A little bit ago I posted on the socials asking if anyone else had spent all day working on a personal project and basically finishing it, only to realize they were going to have to start all over because it wasn’t right. I had done exactly that. That’s why I posted it. I wasn’t upset about it. Though I think some may have thought that. I found it a little frustrating, kind of annoying, but not anything to be upset about. In fact, I’d enjoyed working on the piece so much that I was looking forward to getting it right.
Starting over means a whole new sheet of paper and finding the starting point and then the reference markers for the proportions and all of that. I knew what I did wrong with the previous one so I was determined not to do that. That was going to require I approach it different from what I’ve always done with this type of piece.
Typically when I do one of these pieces I start on one side and use that as a reference for the other and for the proportions. I’ll get over enthusiastic about part of it and I’ll go ahead and fill in that first side almost completely before having everything outlined and in place. I get ahead of myself and want to see part of it finished right away. This is one of the things I’m trying to work on. Stepping back and letting a painting or drawing rest before moving on.
Anyway, I hadn’t done one of these in a long time but when I was doing them more regularly, that’s what I did. Start on one side, finish a little section prematurely and move on. And I’d gotten to the point that I thought I was pretty good at it. Though I did have trouble with placement on the paper, or scale. That’s for a different discussion. Because that was how I remembered to do it, it was natural for me to fall back into that methodology. Not that it was effective. As I said, I had to start over.
When I did start over I took a mental step back and thought about what I’d done that was not right and I thought about my most recent paintings and how I’d approached them by laying in a sketch that could act more like line art that almost just needs to be filled in. I decided that that might be the way to go and since this is practice for a bigger project and I expect to be doing a few more of this type of art, I might as well give it a try and see if it works better.
I’ve just about got the line art done and the subject of the drawing is looking like it is supposed to, and the proportions that I messed up before are better. And as I look at it, while it sits and marinates, because it is still in loose line art, it’s easier to correct where I see things that are off. I’m a little relieved because I was worried that every piece I do for the project was going to be a struggle and require multiple attempts, and maybe not make it a good idea. Or at least not with me executing it which would essentially kill the whole thing. So I’m hopeful that I’ve found a way forward.
I was thinking about this methodology of the line art sketch and realized, it’s not really a new thing for me. I started using it when I was doing stippling. I would do loose line art for all the curves, and shadows, and of course for the important features I would fill those in with a little more detail so I would know exactly where they would go. As I’ve started doing more watercolor, I realize except for the backgrounds I have been doing the same thing. And I do it for the taekwondo action paintings.
It was just interesting to me to realize, here I was fighting something, the drawing, because I was doing what I had always done. And I didn’t need to do that, I already had a better answer.
I find it a little ironic to be using this line art method or technique, because while it is a skill I have always admired and a style I like it was also something I didn’t think I’d ever really be able to do. So to find myself using it as part of my art, I find it kind of cool. However, I also have a bit of a quirk about it.
When I get the line art right and looking great, I hesitate to start the painting part for fear of messing it up. I’ve got a great outline, I don’t want to mess it up by putting paint in the wrong spot or not keeping the highlights light enough. Or, I am tempted to just fill it in, finish it off, as a graphite pencil drawing instead of a painting because, the pencil is my magic wand and I can erase it if I put a mark in the wrong spot.
So, where am I with projects and paintings this week? I’ve made some progress. My watercolor painting of the man might be complete. I did some work on the dynamics and a few minor details and now it needs to sit where I can see it regularly for a day or two to make sure there aren’t changes I want to make. The next taekwondo painting is ready for me to start the painting. But I confess this is one that I am so pleased with the line art for it that I’ve been hesitant to start the paint and tempted to just make it a pencil drawing. I won’t. I’ll start the paint soon. And that personal project is coming along. I’ve got a few more resources for it and my practice piece is much more promising this time, thanks to changing my approach. I’m hoping to be ready to share more of that in the next few weeks. And since the watercolor of the man is just about finished, I’m working on what else to start next. I have a few choices but nothing is screaming at me so I’ll be combing through reference photos. Come back and find out what I choose.
Cheers!