Make It Look Easy
Monday November 24, 2008
"Everything is deliberate in a painting. You just make it to look like it was easy and effortless. It's like watching ice skaters. They make it look effortless, but behind that are years of training and a lot of deliberate effort. ... I think perseverance is one of the most important ingredients to being a successful artist..."It's an art myth that it ought to be easy to create a painting. Why should anything worthwhile be easy? There is no simple trick or recipe that instantly gives you a whole finished painting that's any good.
-- Watercolor Portrait Artist Mary Whyte in the article "Capturing the Unseen", International Artist magazine, Oct/Nov 2008 issue, p41--7.
It's like baking a pie vs heating up something in the microwave. There are multiple parts and it takes patience: you make the pastry, you cook the filling, you put the parts together, you have to get it out the dish in one piece... It takes time and effort before you get to enjoy the whole.
See Also:
• Top Artist Magazines
• Art Myth No.2: Painting Should be Easy
Comments
Yeah it’s like doing the general groundwork then adding the details – skill involved in all stages and aspects of work.
This is one of the most frustrating of myths, and effects the respect we get as artists. No one doubts the hard work it takes to learn to play an instrument, nor would they say it is not worth it,or that if you cannot instantly play that you should give up, but they refuse to believe it can take years and years of hard work and constant practice to get good at art.
I have a friend who is a house painter. No one thinks he does not work hard. But they are “charmed” by his wife’s “hobby” of watercolors and are amazed at how she can do so much with such little effort!