Friday, June 19, 2015

Bad Paintings

 Some time ago, maybe seventeen years or so, I took an art class where every week a different model would pose and we furiously painted portraits in oils. I then hid the paintings in the garage and promptly forgot about them.

The teacher painted in a photorealistic style and described my paintings as "decorative", which was pretty derogatory at the time. After a couple of months I realized that I didn't really like painting portraits that much and quit. But looking at these made me feel like perhaps I might like to paint people again.

It also made me realize that it is okay to experiment and fail, as long as you get back to it and keep trying.

Marilyn






 This model worked at Medieval Times and had long hair. The words around the edges are from a poem by John Donne, "At The Earth's Imagined Corners" and talks about angels blowing their trumpets to raise souls from death.



“The object isn't to make art, it's to be in that wonderful state which makes art inevitable.”
~ Robert Henri

9 comments:

  1. You are so right on! I am an awful artist if I am trying to paint something realistically. But, to paint for the sake of painting is a learning process, and often therapeutic. There is not one time that I haven't learned something about art, or myself, or both, in every attempt I have made to be an artist! The main lesson is that I am not an artist! LOL Not in the traditional sense, that is.

    I still dabble and have found digital art, particularly photo-manipulations, to be a marvelous medium! I art-journal, too, and there are absolutely NO RULES for that! LOL

    Thank you for connecting! I look so forward to your e-mails/newsletters!

    Su

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    1. Thanks so much! I like art journals too. Freedom!

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  2. Replies
    1. Ahhh, thank you friend. :-) You are too kind. <3

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  3. I think there is a story behind this artwork collection.........

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    1. Each model was a character. They were all so different. People are so interesting, don't you think?

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  4. Is the last one - with the dog - for sale?

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    1. Alas, no. All the paintings here were sent into the ether. But thanks for the inquiry. You made me eager to paint more. <3

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  5. I think your paintings are wonderful! :)

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