Monday, October 8, 2012

compare yourself

When I accepted the award at the NPS show this weekend, it was gratifying to have my hard work acknowledged. There is no area within that painting that I would change.

So, when I came into the studio this morning and compared myself (the award winning painting) to myself (this painting) I realized I could have done more to push it (and myself) into excellence.  I unframed it and tweaked it in several places but the most noticeable is the area I've circled in red on the old painting. I'm much happier with it (the one on the left) now. CLICK HERE to see a larger image.

Review your work of this year. Pick your favorite piece and remember how you felt painting it and how satisfying it is to look at it now and know you did your very best. Now look at your other work. What would it take to push other paintings into excellence? Even though I don't teach anymore, that is a workshop I might be interested in scheduling.

2 comments:

  1. I felt like I was doing a Highlights comparison picture. :) Looks as though you smushed out some sharp shadows, got rid of some of the yellows and darkened the area behind the trees. Do I get a prize if I'm right?

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  2. Hi Dolly, you have a good eye (I added yellow in the circled area, and put more detail in shadows) and also have helped me with my explanation text. I've edited the text to make it clearer which is the new and improved version and added a CLICK HERE to see a larger view.

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