Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Improve your Artistic Vision

" Near Manassas", Oil on Paper
Jerry Lebo, 2005

Thanks to all who have commented recently on my blog. I read all the comments and am grateful for the support. In fact, I try to go to every blog that people send--so keep it up.

Today, I want to write about what I see as one of the biggest problems artist face: how to see their work objectively. I have gotten a lot of comments recently on my blog by people who want me to look at their work and send some comments. As artists, we are often "too close" to our own work to be able to see it clearly--or as others might see it. One of the questions I always ask myself is, "what would I think of my paintings if it they had been made by someone else?" Not always an easy question to answer.

I recall when I was studying at the Washington Studio School, group critiques were always very popular events. People want feedback--and I think this is one way to get outside opinions. But group critiques can only go so far, the artist must make thousands of decisions in the course of making a single painting, so a critique often comes too late--the painting is already done. How many artist go back and repaint a painting as the result of critique? In any case, if you cannot see your work objectively while you are working, you are bound to be making a lot of wrong decisions during the process. How many times, for example, have you finished working on a painting and walked out of the studio--only to come back the next day and say "What was I thinking?!?" A painting can look so good on the way out of the studio, only to look pretty crappy the next day.

The ability to see your work objectively is one of the most important traits for any artist to develop. In fact, I have a theory that this ability is what separates the great artist, from the average, or even above average. I remember reading James Lord's biography of Giacometti. There is a scene where Giacometti is walking out of the studio onto the street and exclaims, "Look at those trees, I don't think I have ever seen those trees looking like that!" At first I was puzzled by this comment, after all he must have looked at those trees many times in the past in all seasons. What was he trying to say? In retrospect, I believe he was reacting to his own artistic vision at the moment, in that, HE really had never seen them like that. That is, at that moment, it was as if he was seeing those trees for the first time, even though he had seen them many times in the past. Imagine the power of being able to look at your work as if you had never seen it before each and every time!

The good news is that most artists are not like Giacometti, but still seem to get along just fine. We struggle to see clearly while we are painting, and even afterwards in judging our own art. If you already have a natural ability to see like Giacometti, I suspect you are not reading this blog because you are too busy getting ready for your museum show. For the rest of us, the good news is there are little tricks and exercises that can improve your ability to see your work more objectively--many of which you may already be using. Here are a few I recommend:

1. Use a Mirror. This is the tried and true method of getting some distance from your work. Put a mirror behind your easel and every so often turn around and look at the reflection of your work in the mirror. Alternatively, you can use two mirrors (one in front at an angle, and one behind--its a bit tricky to get them lined up correctly) and look at your work in the reflection as you paint. I don't know why this works, but it does. Seeing your work in reflection puts some distance between you and the work--it is like standing back from the easel (which you should do frequently anyway) and looking at your painting from across the room. Try it.

2. Paint Upside-Down. I love this one, because it always is a bit freaky. After getting a good start on a painting, so you have the basic composition and masses laid down, turn the painting upside down and look at it--or even paint on it upside down for a while. Sometimes, when things are going very badly in a painting, I turn it upside down and paint on it for 10-20 minutes. In fact, I have finished paintings completely by painting them upside down. No joke. I think this works because it allows you to see the painting more objectively--instead of as individual objects, everything in the painting becomes an abstract element, which allows you to see the balance, composition, tones, and shapes much more objectively.

3. Work on Multiple Paintings at Once. I have discussed this approach in previous postings. Essentially this comes down to switching what you are working on very 10-15 minutes or limiting the time you spend on any one painting. First, if you limit your time, you will make better and bolder decisions. Second, trading out what you are working on regularly gives you a chance to see each painting as if you were just starting on it for the day. One downside of this approach I have found is that you will often reduce the variation of colors and tones in your paintings if you do not take the time to clear your palette before switching out paintings. That is, if you are working from the same mixture of colors on your palette for each painting, there is a risk you will make all your paintings merge toward the same color harmonies. So clean your palette and remix your colors when you change paintings.

4. Take Frequent Studio Breaks. This works very well for me, if I can be disciplined enough to do it. If I simply walk out of my studio door to go upstairs and wash some brushes or get something to drink, when I walk back in the studio I can see my paintings much more clearly. I am often surprised by how different they seem to me after only a few minute break from them. The problem with this approach is that the effect of being able to see clearly, at least for me, only lasts a few minutes--so you have to do it regularly for it to work. In fact, this approach works best if combined with the other methods described here--otherwise you will tire yourself out walking in and out of the studio every 5 minutes.

5. Take Pictures or use a Video Camera. This is an approach I started using a couple of years back as digital photography and video improved, and the cost of the technology came down. I have described how I use digital pictures in previous posts, but this can also work with video cameras. I have in the past set up a video camera connected to a small black and white TV just to the right side of my easel. I point the camera at my easel and watch myself painting both from a distance and in black and white. This is a great way to practice tonal control and composition. If you only have a digital camera, stop every five-ten minutes or so and take a shot of your painting. If your camera has a black and white setting, you can take a picture and look at the tones (you can do this on your computer as well) and see if your tonal range is correct, or if you are too dark or light in certain areas. If your painting does not look good in black and white, it will never look good with color.

So, there are some tips to improve your "artistic vision". Hope you find them useful.

All the best, sixtyminuteartist.

56 comments:

Mia said...

I am very impressed by your artwork and by your determination. Years ago I started painting but then life sort of got in the way. I only wish I made the time and had half the determination you do.

sixtyminuteartist said...

Mia, don't get dicouraged. Start will a few small paintings, and go from there. If you love it, it will grab you--and not let go. Jerry

Anonymous said...

Love your blog.

Jet Fisher said...

That last tip was great. I am going to try that myself.

Michael said...

fabulous post 60...the way we look at our own art is worth analyzing..you continue to amaze me in your teaching skill..and I am more surprised at how well I like your works! Thanks in advance!

Susan Abma said...

Hi Jerry,

I am an artist (oil painter)living in Leduc, Alberta, Canada.
I am very active in the arts community across Canada and frequently research other artists world-wide.
It was a pleasure coming across your blog and I will watch it in the future.
With four children and a full-time job, I commend you on your dedication to the arts and to educating other artists.
Susan Abma
http://canadianoilpainter.blogspot.com

Buddy Holly said...

i really admire your work, you write very well too... you sell your paintings on ebay ?

Derek Miller said...

The tip about using a camcorder/video recorder is interesting. I sometime snap photos of my work so that I can see a distance shot of my work in progress. (I work on the floor moving around the painting.)

sixtyminuteartist said...

Buddy Holly, I do sell my paintings on Ebay. There are four up there right now--see my widget bottom right on my blog or search for Lebo on ebay.

Jerry

Suzanne said...

Hi Jerry,
You amaze me! Full-time job, four kids, painting everyday, and yet you find time to write so much for us to feast upon. You insipire me to get going and "just do it". Thank you for sharing all of this info with us.

Robert Piercy said...

Very interesting and helpful. Thanks for the great info. I'm going to spend a little time reviewing your other posts as well. Keep up the great work.

Unknown said...

Thanks for the great site! You've inspired me to start a painting a day and it's going great. Check out my blog. :)

JBinford-Bell said...

New to Blogger and am just learning my way around. You were a highlighted post and since it was about painting and I paint I stopped in. Enjoyed your tips on this blog. I frequently paint upside down and often with both hands. I find using my left hand opens up my expression

Priyan said...

Hi Sixtyminuteartist, It was great reading your latest blog, so many insights into the creators mind. Thank you so much. I am also in the process of 'restarting' my painting skills which never really got started! Your valuable words will help lots. Thank you!

kenni said...

a second opinion always helps. it allows to know what we have missed.

often times when i write, my mind moves faster than my hands could follow and i often miss out words or letters because of that.

good thing you are into this. it will really help artists notice what they thought was or was not there.

Jen said...

This is actually a really inspirational blog. It brought me back to those art lesson days that I sometimes took for granted. I'm an illustrator who often finds myself going back to those early fundamentals of drawing and painting. Nice job!
__________________________________
http://stopapathynow.blogspot.com/

Elizabeth Love (née Acheson) said...

Hello Jerry...I've just found your blog (like many others have) & am reading through your informative posts.

I have found taking a photo of the work can be helpful...I can see straight away if something is not quite right - changes can then be made to the image on the computer to see what may work.

I will try the black & white tip next time.

Thanks!

Unknown said...

thank you... those tip are great - as well as the inspiring idea of committing to 60 minute a day - that is great - I have 2 children and definately need my creative space amongst the rest of the chaos so that is a really helpful idea! I don't paint but do design work and songwriting and found these tips really interesting for all the different things I do...It is really hard to be objective and other peoples opinions aways throw me - what I see in my work as the weaknesses other people love and the parts I see as being strong other people can just look over so I don't thin yo can ever be completely objective as art, and music, are always judged unobjectively i suppose. I love the idea of working on a few pieces at the same time - i guess as well as being bolder the stronger pieces become more evident for you to focus in on and you can be less precious if you have to scrap something that isn't working!

Middle Ditch said...

Hi Jerry

I'm not a painter but like you I want to share my art with others. I'm a script writer and with friends we record regularly what I write. You can listen to my radio serial on middleditch.blogspot. I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed your paintings.

Monique

Anonymous said...

I am an artist who works in fiber, I often take my "palette" of cloth and put swatches on my copier for a black and white check of the tonal values. No reason you cant do the same with paint color samples.

Eruwen Fuin said...

I truly find your work amazing. I haven't read all of your posts yet, but rest assured that I will. You truly know how to inspire people. Keep up the good work.

Anonymous said...

My daughter made a new years resolution to draw something every day, I did too. Mine only last a couple of weeks though. Maybe I should try again!
Cheers

Anonymous said...

I love this blog. If you have some time could you check mine out?

http://key2wonderland.blogspot.com/

Jolls said...

Wow, this is an excellent blog! And you paint all these in sixty minutes? That's great! Your blog is really inspiring. Thanks for sharing everything :D

robert d said...

Use a mirror or stand on your head? Perhaps this will alter the experience. But the common link among all past masters was that they mixed their own paints. And if you can make these paints with something you have grown or found all the better.

Snapping out,

d

Paddy's Daughter said...

I have been reading your blog for a while and find it helpful and stimulating. I'm not an artist as such, but work in textiles as a traditional quilter slowly and painfully moving into different styles. What you say is most useful. Thanks

Annemarie Zimakoff said...

As an artist (musician, though)I absolutely know how it is to be wandering around not knowing what other people think and hoping for the best. The critisicm is necessary but oh, man, sometimes I get so confused, because people never agree on what they think of you. I tend to listen and try to see if peoples advice work for me. Because you also have to have a pretty good idea about what you want from your own material to be able to see if you can use what other people say about your work.

chimerastone said...

I'm having trouble drawing things from memory. Real life is not a problem because I can make photorealistic drawing. I learning how to draw people because they are subject I find most difficult. Animals are easy. Don't intend to render them realistic more illustrative. It's just when I see other people I feel like I'm under the pressure to match them and this is causing me stress and makes do want to show my work. Plagued by selfdoubt that's all.

Littlemommy said...

I love this post! Such good pointers! I don't paint, but I do make quilts. I really appreciate your ideas. Thanks.

Unknown said...

Hi Jerry, thanks for such a great blog, which I have only just found! I really connected with your comments about needing to paint so that you don't go crazy, and trying to fit painting into a busy life. I have a job and two children, but I am also lucky enough to have a husband who built me a studio to paint in! I feel the need to paint deeply, and would love to get my "fix" every day, but some days it's just impossible. I love your idea of devoting 60 minutes a day to art, so I'm going to try and do just that. That way I might start getting some of my half finished pieces actually finished! Best Regards, Lyn H

Monika said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Calabar boy said...

I love the arts but I cannot paint nor draw so I appreciate others that have the talent. Please can we link up

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
rauLcc said...

hey i like this blog

Life... Love... and a Little Luxury Too said...

I believe that it is extremely hard to be objective about anything one feels passionate about... Peace, -Timi-

Carol said...

Wow – I have just found your blog and find it inspirational.

I did art at school but have no other training. I have recently had this urge to create with photography, charcoal and paint but am hitting a few brick walls. I agree that photographing your painting helps tremendously with seeing problem areas, although I am still battling to reproduce colour properly in photographs of my paintings. I have just tried your grey scale and that works beautifully too. I must still try the mirror!

Your idea of spending a shorter time working on each painting in a session intrigues me as I am finding that my work tends to get too detailed, almost photographic, and this worries me. I cant seem to be able to “free up”. Is an artist ever really happy with their work?

If you have time I really would appreciate your view of my progress since April 07 with maybe some constructive pointers as to what I could do to improve my work. Most of my art is on my blog. There is a wealth of material on your blog which I intend to slowly work my way through.

Thanks again!

Rogers Place said...

Looks like alot of thought goes into your paintings.

chook said...

Hi Jerry, enjoy your blog A couple of other things that help me are criticism from my wife and son who aren't into art and therefore 'see' differently and the idea that you want your viewer to go into the painting via focal points and then go round the painting via things like repitition of colour or shape and not slip off the side and lose interest..
I fit my art into a busy restaurant life and I find when I'm busy and frustrated at not doing my art is when I'm most creative.

sixtyminuteartist said...

Chook, I can definately identify with your situation. All I can say is don't give up, find time in the morning if possible to get into the studio for even 15 mins. It is ironic that artist with full-time jobs put all their creative energy into the non-art job--and have nothing left for the thing they love. My advice is to set some limits--and give yourself a bit of studio time each day. Jerry

Anonymous said...

I wish I had known some of this stuff from the start. Interesting way of going about being creative.

calicostitch said...

Hi, I'm new to blogging but something you said in this posting struck a chord. When I am at my most productive it is when I am working on several pieces at the same time. They might be all part of one development and that is when I really feel as if I'm producing. Something seems to take over and 'it' happens without me having much to do with it. I say that but I know that is not true. You just seem to get on to a roll which makes that creative part of your brain go into power drive. I get a real buzz out of those times and wish I could discipline myself to do it more often. Thanks for an interesting blog.

Paranoia in B Major said...

I like your art very much, and kudos to your extraordinary talent! You are very skilled at painting, I must say. I'm a painter myself, but nothing nearly as good as this! Your tips are useful, too! Good job!

Nicole V Lozano said...

Use a mirror, I've never thought of that... I'll have to give that a try. Thanks yet again.

Shelby M said...

wow, this is so great for you. I've always been creative and wanted to take up painting but I never knew what to paint, and what is better than a ho-ho. I think you're work is great, I love your determination!

Jen said...

I'm a new reader to your blog.
Good tips. I'll try see how they apply to photography.

Addy Bee said...

Wow. I'm practicing on oil painting as well and I'm having a bit of difficulty with it. :[ but you're my new inspiration so I'll try harder. :)

Thank you for your wonderful blog. <3

Angry Angel said...

wow, im not too big on paintings but I really love this one. You have great talent!!

http://jensgossip.blogspot.com/

gwadzilla said...

blogging can be a selfish task...

hey look at me
hey look at me
hey look at me

I checked you out

hey look at me
hey look at me
hey look at me

I pretended to check you out

it is like talking to listen
even though we have two ears and one mouth
we still tend to talk twice as much as we listen

gwadzilla said...

I came back to see what I said that you found offensive

but you deleted my comments

I use the Comment Moderation on my blog
so I can not judge you for your censorship

my words were meant for you to read

not as an effort to advertise for my blog

good stuff

I looked at the paintings
I scanned some of the words

good stuff

and it is interesting
as I am a competitive cyclist who is only granted a short amount of time due to the responsibilities of adult life
the metaphor of a sixty minute artist matches up with my efforts to be a sixty minute athlete

also...

if you looked at my blog
you would see that I am also a creative person

but...

I do not think you did so much as scan my words or look at my images

had you
you would have better understood my words

Jason Waskey said...

Jerry,

As others have said, here and elsewhere: this blog is phenomenal! Your art work is just as excellent. Bravo.

I have used every tip described here (sometimes intentionally, sometimes not) with good success. Your list inspires me to be more intentional about doing so. I'll offer up one more thing that I've found jogs your vision:

Change the size you work at.

Smaller or larger scale requires a different level of observation and/or visual editing. Your eye gets a great work out this way!

Thanks again for the great and inspirational blog!

Isa Tenhaeff said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
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