21. Draw the Line
Photo © ULTRA.F / Getty Images
Paint the line where helpful feedback on a painting becomes hurtful feedback. What kind of line might it be? Is it a thick or thin line? Solid or outlined? Straight or curved? One made out of letters, or shredded failed paintings? What's on either side of the line? What was used to draw the line?
22. Back to the Drawing Board
For a painter starting over is more likely to be going back to the easel than the drawing board. Find an old painting you abandoned because it wasn't working and have another go at it. Be radical and bold in what you do, not tentative (after all, it already wasn't working, what have you got to loose but some time and paint?):• Place it upside down and turn the shapes into something else.
• Take a broad brush with a dark but transparent color and glaze over areas to create stronger shadows.
• Change the direction of light in the painting by taking a small brush with some opaque white or yellow and put in some intense highlights. Then rework the rest to match.
23. Chickens Come Home to Roost
Painting © Jeff Watts
It means that something you've done comes back to cause you trouble. Paint the chickens that are coming to get you, or paint yourself underneath a bunch of angry chickens. Or paint a portrait of the fierce chicken coming to pay you back.
24. Cat Burglar
What would a cat wear if it went out with the intention of breaking in somewhere and stealing something? What would it steal -- fish, tins of premium cat food and a tin opener?25. Cover Your Tracks
To cover your tracks is to hide any evidence that you were involved. Paint a self-portrait of yourself trying to hide something. What could you be hiding? It could be something pleasant such as a surprise birthday present or cake, or something sinister. Or paint the footprints (tracks) you made that someone will see.26. Crocodile Tears
You cry crocodile tears when you fake being sad about something but aren't really. Paint this idiom figuratively in a portrait where someone's crying but the expression in their eyes or mouth give away their true feelings. Or paint it literally, the face of a crocodile crying. How big might its tears be if it could cry? What color would they be, and need they be water?27. Down in the Dumps
It's easy to get depressed or down in the dumps when you've struggled and struggled with a painting, yet it doesn't want to turn out the way you envisaged. Paint what the dump you find yourself in looks like. What do you see when you look around?28. A Drop in the Bucket
Something small that has little effect. Paint a bucket of water where a drop has just fallen in, rippling the surface. It could be from a top-down viewpoint, side on, or even from below. Or paint a drop of water about to fall from something, precariously clinging on for the moment.• Reference Photos: Water Drops
• How to Paint a Water Drop
29. See the Writing on the Wall
Graffiti spotted in Venice, Italy, by unknown artist. Photo © Marion Boddy-Evans
To see the writing on the wall is to realize something is about to happen. Whether their intentions are artistic or not, when people write or paint on walls we call it graffiti. Some of it is definitely spectacular and some just a waste of paint.
Working with spray paint means you're working with a fairly broad line with a soft edge, which influences look of the final result. Replicate the effect by painting with a large round brush with soft bristles. Paint some words on a color, then echo the outlines in varying colors until the page is full.
Working with spray paint means you're working with a fairly broad line with a soft edge, which influences look of the final result. Replicate the effect by painting with a large round brush with soft bristles. Paint some words on a color, then echo the outlines in varying colors until the page is full.
30. Eat Your Words
It means you admit to saying something stupid or wrong, and has all sorts of possibilities if you paint it literally as someone eating some words. How about a plateful of alphabet noodles? Words from old-fashioned metal type arranged on a plate? An open mouth jam-packed with words sticking out, like spaghetti you were about to slurp up? Or sentences wrapped around a fork as you would twirl strands of spaghetti?31. Every Dog Has Its Day
Photo © The Palma Collection/Getty Images
Something to remember when you're struggling with a painting: everyone has their chance at success, you just need to be persistent and you'll get these. Paint what a dog would consider a success, or a portrait of a dog's face on the day it has success.
