...would not last long around me, because cotton candy is the bomb.
So a painting like this is the closest thing I'll ever have to that, as it just looks to me as though that's what it was made of. And it's a painting whose fate hasn't quite yet been decided.
DUN DUN DUUUUNNNNN...
Okay, it's not that exciting. There's no drama. I am excited to share this painting, though! As always, it's one that just shouts, "Almost, Sarah, but not quite. Really, barely at all," at me, but I don't care. I also hope that never goes away, because the day that I can look at a painting or drawing I've done and find no flaws at all is the day I become a terrible artist. There will always be something to do better, and I don't ever want to stop learning and growing and improving and so on and so forth and yaddah yaddah.
But that's boring talk. I wanna talk about THIS thing:
So a painting like this is the closest thing I'll ever have to that, as it just looks to me as though that's what it was made of. And it's a painting whose fate hasn't quite yet been decided.
DUN DUN DUUUUNNNNN...
Okay, it's not that exciting. There's no drama. I am excited to share this painting, though! As always, it's one that just shouts, "Almost, Sarah, but not quite. Really, barely at all," at me, but I don't care. I also hope that never goes away, because the day that I can look at a painting or drawing I've done and find no flaws at all is the day I become a terrible artist. There will always be something to do better, and I don't ever want to stop learning and growing and improving and so on and so forth and yaddah yaddah.
But that's boring talk. I wanna talk about THIS thing:
Or that's how it looked after day one of working on it, anyway. The goal was to draw Cinderella's Castle from Walt Disney World, along with the statue of Walt and Mickey, during (of course) a superbly vibrant sunset. Why? Because it's just about the coolest place on Earth, and colors are pretty, okay?
I started out with a simple drawing, and tried to paint it without using photo reference to the best of my ability. I had an image in my mind of how I wanted to colors to turn out, and I wanted to stick to it. I had to check on the local colors a few times, but other than that, I tried to stick to what I was imagining.
I started out with a simple drawing, and tried to paint it without using photo reference to the best of my ability. I had an image in my mind of how I wanted to colors to turn out, and I wanted to stick to it. I had to check on the local colors a few times, but other than that, I tried to stick to what I was imagining.
I also had to sort of throw in some leafy stuff between the statue and the castle. What's really between the two objects is a lot of walls, landscaping, fencing, stairs, and other details which would have messed with the focus and been hard to depict on this small of a canvas (8" x 10"). Also, I was just running out of time. The goal was to have it finished by Wednesday, and I was at this point Monday night.
As I mentioned, I was rather short on time for this painting. In what seems to be becoming my typical modus operandi (which I need to fix asap), when I started it, it seemed like I had forever to finish it. Then on Monday, it was all, wait, this has to be done by when...? But it's all good. It's one of those blessings in disguise, I think, to have a deadline for a painting or drawing. I find that, when I'm just painting or drawing for my own entertainment, it's difficult to definitively set aside time for it. I always should be doing something else. I should be going for a run. Cooking dinner. Cleaning. Sleeping. The usual. But when I can storm through the door after work, proclaim, "I HAVE to get this done!", plop down at my desk, and then stay there until I have to go to bed, I can't help but wish that I could get away with doing that more often.
This lack of time has become what I'll blame for a good handful of issues, though. For example, it looks a bit like someone has taken a chunk out of Walt's right shoulder (Where his lapel should sit is completely empty). The details on the castle are also WAY overdone. All of the stonework should not just be depicted with a white line. I consoled myself with the idea that it looks sort of like the castle does when they have the lights on it for Christmas. But it's what I had time to do.
The biggest issue I have with this painting, though, is that I didn't do a very good job picking a focal point.
In school, I remember learning about the "Five Principles of Design." They were;
- Balance
- Unity
- Rhythm
- Repetition
- Focal Point
(If you Google it, you'll find a billion different variations, but this is the one that I remember). I can go into all of this at a later date, as it's an interesting subject. The short version is that
a) all of these principles basically are what they sound like they are, and
b) one should use all of these principles when compiling an image (whether in 2 or 3 dimensions), even if you "use" them by misusing them deliberately.
In this particular image, I find that my biggest mistake is in the focal point. Again, a focal point is what it sounds like: it's the part of the image that attracts your gaze first. Imagine you're having your photo taken, and say you need a head shot for a resume. Ideally, the photographer will zoom in on your head, with a simple or plain background, or at least a background that is out of focus. You what the first thing that the interviewer sees to be your beautiful face. However, if they take that photo with a bunch of stuff going on in the background that's all equally in focus, your face may not be the first thing that interviewer looks at.
It's about control. Ideally, you control the first thing that draws the eye, and then manipulate where the eye moves from there on.
Want to see a real live focal point in the wild? You can try it out on the image nearest you (ideally a painting or professionally done photograph): walk a few steps away from it (distance is necessary), close your eyes for a few seconds, then open them, and notice what it is that catches your eye first. You can also squint at the image and see what the most noticeable portion of it is.
When I do that with this painting, what I notice first is: dun dada DAAAAAAAAAA... The clouds.
Is this painting about the clouds? No. It's not. Yes, the sunset was a deliberate aspect of it, and yes, it was the part of it that I was most confident that I could at least marginally pull off, but it's just not right. If I had taken more time on it, I would have placed the focus on the statue in the foreground. The castle should be a more blurred by atmosphere (ooooh, aaaahhhh), and the sunset would have been the cotton candy at the end of the day. (Also, is that the direction the sun sets in Disney World? Probably not. I just thought it would look cool.)
Before you scroll down and look at the finished product, if you haven't already, let me assure you that my intent is not to tear myself apart. I'm attempting, to the best of my ability, to be realistic with myself. I'm still relatively young, and it should be exciting that my paintings now are lightyears away from what they will be later. But what will improve my future artwork even further is looking for the faults in my paintings now rather than just looking for what I've done halfway decently.
In school, I remember learning about the "Five Principles of Design." They were;
- Balance
- Unity
- Rhythm
- Repetition
- Focal Point
(If you Google it, you'll find a billion different variations, but this is the one that I remember). I can go into all of this at a later date, as it's an interesting subject. The short version is that
a) all of these principles basically are what they sound like they are, and
b) one should use all of these principles when compiling an image (whether in 2 or 3 dimensions), even if you "use" them by misusing them deliberately.
In this particular image, I find that my biggest mistake is in the focal point. Again, a focal point is what it sounds like: it's the part of the image that attracts your gaze first. Imagine you're having your photo taken, and say you need a head shot for a resume. Ideally, the photographer will zoom in on your head, with a simple or plain background, or at least a background that is out of focus. You what the first thing that the interviewer sees to be your beautiful face. However, if they take that photo with a bunch of stuff going on in the background that's all equally in focus, your face may not be the first thing that interviewer looks at.
It's about control. Ideally, you control the first thing that draws the eye, and then manipulate where the eye moves from there on.
Want to see a real live focal point in the wild? You can try it out on the image nearest you (ideally a painting or professionally done photograph): walk a few steps away from it (distance is necessary), close your eyes for a few seconds, then open them, and notice what it is that catches your eye first. You can also squint at the image and see what the most noticeable portion of it is.
When I do that with this painting, what I notice first is: dun dada DAAAAAAAAAA... The clouds.
Is this painting about the clouds? No. It's not. Yes, the sunset was a deliberate aspect of it, and yes, it was the part of it that I was most confident that I could at least marginally pull off, but it's just not right. If I had taken more time on it, I would have placed the focus on the statue in the foreground. The castle should be a more blurred by atmosphere (ooooh, aaaahhhh), and the sunset would have been the cotton candy at the end of the day. (Also, is that the direction the sun sets in Disney World? Probably not. I just thought it would look cool.)
Before you scroll down and look at the finished product, if you haven't already, let me assure you that my intent is not to tear myself apart. I'm attempting, to the best of my ability, to be realistic with myself. I'm still relatively young, and it should be exciting that my paintings now are lightyears away from what they will be later. But what will improve my future artwork even further is looking for the faults in my paintings now rather than just looking for what I've done halfway decently.
All in all, I'll claim this painting. I've learned from it, and the next one will be even better because of it. So on to the next thing.
Thanks,
Sarah
Thanks,
Sarah