07.29.08
Really Bad Painting
Considering the amount of positive feedback I’d gotten over my ‘new’ style - Rural Decay, as I call it:
I started my second one - based on a tree I saw in a swampy area in one of the Metroparks. Suffice to say, as I got underway with it, laid down my initial sketch and started painting - I reached a logical breaking point and set it aside to dry and to take stock of where I was.
Ye gods, it looks like a amateur student painting.
Any artist worth his salt will tell you that regressing is one of the hardest things to do. Trying to do a tempera painting in the style of First Grade can daunt even the most seasoned of artists. Even a non-artist will be challenged to ‘draw like a child’. Its something we lose as we get older - something in the way our brains form.
In looking at my latest - I got the distinct impression of ‘High School Art Student’ flavor. I can’t decide if this is a good thing, a happy accident, if you will. Or if I just plain suck at nature scenes and really need to practice.
