that has just learnt how to say why and continuously
repeats it just to drive you absolutely insane.
As you gaze upon all of this amazing art before your very eyes, you have to wonder what EXACTLY
is pulling you in.
Yes.
I’m pulling you in right now to break down my artists and tell you the aspects of their
work I’m playing close attention to at the moment.
First we’ll have a look at Matthew Wong, who’s work just has such a vibrant beauty
and I’m absolutely obssessed with how he references artists such as Van Gogh, Mattissea,
and Kusama but in a way that is still uniquely his own.
I’m particularly drawn towards the actual surface quality of his paintings and of course
the intricate patterns that seem so effortlessly sewn throughout his work.
Next up is Dominique Fung and I’m completely in love with her unique use of colour and
also pay really close attention to the lighting of her paintings.
The way she lights some of her interiors and invented semi-abstract landscapes is just
stunning and it’s the subtleties that just really bring her paintings to life.
(do some annotations for reflected light etc, blue fishtank one is good)
Finally we’ll have a look at the legendary Pierre Bonnard.
For Bonnard I could probably list every aspect I’ve just spoken about but I’m going to
add another aspect and that is composition.
One thing I’ve realised looking closely at his work is just how skilled he is at constructing
his own spaces, reorganizing different elements and scaling, streching and warping perspectives
to create his stunning paintings.
BUT if you’ve been paying close attention to the works I’ve been showing, you might’ve
actually realised that many of the works can easily be compared to one another whether
it be down to the compositions, the mark making, the dramatic lighting and also broader themes.
Just how are you supposed to process all of this information you might ask?
Tip number 3 - WORK UNTIL YOUR ARMS FALL OFF
You now need to do everything you can to understand how your artists produce what they produce.
And I mean scouring every last bit of information you can possibly get on their painting techniques,
their daily habits, looking at their sketches or sketchbooks, understanding how they plan
their work, what paint they use, what the surface of their canvas looks like, what brand
of tea they drink and if they ever even go outside and interact with society in any shape
or form (I just stay here in my basement).
Some of this information will be accessible to you but the reality is you’ll probably
also have to work some of it out yourself.
This is where the factor of time steps in .. and pain.
It takes a long time to really train your eyes and brush to do what you want them to
do.
I’ve been oil painting for the last 10 years and sometimes I still feel very small and
lost in front of the artists I admire.
But that’s ok, I haven’t been working like this for very long and things are finally
starting to click for me so I think they can click for you faster.
Lots of clicking.
To give you an insight into how I’ve broken down and implemented the artists we’ve just
been through we’ll have a quick look at some recent work of mine.
In my sketchbook here I basically realised my drawing and observational skills were decent,
but I couldn’t really use pencil very well as a medium.
When I was looking at Bonnard’s drawings I thought aha if anyone can teach me how to
use pencil it’ll be Bonnard.
So I did some studies of his sketches and then proceeded to draw my own garden with
the mark making and tones I picked up from studying his work.
Going forward I’ll definitely continue this loose way of sketching and the drawings I
produce will certainly influence my gouache and oil paintings going forward.
Last of all we’ll have a quick look at a small oil painting I did that was inspired
by drawings I had sat and completed at the VnA museum here in London.
The painting features Eros from Greek mythology, sleeping under the soft glow of the moon.
In this painting you can see me reaching towards the colour schemes of Dominique Fung and attempting
some of the brushwork and mark-making of Matthew Wong.
Personally I don’t think this piece is much of a success simply because the atmosphere
I was going for I didn't quite grasp it and also I don't think I was brave enough with
the paint.
USE ENOUGH PAINT.
That’s ok because it's part of the whole artistic journey, usually you’re going to
have to fail again and again and again before something really interesting starts
to emerge.
So be patient, bring order to your everyday practice and work hard, if you’re looking
for further inspiration and even more ways to seriously improve your art you’re going
to want to click on this video here, finally here is my awkward goodbye.