For the past couple of weeks, I've been working with the tempera/ink over "lost" paintings technique that was taught in an excellent local workshop. While I have found the exercise to be compelling and productive, not all of my students have found it easy. I have seen their struggles to understand not only "what" to do, but "why," and if they do get those two steps, they still might not know what to do with the result.
That's why I wanted to show you this result, created today by one of my students who has come more recently to painting. Possibly her lesser experience has allowed her to proceed with fewer expectations of what the result "should" be. I think there's a big lesson here for all of us.
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| "Enjoying Life" by Barbara L. Dean |
Barbara's result is a huge departure from any of the other exercises I saw, either in the workshop or in my studio, with my own paintings or those of other students. "Enjoying Life" probably doesn't follow many of the composition guidelines I teach, but there is no denying that it is original and very expressive. Barbara saw creatures and faces in the colors, shapes, strokes and squiggles and she went with what she felt. Isn't that what all of us, as artists, are hoping for? To find inspiration and to allow ourselves the freedom to follow it......
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