Since I’ve got into the habit of rising early to paint I’ve come to love the mornings.
The world is quietat 6 AM and the day is still full of promise. Usually I’ll be thinking about a painting I’ve got underwayand wondering what part to work on next. Maybe I’ll be starting a new one and tingling with the anticipationand excitement that that always brings. It’s warm enough now to have the window open first thingand on this particular morning I’m sitting here as usual with a large strong coffee, enjoying the calm and thefresh morning air. The first hint of daylight is starting to creep into the room and I can hear the pidgeonscooing in the trees by the railway line at the bottom of the garden.
I like to hear the trains go by, taking the early commuters into London because they remind me how luckyI’ve been to be able to spend so many of my working days at an easel. I’ve spentplenty of time on those commuter trains myself. I know the routine and because I do I make a point of takinga little time every morning to count my blessings.
But today is different. Although it’s Sunday and the early trains are almost empty, today they’re remindingme that tomorrow morning I’ll be joining the commuters again and heading into London for the first day of mynew job.
For the past three years I’ve been working freelance as a search engine optimisation consultant, commonlyknown in the industry as an SEO. Thework is very interesting, usually enjoyable and being freelance has given me a lot of free time. I’ve endeavouredto make the most of that free time by using it to teach myself to draw and paint. But as the easel hasoccupied more and more of my waking hours my business has wound down. Now we find ourselves in the midst of aglobal recession brought on by the mindless greed and parasitism of the irresponsible, sorry excuses for humanbeings that seem to populate our financial sectors. It’s really not a good time to be launching a painting careerfrom a standing start, as I’ve recently discovered.
But I wouldn’t want to give the impression that I’m sitting here feeling sorry for myself. Well, maybe abit. But I still believe in the counting of blessings, and I’m very thankful that I’m able to get a good joband survive in the midst of all this carnage. Plenty of people with families and mortgages are findingthemselves in very difficult circumstances right now. My heart goes out to them.
But going back to full time work will be a big change. I’ll have much less free time to practice. I know thatlots of you out there reading are struggling to balance full time work and other commitments with learning to drawand paint. I know it’s not easy. Painting is time-intensive and very demanding.
It’s going to come down to time managment. Routine. Commitment. Words that perhaps don’t spring immediatelyto most non-artists’ minds when they think of artists. But that’s what we have to do if we’re going to keep ourdreams alive. That’s what I have to do, at least to a greater degree than I have already.
As is always the case with life, there’s no script for this. You can’t open The Big Book of Life at the chaptertitled “Balancing Painting Practice With Full Time Work and Other Assorted Commitments” and get a handy, one sizefits all plan. It has to be figured out as we go along. But at least we can make a start.
Time management. Routine. Commitment. I’m going to commit to getting up every day an hour earier than I need to(that’ll be, hmm, 5AM) and spending the first hour of the day on drawing practice. Since it’s always easier to getstarted when you have a project to work on, I’m setting myself to start a cast drawing for mymorning practice. I’ll set it up today so that tomorrow morning I can just stumble in all bleary eyed and get drawingstraight away.
I’m planning this to be a full cast drawing with tone. It’s high time I did one of those having started a seriesof them a long time ago which needs reviving. The details I’ll figure out (and blog about) as I go along.
I’m also going to commit to spending as much of the evenings as I can painting, but I’m going to give that alittle thought before I start. Probably small still life painitngs, like that’s a surprise, but the subjects willrequire a little thought. Flowers are out, since they’ll die too quickly. So my planned flower series is goingon hold. Stuff that doesn’t move will make much more sense for a subject.
So there you have it, big changes at Learning to See. I’ll try to blog more regularly about how I’m managingthis new transition, and share any tips I can come up with regarding time management and making the most of what littletime us day-job people have to move our work forward. Probably my posts will get shorter, but then that might be arelief for you – lets face it, I do tend to drone on at some length if I’m allowed to.
If any of you out there have some good tips on time management and finding the time to practice, I’m all ears. Pleaseadd them to the comments so we can all benefit.
For now, I’m going to leave you with a couple more of the copies I did last year.Funnily enough, these two copies were done on the train on the way to client meetings. See? There you go,even my daily commute can offer me an opportunity to practice. Maybe I’ll see you on the train tomorrow morning…
1st March 2009
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Hi Paul,
firstly congratulation on your new job, and thank you for sharing with us your morning tought. You are a very decent man and i am glad you like your work(new) i am sure that your new comittement wont stop you from producung beautiful art. The week end is yours to paint so are the evenings. I have one suggestion. Paint oil of smaller size, say 6×6″ or 6×8″, there are some advantages, obviuosly you can finish a oil in less time, but you have to solve the same problems that you have in a bigger size canvas. It will take a while to get use to it, but i believe it you are going to love it, like all the daily painters of dailypainters.com fame do. You dedication to art will continue to enrich your life like ours, and as a bonus you won’t have to worry about selling because you already have a job. Of course you will have to ride the train in the erly morning , millions of people do. In your case …. if you can produce drowing like the one shown on your email even that is time well spent. Congratulation again Paul wishing the best for your work and your art, happy painting,
Mariano
What a poignantly written post, Paul. I’m glad I found your blog.
Here are some tips for time management: the small book “How to Have a 48 Hour Day” is a no-nonsense quick read with plenty of ideas on the subject.
As for not being able to paint flowers because they die too fast, you might want to get yourself some of the well made artificial ones. Sometimes I can’t tell them from the real ones unless I get up very close, and certainly no one would know th difference if you used them for painting reference!
– Michele
http://www.MicheleRushworth.com
Hey Paul, Surviving as an artist iis not easy. We all do what we have to do to keep a roof over our heads and food on the table. You are so very talented and I so enjoy seeing your work develop. Would you be interested in doing portrait commission? How about teaching a workshop? Both ideas could supplement your regular job. Just keep painting.
Brenda
Paul congratulation on the new job. Getting one in this environment is no easy feat.
I found that when I had a full time gig the weekends were the best, if planed right you can get 20 hours of work in. Of course being married can cause some problems and negotiations are a must. My wife is also an artist and she is prone to spending almost her entire weekend in her studio, which is our garage so this has not been a problem for me.
Drawing an hour before you op on the train is good. I would also take a small sketch pad and draw on the train. This can add up to a lot of drawing time on a month.
Good luck with the job.
I forgot one thing, the Bridgman books are perfect for train rides, they are small and compact as is the Peck anatomy book.
Hi Paul,
Sympathies and felicidades on your full time job. Been following you for a few months, and been totally inspired.
For three years I’ve been managing a more than full-time job, plus learning to paint. It’s tough, and slow, and often I resent my job (even though I’m lucky that it’s art related and I work with amazingly talented people, so I can learn daily)
These are my strategies:
I keep a sketch pad available at all times-draw everything, everyone, until family and friends tell me to stop. Don’t draw in meetings at work. Bosses don’t like it.
2. I set a goal of dedicating 2o hours a week to painting, and I keep a time sheet. I list amount of time and project—and it doesn’t have to be directly handling paint. Research counts, blogging counts, sketching counts. This keeps me honest. Keeps me from wasting time.
3. This is crucial: I killed my tv. Now I need to seriously disable the internet and YouTube.
4. I remind myself I’m human and need rest or all else goes to heck. During the mandatory crunch time at work, I have to lay off painting, or I’m no good for anything.
5. I’m jealous of my time.
These are my strategies. Hope they help you. It will be fine, really it will. Keep working. Keep learning.
Maggie
Oooh, I sympathse, Paul. But y’know… congratulations on the job. You might even enjoy it 🙂 Hope all goes well tomorrow.
Ouch to 5am though… intravenous coffee may be needed. I think you have enough dedication to your art to be sure that the the work won’t get in the way too much.
Sue
(PS – I draw in work meetings all the time. To hell with the nay-sayers, at least it keeps me awake!)
Congratulations on the new job, Paul!
I can think of few people who really have a chance of making this all work – marriage, painting and full time job – but you are one of them. Your commitment to excellence in all you do along with time served on research and at the easel, for the last three years, will allow you to pick and choose where to concentrate
your efforts.
You already know you can draw on the train Рwonderful subject matter all around you,too! (Your caf̩ sketch training will come in handy.)And more studied work in the early morning will serve you well.
Once you get into the swing of things at work, I’m sure you’ll find slots of time for what you need to do. Just hope that the job doesn’t require extra hours or take home work – perhaps you made that clear before accepting this position?!
In any event, I look forward to your next post/learning experience. I’ll miss the exacting (long)and wonderfully written posts another of your talents. Have you thought of writing a book???
Good luck tomorrow and don’t forget your lunch!
Hi Paul, Has anyone ever told you that you are a very interesting writer? I so much enjoy reading your writings! Maybe a book some day!! Your paintings are beautiful, and your work wonderful, and your attitude is just what we all need to hear and heed. Thank-you so much!! You will do well. Give thanks to God in all things and He will direct your path. God bless you and yours dearly, Claudia-Marie
Hi Paul,
I always look forward to your updates.
This is excellent work, I know how difficult it is to make sight-sized copies of old master paintings and drawings.
I’ve used a couple of approaches, one being the rather energetic pacing up and down method of placing the canvas/paper beside the printed copy on the studio wall and standing about 7 to 8 feet away. The other approach I’m experimenting with at the moment is, the rather rigorous relative measurement method.
The latter method one is paying off quite well at the moment, (one of Velasquez’s nobleman).
Great to see the Sargent and particularly the Ingres. I saw an Ingres exhibition in London about 1999, and got to see his small but exquisite drawings,it is written that Ingres used a camera lucida to make some of his drawings but regardless of devices, his work shines.
Your quite an inspiration Paul, thanks for the updates.
Sean
Thanks all for these wonderful and very helpful comments.
Mariano: Working small is a very good idea. I’ve done plenty of small pieces and enjoy them so that will be no great sacrifice. Excellent advice, thank you.
Michele: Thank you, I’m glad you found my blog too and am complimented to have such a fine painter gracing my little site. The book you suggested is now at the top of my wish list – but I might have to wait for my first pay day to buy it 🙂 Artificial flowers is probably a very good idea. It’s that word though – artificial. It makes me feel funny. I think I might be a bit too Zen about painting from life to try it but you never know. Thanks.
Brenda: Indeed, it’s not easy to survive as an artist at the best of times, never mind right now. Thanks for your kind words. Portrait commission would probably be out for me at the moment since I’m not nearly practiced enough at portraits to be confident of doing a good job. Plus I work in a teeny tiny room religiously avoid working from photos (but that too may change).
A still life workshop though, that might work. That I do know something about. Actually I’ve been giving a lot of thought to online learning lately. I’d like at some point to put together a structured curriculum based on my own experiences so far, a kind of self help for self teachers like me. Watch this space – but don’t hold your breath too long, it may be a while coming:)
>Just keep painting.
I will. I promise.
Jeff: Thanks my friend, those are good points. 20 hours is certainly enough to achieve something. I couldn’t possibly give up my Saturday ice skating though, it’s the only exercise I get! Still, I reckon the 20 hours should be possible even with that. Thanks also for the tip on the Bridgeman and Peck books. They’re on the wish list too.
Maggie: Thanks for that lovely comment, it’s wonderful to hear that you’ve been inspired.
>Don’t draw in meetings at work. Bosses don’t like it.
LOL! I’ll take that under advisement. I was careful not to get my sketchpad out in the interview, although I did have it with me. Number 1 golden rule: Never go anywhere without a sketch pad!
Thanks for these time management tips:
1. Yep, got that one covered 🙂
2. The time sheet idea is a brilliant one, and one that I’ll implement straight away. A simple excel spreadsheet should do it. Expect to see it feature in future posts.
3. I’m with you, we killed our TV three years ago. Never regretted it once. But the Internet now it would be like being deprived…of…gasp…air! I’m not sure I could do that one. Apart from anything else I learn so much online. I’d be losing my only teacher! But I do take the point about amount of time online.
4. Very good advice, thank you. I hadn’t thought of that but have a strong tendency to burn myself out so I’ll bear it in mind.
5. Duly noted. I’m sure I’ll be the same.
Sue: Nice to see you again! How have you been? As for the job, I do expect to enjoy it, I’m very lucky on that score. Fiddling about with web sites is kind of second nature for me. And it’s in the education market too, not too hard-nosed sales type stuff so I feel good about that as well.
>I draw in work meetings all the time.
A dissenting voice Maggie! Hm. Maybe we’ll leave that till the second week.
Marsha: Thank you, but stop embarrassing me! The juggling act will probably become a recurring theme here in the future. I know you have your own commitments to attend to too, and that you’re a master of this kind of balancing act. I hope I do half as well as you. Cafe sketch type drawings will be on the agenda, but some of those London commuters can be a bit scary first thing. Hopefully I won’t end up with too many black eyes.
>Have you thought of writing a book???
Actually, yes. Well, an eBook to be precise. But it’s not much more than a vague notion at the moment. I’ll keep you posted.
>don’t forget your lunch!
Damn, I knew I’d forgotten to organise something!
Claudia-Marie: Thank you for your kind words. See comments above regarding a book.
Sean: Thanks. These actually weren’t done sight size, they were done on the train with the sketch pad on my lap. Kind of sight size, but without the standing back. Crowded commuter trains might not be the best venue for sight size work 🙂 The second one is a drawing by Theodore Chassereau, very similar style though and the same period. I’ve done a copy of Ingres portrait drawing of Paganini, I’ll try and find some time to post it. I’d be interested to hear more about your relative measuring method if you have the time. Email me if it’s too complex for a blog comment.
Right. I really must get back to organising things for tomorrow. Shirts to iron and lunch to prepare (thanks Marsha).
Thanks again for all your comments. You’ve all reminded me what a great and positive tool for communication the web can be.
Paul if anyone can, you can – and you’ll only be more inspiring to more people as you take on this new challenge. And I agree with Brenda, you should teach a workshop 🙂
Hello Paul,
If it’s any consolation, I’ve found that I appreciated my “free” (painting) time, the more I resented my day job (not wishing any form of resentment upon you, of course). It kept the fire burning. The wee time will be used more efficiently because it becomes precious and so desired. It’s just human nature. I’m sure in time you will find your own ways to manage your time effectively.
All the best in everything…
Maryam
Old Plate, you can do this! (This is me encouraging both you and I, as I am facing the same choice.) What I think will be important is:
1. Good lighting, so you can work at any hour.
2. Knowing when to end a day’s painting, so it can be picked up properly at your next session.
3. Acceptance of the possibility that you will get less done, and progress will slow.
And finally, I’ve found in the past that beginning every session with a certain ritual — I listened to opera because it allowed me to get into my painting mind right away — conditioned me to make the shift quickly and painlessly.
Good luck!
Positive thoughts, as always, Paul! Hello to Michelle too, of course (I remember those wonderful drawings of your beautiful wife). You’re such an inspiration. Happy Days. Best wishes from Yorkshire.
Hi Paul – It’s so good to hear about your job. I think you will end up doing lots more art than you think you will. For one thing, you have the proper mindset to get work finished.
I would like to request that you keep your sketches in a book, maybe with narrative, so that it could also be used as something the rest of us who are following your career would appreciate. I noticed that Moleskin now has a sketchbook in storyboard format. I’m mentioning Moleskin because I got one for Christmas and I’m finally getting around to sketching and writing in it. Those of us who are verbal (that would be you) as well as visual would take it it very easily. It strikes me as a cinematic way to keep your thoughts in order.
Please make sure find a way to keep working. If I think of anything special that I do to streamline my day I will post it here.
http://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/02/doodlerecall.html
“Asked to remember names they’d heard on a recording, people who doodled while listening had better recall than those who didn’t. This suggests that a slightly distracting secondary task may actually improve concentration during the performance of dull tasks that would otherwise cause a mind to wander.”
Hey Paul. I have been reading your blog as well. I love your writing, and of course, your paintings and drawings.
Congratulations on your new job. It is bitter sweet to wake up at 5 am to work. But it’s work.
I keep your blog as an RSS feed on my browser, so I am kept abreast of your updates. I am so proud to see you have quite a following.
Please give Aunt Michelle my love until I speak to her again.
On behalf of your family in Florida,
Tinelle
I started getting up at 4 when I was working to get in an hour of artwork. Now that I’m retired I still get up that early–I found I love the time when all is quiet.
I recently found your blog and want to thank you for all the knowledge you share. I would definitely sign up for teaching or an ebook–
Judy Warner
Paul, I have read that both Cezanne used artificial fruit and Morandi used artificial flowers, since they took a while to paint a still life.
Bob
hope you had a nice first day back! 4 weeks ago I gave up my permanent job in the city to give myself a chance to spend more time on painting. I’ll be going back there as a temp in a couple of weeks to a lower level, less pressurised job – I think if the work you do is either enjoyable or fairly easy with no overtime then it won’t get in the way of your painting too much – that’s what I’m hoping anyway.. Looks like you’ve got all the tips you need in the posts above on how to make the most of your time. I used to use the commuting time to snooze on the train so that I could stay up later to paint – but if I could stand getting up at 5am that would probably be a more efficient way to do things! And it’s true what Maryam says above – when you have only a little time you really do grab it and make the most of it. Just don’t wear yourself out too much : )
Thanks again for all these wonderfully supportive comments!
Sadie: Thanks for the vote of confidence. I’ll do my best.
Maryam: I’m sure I’ll be appreciating the painting time more. Efficient use of the little time I’ll have will certainly be a priority.Hopefully I’ll be able to home that aspect with time.
Rich: Great to hear from you me old mucker! I’m sorry thought that you are also faced with this choice. Excellent tips you’ve pssted here and thanks for the encouragement, as always:
1. Yep, got that one covered.
2. Do you mean not working past teh tiredness threshhold and screwing it up, or leaving a layer at a good point for drying overnight etc? Either way, both sound like good advice to me.
3. Very true. That might possibly be the hardest part…
I’m with you on the music. For me it’s Allegri’s Miserere or Erick Satie, but the effect and the reasoning is the same, conditioning to get into the right mindset. That’s an excellent point. I wonder who else out there does this?
Julie: Nice to hear from you again. Hope everything’s good up there in Yorkshire. Has the snow melted yet?
Linda: I like the Moleskine idea. I’ll look into getting one. Unfortunately the train home this evening was so packed I couldn’t even get my A5 sketch book out! Got some good practice in on teh mornign train though so it wasn’t a total loss. Yet another Sargent head copy. The commute is strangely realaxing and kind of remote when you’re engrossed in a drawing, I found.
Andy: That’s fascinating. I must admit I wimped out of doodling through my induction today. Might not create the right first impression you know 🙂
Tinelle! Great to hear from you, it’s been too long! I had no idea you were follwing my blog, I’ll have to really watch what I say now or the whole family will know what I’m up to! I hope everythings good for you over there. Michelle sends her love and hopes you’re well. Say Hi to Marcia, Diane and Neil for me, and Donnaree if you see her. Send me an email to paul at learning-to-see.co.uk and tell me what you’re all up to.
Judy: 4 AM! That’s just ridiculous! Aren’t those early mornings great though? So peaceful. The eBook idea is really little more than an idea and a vague outline at the moment. But it will stress fundamental principles insead of tips and tricks. The same stuff I’m always going on about, basically! Stay tuned.
Rosemary: Hi, great to see you here. Thanks for signing up and for joining the chit chat. I think that’s a brave choice you’ve made, I hope it all works out for you. Keep me posted. There are indeed more tips on time management than you can shake a filbert at already, and many thanks again to all of you for sharing your thoughts.
First day update: I managed the early start this morning and got about 45 minutes drawing in before I left for work. It centred me nicely for the day. Unfortunately I didn’t get the cast drawing set-up done yesterday so that’ll probably have to wait for the weekend when I’ve the time to set it up properly. Another 45 minutes on drawing the train this morning so today I’ve managed an hour and a half. Too tired to do more tonight though. Tomorrow’s another day.
Maggie, you’ll be glad to hear that I’ve entered it into my practice spreadsheet. Target is 20 hours this week. 18 and a half to go. Now I’m going to fall face first into the pillow and zonk out.
Well done, Paul, on your ‘first day’. Snow’s melted oop North. Could be back again Thursday though! Watch out down South too!
Does that mean you are cutting down on ice skating too ? 🙂
Paul, you have little time so stop learning and do more painting, real painting !
Leave the student attitude in the cupboard, you have all the skills to work seriously now. It’s not just about skills any more, the game gets tougher. You can develop your vision even if you are not sitting at the easel, you can develop your vision even if you paint once a week. Do you really need to do more cast drawing, is it really doing something for you?
Do you prefer having a stack of cast drawings in a drawer or a small painting OF YOURS on the wall ?
With concern
Ilaria
No, not more snow! It’s nice and everything for a while but I’ve had enough of it now. I mean really, doesn’t the weather know I’ve got a job to go to!?
Hi Ilaria,
Nope, not giving up skating, in fact I’ve just joined a synchronised skating team although I’m not very synchronised at the moment. But it’s fun and it keeps me in some semblance of physical fitness so I couldn’t give it up.
I take your point about practicing, I do, but have to respectfully disagree. I’m still more concerned with developing my skills than my vision, whatever that means.
Personally, I think I already have a distinctive way of working and the best way to develop it is to develop my skills further. I still have a long way to go in that regard and I had my fill of people talking about vision at the art college I got thrown out of. I have many more paintings that failed due to my inability to express what I wanted with paint than I have practice pieces. Really. I haven’t been posting everything I’ve done over the last year, mostly because I’ve been too busy painting, but there are many that fell woefully short of what I was going for due to my inability to express my idea of how the pieces should look.
I value your input very much, always, but I think we have to find our own way forward and I know what mine is. I intend to balance what easel time I have between practice and finished pieces, and probably always will. That’s just the way I do things I guess.
Paul, I am just suggesting that you make your finishes pieces your practice.
Your paintings are distinctive. Very much. I think that the way forward is to just make a lot of them, as many as you can in the shorter time you now have.
Vision for me is simply your take, your subjects, your theme, what excites you, what engages you, your special color harmonies, your compositional decisions, what makes your pictures different from another realist painter.
That is the toughest part, one works for years to achieve skills and then you realize that they are worth nothing without that special element that makes your painting stand out.
I don’t know, but I think a failed painting doesn’t make you a worst painter. Did old masters just produced a series of masterpieces one after the other? Surely not.
Anyway I am sure I will see lots of your pictures on the wall of the Mall !
Ilaria
>one works for years to achieve skills and then you realize that they are worth nothing without that special element that makes your painting stand out.
Broadly speaking I agree, yes. Although I wouldn’t say the skills are worth nothing on their own. I’d rather see a really well done cast painting, for example, than a highly individual painting badly done. But I think you’re right that a painting – and painter’s ouvre as a whole – should be distinctive, recognisable and stand out. I think that’s important for both personal and commercial reasons. After all, if we can’t sell paintings then we can’t pay the bills and paint full time.
But I’m not sure it’s quite that black and white. I’ll give you an example: As you know I’ve spent a fair bit of time working on value. It’s something that particularly interests me because it defines the light. Almost all the paintings that really move me have something special about the way the way the values are handled, the way the light is expressed. The point of all the value studies I’ve done is two fold: Firstly, to get better at judging and translating value, what you might call the basic, fundamental skill. But secondly, by concentrating only on value in exercises and trying out different ways to handle it, I hope to arrive at a personal way to translate the values I see into paint, to intensify the feeling of light, the poetry of it.
In that sense, the practice is moving towards a distinctive style as well as (hopefully) resulting in more skilled work.
My own personal style started to really evolve when I started my series of small charcoal still life drawings. These started off as exercises. I wasn’t trying to evolve a style, but it became obvious to me after a while that it was evolving of it’s own accord. Once I’d done about 40 of them, I stuck them all up on the wall and was immediately struck by the fact that there were elements of style that were being repeated without my being consciously aware of it. Much of my current subject matter and viewpoint evolved from that series, but it did so naturally and without forcing. I think that’s the best way for it to happen. I was just doing value exercises, but I was evolving a style at the same time through the series. From my experience, that process of evolving happens faster in studies than it does by always trying to produce a finished piece.
I hope that goes some way towards explaining my take on this. I don’t think that our respective viewpoints are really that different, although the means we use to achieving what we want might be. Personally, I’m convinced of the value of studies and practice not just to develop skills, but to evolve a distinctive style. For me, trying always to produce finished pieces can sometimes be counter-productive.
>Did old masters just produced a series of masterpieces one after the other? Surely not.
You’re right I think, they didn’t. They also produced a bunch of stuff just to pay the bills. They also did a lot of studies that were never intended for sale. And sometimes they just produced the odd stinker, more than likely. I think our current perspective tends to stress individuality more than anything else. That’s a product of our times and not necessarily a bad thing. It just is. But I think that individuality can be explored and developed through studies and through finished pieces equally well.
Thanks for bringing this up Ilaria. You’ve certainly got me thinking, and that’s always a good thing.
I wonder if anyone else has any opinions about this? Do you tend to work mainly on studies, only on finished pieces, or a balance of both? Which is more important to you, skill level or individuality?
Odd stinker :-))))
I have heard some of Constable portraits luckily left out from NPG show might yield a certain smell.
Definitely skills are the basic requirements, but they don’t work alone. I am talking abut this because of my own experience, I got to a certain acceptable level by studying and practicing, but there’s more I need to find and put in my work.
PS I recommend reading Coldstream’s biography.
Good to hear your news. As usual, your writings are beautiful.I would love to see your writings and paintings in a book.If you ever need someone to help with the proof-reading and setup, I am volunteering my services(for free,of course) as I have done that a few times. I hope you find this new path an adventure. My Best to you in the exciting year to come. Helen USA
>Definitely skills are the basic requirements, but they don’t work alone.
On that we are in complete agreement.
>Coldstream’s biography
Thanks, it’s on my Amazon wish-list.
Helen, that’s a very generous offer, thanks. I find it’s next to impossible to proof read your own writing. Careful as I try to be, I always notice some glaring mistake after I’ve added a new post.
Great to see you’re still in action! I found your site around a year ago, and since the last post was several months old I thought you might have given up painting. Your progress during the year you weren’t posting is amazing!
Thanks Chris. Sorry you caught me in my fallow period for posting, but glad you’ve found me again.
All being well I’ll be posting tomorrow with an update on how I’ve managed my practice time this last week. It hasn’t been easy but I did get a fair bit of drawing in and I think I’m starting to adjust to the new routine.
Hi Paul, well done on he job but commiserations on the loss of painting time. I have to say though that if anyone can make it work I’m sure you can, I’ve been deeply imressed by your thoroughness and committment to work over the last year or two following your blog. Your dedication has been an inspiration and a lesson to me and probably many others. Coincidently I’m about to go the other way and take a couple of years out of work to concentrate full time on painting, I figure if I’m going to be skint its probably better to do it while lots of other people are too! Oh and by the way after 15 years as a postman I can tell you that getting up at 5 am is not so bad, you get used to it after a few years! Good luck anyway and please keep posting as often as time permits.
Hi Paul,
First of thanks for this blog, it’s rare to come across so much detailed insight into the process and thoughts of such a competent painter.
Whereas the utility of analyzing painting technique is one thing we can both agree on I’d like to ask you about your approach and subject matter?
If I have read things right you are not currently selling enough paintings to make a living? Also your approach to painting is a representational in other words realism? You have said you try to accurately translate what you aee into paint, correct?
Now my question is this ‘How real looking must your paintings get before you start to make a living?’
I’m not just being a twat here or looking for an argument, I’m genuinely interested in your opinion about how you see your career as a painter panning out and do you have any doubts whether it is the right approach?
I’ve been on a similar journey for some time, having been an illustrator for 20 years I decided to try and paint, perhaps looking for more ‘meaning’ in my creative output. But unlike you I was drawn firstly to abstracts then latter to figurative paintings by the likes of Beckmann, Spencer, Guston and Steven Campbell. You might say to painters that are more expressive and questioning in content and style.
I also noticed that contemporary paintings in this vein sold for a lot more money than an equivalent realist painting. Perhaps we can’t coldly pick out and follow the approach we think will make the most dosh. but perhaps financial success is an indication of the ‘relevance’ of a painters work?
Also is your choice of approach related to any religious or political views you hold?
Just my tuppence worth on your conversation with Ilaria if I may. Her initial comment rang a bell with me as it is exactly what a (non artist) friend once told me. For me I think it may be true that the student mindest could be holding me back, in that to an extent it does give an excuse to fail and possibly prevents a dedication which is the mark of a professional. Thats me though and I’m sure Paul that its not a problem for you, I’m lazy and look for excuses not to push myself to the limits. Having said that I think that the skills/vision thing is really a false opposition, one’s vision comes out of one’s quest for skill, I dont think an individual style can be artificially introduced into one’s work it has to develop out of it naturally.Just look at the work of those who haven’t bothered to learn the skills and ask yourself if their “vision” is worth expressing. Which skills we wish to develop and how we do it is both a product of and a guide to what we want to express. Ultimately all artists worth considering have found the right methods to express their vision but I suspect the search for the one has developed in tandem with the search for the other. I know in my case the more skills I develop the more I see the possibilities for their use in meaningful expression.
Hi Stephen, thanks for this thought provoking comment. I’ll try to answer your questions as best I can:
>If I have read things right you are not currently selling enough paintings to make a living?
I’m not, no. But then that’s perhaps not so surprising since I’ve done next to no marketing and networking. That’s one lesson I’ve learned. Being a full time painter and making a living out of it requires much more than just decent work.
>your approach to painting is representational in other words realism?
Representational, yes. Realism is a word you’ll rarely see me using except in the context in which I think it should be used. I see realism as a particular late nineteenth century painting movement, one which grew out of the Barbizon school and who’s precursors were painters like Constable and Courbet. It had to with treatment and the subject matter, and was antithetical to the dominant classicism of the time. To my mind, to use the word any other way confuses matters.
But I don’t want to sound like I’m splitting hairs here, I know what you mean. I do believe that good painting can be something other than a convincing translation of what we see, of course it’s more than that. What exactly that ‘other’ is will vary from painter to painter, it seems to me. You might call it meaning perhaps. But the painters of the aesthetic movement, Whistler for example, eschewed meaning altogether in favour of beauty. They saw painting more as music. I like Whistler’s work myself, but like narrative work that tells a story too.
>You have said you try to accurately translate what you see into paint, correct?
Yes – and no. Translate, certainly, but I’m not sure I’d always say ‘accurately’. Partly because it’s not possible most of the time (given the limited value range of paint and the fact that we can’t paint light sources) and partly because a perfect reproduction of reality as we perceive it would perhaps be a little sterile as a work of art.
However, I would say that I often try to produce as convincing a translation as I can. That’s something different than what you might call a straight copy. Also, I might approach something with the goal of reproducing it as accurately as I can in an exercise because I believe that doing so stretches my ability to see. I know I’ll never do it. But I believe that visual perception is a cumulative skill that needs to be practiced and developed like any other. I think that the part that needs to be stretched is in our brains, not in our eyes. I believe that we generally perceive only a small proportion of what we see (in terms of the light sensations that our eyes take in, the image on the retina) because our brains will tend to skip over anything that isn’t immediately relevant to us in our day to day lives. Part of the process of learning to see is training our brains to process more visual information than we usually would, and the best way I’ve found to learn to see is to strive for accuracy. It stretches your perceptual ability like nothing else.
>Now my question is this ‘How real looking must your paintings get before you start to make a living?’
Strange question, I don’t understand where you’re coming from. Plainly, the salability or otherwise of a painting has nothing to do with how real it looks.
>I’m genuinely interested in your opinion about how you see your career as a painter panning out and do you have any doubts whether it is the right approach?
I honestly have no idea how it’s going to pan out. I can certainly envision a time in the future when I’m less concerned with producing a convincing translation of what I see and more concerned with other elements. The emotional impact of the colour scheme perhaps, or the gesture of the marks and the paint handling. Perhaps narrative content, or the balance or otherwise of the composition and what effect that might produce. Sometimes I do pieces which diverge quite far from what I see, because there’s a particular effect I want to emphasise in the picture. I’m always interested in the mood, or the atmosphere of the piece, and that doesn’t come from accuracy, certainly, it comes from somewhere else.
If you want my honest opinion, I think most learning painters give too much emphasis to aspects of their work like meaning, vision, expression – whatever you want to call it – too early, before they have either the skill to express these things or the artistic sensibility and maturity to conceive them fully. I think most people give too little attention to skill and craftsmanship at the beginning. I think most people want to push ahead too quickly. I’ve certainly been guilty of that in the past and still am sometimes. It’s a question of balance I think. To be concerned only with accuracy, skill and craftsmanship at the expense of expression is probably not a good idea, since good painting isn’t solely about skill and accuracy. It may be more difficult to develop expression and a personal style later if they’re completely ignored at the start. But I think the converse is also true, and much, much more common. If I err at all, I’d prefer it to be on the side of the former because I think we all have a tendency towards the latter which it pays to be wary of.
As far as selling goes, I think that most people probably buy a painting for the subject matter more than anything else, at least a representational painting. Flowers and landscapes are popular, apparently. Their next consideration might well be whether it goes with their decor. Possibly they might like a particular style. Impressionist style paintings seem to be very popular in the UK, it’s a nice, safe style now it’s old and established, but ‘arty’ enough for people to consider themselves connoisseurs of real art when they buy it. I think ‘meaning’ will come very low on the list of the average buyer’s priorities, whatever the painter might like to think.
>perhaps financial success is an indication of the ‘relevance’ of a painters work?
I can’t agree. How about Thomas Kinkade? Are these paintings particularly relevant would you say? Meaningful? He’s very commercially successful. How about Jack Vettriano? Relevant? In what way? People buy these pictures simply because they like them, they make them feel good. Not because they think they’re relevant to our times. How about Damien Hirst? What did the diamond encrusted skull mean, or the spin paintings? They sell for high prices, so they must be relevant, right?
I’m not being argumentative here either, just curious how you feel the commercial success of these artists fits with your view. I’ve deliberately chosen artists at opposite ends of the scale in terms of populist commercialism and esoteric avant-gardism. Personally,I’m very wary of using commercial success as a yardstick to measure anything by in art apart from commercial success itself. It’s a minefield.
>Also is your choice of approach related to any religious or political views you hold?
Not explicitly , no. Not at all. But I suppose they might end up reflecting my world view in some way I’m not aware of. It’s certainly not something I go out of my way to try and introduce. If I managed to make a painting that made someone else feel good, if they found it beautiful in some way, I’d be pretty happy about that. If it happens at some point in the future that the stuff I produce explores deeper levels of meaning then all well and good, but at the moment I’ve got enough on my plate just trying to learn to paint well!
My general impression from your comment is that you think that an overemphasis on practice and of what we might loosely call ‘skill’ can compromise what we might loosely call ‘vision’. This is a criticism which I often see levelled at the student work that comes out of the modern ateliers and classical schools.
Whilst I’d agree to a point that there’s a danger in concentrating only on skill to the exclusion of all else, I also think that there’s an imbalance currently which could do with being redressed, to wit: vision is everything and skill is unimportant.
It’s true that at the moment I concentrate primarily (but by no means exclusively) on developing my skill. I’m not happy with my skill level yet, I think I have a long way to go before I’ll be satisfied. But that’s me. That point of view probably makes me out of step (irrelevant?) to the art world as a whole at present, but I must admit I’m completely unconcerned by that. I have to be true to myself first. To slightly twist an old adage, I know about art and I know what I like 🙂
Hi David,
Very interesting what you say about the student mind set possibly holding you back. That may very well be true for me too, I’m probably not the best judge of that! One of the most interesting things about painting is the way it makes us look into ourselves, try to understand our motivation for doing what we do. I’ve probably learned more about myself in the last three years than I ever have before. Evidently you’re going through that process too.
>one’s vision comes out of one’s quest for skill, I don’t think an individual style can be artificially introduced into one’s work it has to develop out of it naturally.
I think you’re probably right. Certainly I don’t think it can be artificially developed. I think it always shows when that happens, and most often what results is an emulation of another painters style, not the development of one’s own. Just my opinion. I don’t think style develops in the course of a few paintings, or even a few years. It takes a lifetime. Well, decades at least. One of the most notable things about the art college I went to was the pressure to develop a style, a unique point of view. Most people, being only about 19 or 20, largely emulated things they saw in art books and magazines. I did too.
>Which skills we wish to develop and how we do it is both a product of and a guide to what we want to express.
I think that’s a very perceptive comment. I think we’re on the same page, you and I 🙂
Sorry David, I missed your comment immediately prior to Stephen’s.
So you’re taking the plunge. Congratulations, I wish you all the luck a person can reasonably expect to have, may it all work out for you. Please drop me the odd email or comment here and let me (and everyone else!) know how you’re getting on.
As for the early starts, you’re right it’s not as bad as it seems. I’ve been getting up at 4:30 all this week and was surprised to find that it wasn’t that hard. The evenings though, that’s another story. I’m like the walking dead by the time I get home from work.
Yes I did feel you were not quite or completely taken by the new realist conservative school we see so much of on the internet. What is so sad about this movement is their complete opposition and rejection of modernism or anything post impressionism. This I find annoying because it suggests that anyone interested in the paintings of the past 150 years is not interested in good practice! Utter bollox 😉
Perhaps certain practices have been put aside or adapted in favour of a more direct or expressionist approach but the whole history of painting belongs to us all not just those anally fixated on technique.
It’s of very little consequence in the grand scheme of things that a painting self destructs after 50 years or 500 years, what counts is what is painted.
Having said that a sound knowledge in your chosen craft is very likely a good thing, even if ultimately most of it is rejected.
The painter has two things to address that is ‘What to paint’ and “How to paint it’ naturally one should grow out of and support the other.
My question was ‘How real looking must your paintings get for you to make living?’ By that i meant if success for you is to paint as close a possible what you see then how much ‘realer’ do you have to get to be successful? Is it an achievable goal?
… and when you do either run out of steam or time still looking for similitude, will you not have failed?
Failure is inevitable is it not?
And what is it you are selling and to what kind of people? I nly say these things because I’m struggling with the same questions, before my time is up up “What is it I should paint and how shall I paint it?”
I’d just like to point out to other readers that Stephen has misconstrued me here. I’m not against the modern ateliers and classical schools and the way they teach, either wholly or partially. In fact, I think that they are doing a great deal to redress the balance and to teach real skills to those wishing to learn them.
Whilst I do think that there might be problems inherent in a teaching method that teaches only skill in rendering and nothing else, I don’t think that’s what happens at these schools.
In my view, modern atelier and classical school teaching shouldn’t be judged by looking at student exercises and asking whether or not they’re great art. Of course they aren’t. They’re exercises.
The best way to judge their approaches is to look at the work of people who learned through there and see where they are now. Here’s a few examples that particularly impress me:
Marc Dalessio
Jura Bedic
Jacob Collins
Ben Fenske
charles Weed
That’s just a few I have to hand. Personally, I think they all produce strong, beautiful and expressive work and I think they all have a distinct approach and style. For myself, if I had the chance to study at one of those schools I’d jump at it.
Oops, screwed up the link to Jacob Collins’ work. Here’s the real one:
Jacob Collins
Some of the landscapes I think are particularly expressive:
Jacob Collins’ Landscape paintings
Steven Campbell, the late Scottish painter fell from grace early in his career.
Yes he sold well but his price’s fell off and he had issues with the art market from what I understand. Interesting painter and even though I’m a realest painter I like a lot of his work.
I studied with Frank Mason who had an open studio policy at the Art Student League in NYC. You should up and worked.
I like what I am seeing coming out of modern ateliers and classical schools and like Paul has said it’s the individuals who make something of their work after school that are worth looking at. If one can’t transcend the student mindset them your doomed or showing a lack of vision and talent.
I would add Adrian Gottlieb, Tony Curanaj to the list.
Another very interesting painter is Chris Wright http://www.chriswrightpaintings.com
Yes, Jeff, all of the above.
Personally I don’t dislike modernism. I don’t like all of it but then I don’t like all contemporary classical work either. I think it’s a pity when people have an either – or mind set. I also see that mindset just as much – if not more – in the defenders of modernism than I do in the defenders of classicism.
Graydon Parrish recently bough a couple of abstract paintings from one of the members of the Rational Painting forum, I think that speaks volumes.
should up and worked should read showed up and worked,
that’s what I get for commenting after my bed time…
I like the work of all these but my favourite is Jeremy Lipking. He is one I think could be seen in the company of some of the top painters of past eras
I agree David, Lipking’s work is breathtaking. I generally don’t think of him as being part of the modern ‘atelier’ movement though, although I could be wrong. Wasn’t he taught by Richard Schmid?
I think Schmid’s work is incredible too.
Hi Paul,
I just stopped by to see what you are up to and read a few of your more recent posts.
I have been sporadically following your progress with admiration.
I believe that this artistic journey, learning to see, is a lifelong process and most really great contemporary painters, such as Everett Raymond Kinstler, still consider themselves students. However, it does not stop them from selling their work as they go along and you have some lovely pieces which put to shame most of the dreck passed off as art these days.
Discipline and regularity are probably key to success. Having two kids, including one with autism, and still devoting the hours required to excel at this vocation requires more of the aforementioned qualities than I possess, but I have not given up hope that things will eventually come together.
I think the idea of drawing during your commute is a good one. Some of the Holbein copies in the Bargue book, if you haven’t already done them, might be possible to do on a train. Or quick, surreptitious sketches of your fellow passengers – wear sunglasses!
All the best in coordinating your new schedule! I will look forward to seeing how you manage the demands of your new schedule.
Bye for now,
Laurel