April 2009
We all laugh in class when I say “Let me hold your picture away from you so that you can see it at a distance”.
We laugh “yeah – hold it way……. Back!”
Hi, I am Nancy Smith, a Level 2 One Stroke Certified Instructor. Welcome to The Painted Vine painting tip.
April’s tip is “Stepping Back” – that’s it, just step back.
It will truly help you in your painting to hold the picture a few feet away from you so that you can then get the ‘whole’ picture so to speak. And believe me, it always looks better than what you imagine because you are not looking at it close-up and flat on the table.
When you are too close to your project, you miss proportional and perspective issues.
Step back at least every 5 minutes to be sure you “see” your project and ask yourself – is the design in proportion, is the design balanced, are there large areas of empty or negative space, and are the colors are working well together.
In later issues, I will address all these questions, but for this month I would like for you to get in the habit of “Stepping Back”.
Thank you for viewing my April painting tip. To sign-up to receive my free monthly newsletter, go to my Newsletter page.
See you next month!