January 2012
4 posts
Brush strokes carry a message whether you will it or not. The stroke is just like the artist at the time he makes it. All the certainties, all the uncertainties, all the bigness of his spirit and all the littleness are in it.
- Robert Henri from Art and Influence
Color is all relative, thus my reasoning for painting with a mud-puddle on my palette as opposed to mixing individual local colors as I need them. Every point in which you place the brush to sample the oils, you can find a color warmer, cooler, darker and lighter than your selection. If I reach the edges of my puddle, I can always expand outward as necessary. The puddle is a wonderful way to...
I remember working on a portrait painting once that was an artistic disaster. I was in complete despair and ready to start over. Jacob told me to slow down and deliberatly focus on each area, one at a time, starting with the worst area and working until it became the best area.
- Lessons in Classical Drawing, Juliette Aristides
The artist usually has no wish to duplicate appearances. He translates, indicates, and perhaps exaggerates. He goes to Nature for inspiration, but his work bears the stamp of his own personality. He is an interpreter rather than a copyist.
- Arthur L. Guptill (from Freehand Drawing Self-Taught)