From the Artist: After pursuing many other creative outlets in the past 14 years, I've started painting again and it feels great. A 'details' person with no formal art training, I'm interested in learning a more carefree approach to painting.
From the Painting Guide: I think this is a glorious still life which combines realism (the detailed pears) and abstraction (at first glance it looks like the pears are sitting on a table, but then when you look closely you see how the surface they're on melds into the loose, visually intriguing background).
To paint in a looser manner, you're going to be fighting against your natural 'details' instinct. I'd suggest you 'trick' it, for example use less light so you can't see as much detail. Or use a bigger brush so you can't control the paint to the same extent and simply can't paint detailed lines (lock those fine brushes away in a cupboard so you can't easily pick one up!). For some other suggestions, read 10 Tips for Loosening Up.
Things to Consider When Looking at This Painting:
Composition: Notice the seemingly casual way in which the pears are piled. How their arrangement draws your eye in and across, from the dark stem on the left-most one, to the echoed stems of the two 'upright' pears, and through the echoes of the dark 'bottoms'. Look at the triangular shape the pile makes, with the apex of the triangle not dead center, and the top pear leaning to the right, pulling your eye across (especially in people who read from right to left).
From the Painting Guide: I think this is a glorious still life which combines realism (the detailed pears) and abstraction (at first glance it looks like the pears are sitting on a table, but then when you look closely you see how the surface they're on melds into the loose, visually intriguing background).
To paint in a looser manner, you're going to be fighting against your natural 'details' instinct. I'd suggest you 'trick' it, for example use less light so you can't see as much detail. Or use a bigger brush so you can't control the paint to the same extent and simply can't paint detailed lines (lock those fine brushes away in a cupboard so you can't easily pick one up!). For some other suggestions, read 10 Tips for Loosening Up.
Things to Consider When Looking at This Painting:
Composition: Notice the seemingly casual way in which the pears are piled. How their arrangement draws your eye in and across, from the dark stem on the left-most one, to the echoed stems of the two 'upright' pears, and through the echoes of the dark 'bottoms'. Look at the triangular shape the pile makes, with the apex of the triangle not dead center, and the top pear leaning to the right, pulling your eye across (especially in people who read from right to left).