I take workshops with others whose work I admire, so as to grow as an artist myself and bring back to my students the valuable lessons I have gathered along the way. This winter I was able to bring back a big one...how to make a more tonal painting - and I discovered something interesting about myself. If others call themselves "tonalists" then I must be a "colorist" - as I love using a very colorful palette in my paintings. I don't even know if this is a term but I love the use of color too much not to consider this as something valuable and important to me. However, this new found skill of painting more in tonals was a big leap for me as it made me realize how valuable learning new skills and then applying them really is - that expansion of knowledge and then, in turn, to practice. So winter was the perfect opportunity to bridge this approach to my paintings, the more subtle colors outside and some of these new found ideas into one and bring them to life in my classrooms.
I guess the big lesson is to be true to your own style, taste, preferences and desires. But those masters that we love to follow can introduce a new approach. The goal isn't to paint like them, but to discover even just one small idea or concept to integrate into your repertoire.
Now that Spring is just a few weeks away, we are already beginning to paint with more colors, more florals, things that bring us outside with the warmth of the sun on our backs. We sit here waiting to hear the birds to start their songs and the flowers to begin their ascent above ground. I'm not great with being outside when it's cold and dreary, it creeps into my bones and muscles. And yet there is beauty to explore in each season. Embrace that. And explore it into your art.
Here are some of the paintings from this past winter - they reflect the things that were all around us and allowed me to integrate them in the classroom and my paintings.
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