Painting to me, is “drawing using color.” So anything I would draw, I would paint also. I usually paint or draw things that I feel I should “practice” on. Artists are like musicians in that they need to practice their use of their chosen medium. Sometimes these practice sessions do not produce viable work, but they often lead to funther exploration. I think that exploration is a key word. The further (or deeper) you explore, the more you have to say about the subject. If you look at many of these “famous” artists, they spend massive amounts of time and energy “exploring” subjects before committing to a “finished piece.” Sometimes you explore landscapes and the things in the landscapes, sometimes you explore a type of medium or color, or even a feeling or psychological condition.

Inspiration comes from the places that the exploration leads you. So it is not a “piece by piece” experience where you paint random things. If I did that (painted random things) I would not be inspired either. As far as I can see in the art world, artists do not become “known” because they explore random subjects. They become known because they are known for something. This is the whole idea of building a theme in your work.

Obviously being known is not the first step. If you are a beginner, by all means, go random, however often the mark of a beginner is no clear focus on any one thing. After a while, you settle down and say to yourself “This” is my thing. This is what I was meant to do, this is my comfort level (etc.).

So I guess my advice is to paint what attracts you because you are moving towards your “theme” whatever it is. Don’t paint things that don’t interest you.

I really want to improve but when I paint something it’s only if I really love the subject…but that’s not always something available
How do you guys motive yourselves to create for practice sake, or what do you look for in a piece that makes you say “sure that’ll do” …or what is your default “not inspired but I have to do something so I’ll do X”

You are limiting yourself. Whatever you draw or paint will advance you. The best learning often comes through errors/understanding. Drawing items that you “like”, “hate” or are neutral about will expand knowledge, open your mind to other possibilities. Change the word HAVE to WANT and the world presents ideas. It doesn’t have to be BIG, as in buildings or people. Instead of drawing a “hand” for instance, practice drawing just your thumb, or the wrinkles on the knuckles…or various positions the index finger can take.

Artists … need to practice their use of their chosen medium. Sometimes these practice sessions do not produce viable work, but they often lead to further exploration. I think that exploration is a key word. The further (or deeper) you explore, the more you have to say about the subject. … Sometimes you explore landscapes and the things in the landscapes, sometimes you explore a type of medium or color, or even a feeling or psychological condition.

Inspiration comes from the places that the exploration leads you. So it is not a “piece by piece” experience where you paint random things. If I did that (painted random things) I would not be inspired either. As far as I can see in the art world, artists do not become “known” because they explore random subjects. They become known because they are known for something. This is the whole idea of building a theme in your work.

Obviously being known is not the first step. If you are a beginner, by all means, go random, however often the mark of a beginner is no clear focus on any one thing. After a while, you settle down and say to yourself “This” is my thing. This is what I was meant to do, this is my comfort level (etc.).

So I guess my advice is to paint what attracts you because you are moving towards your “theme” whatever it is. Don’t paint things that don’t interest you.

/\/\/\/\/\What SHE said.
I’ve been working for several years drawing/painting a wide variety of subjects, focusing for a while on one thing, then another, then another. Each of those have contributed to where I am today, a starving artist!
I see progress. It happened first a while back when I realized I could look at my work and not only see places that needed adjusted, but then also understood how that happened and how to adjust to make it more appropriate.

Even now, though I’m not especially focused on a subject matter or “theme”,
I know that whatever I do contributes to my overall learning. I just finished an oil painting I’m really proud of–a landscape with an animal that I’ve never thought of drawing. But I have drawn/painted horses a while back, and that helped with this one.
Previously I was interested in human facial expressions, but haven’t done anything with them, I got interested in landscapes and other subjects. Today, I began this morning drawing the front leg of a horse, then opened a file and pulled up several photos of a man exhibiting various expressions and a timer to first spend 2 minutes drawing them. Then maybe I’ll do a few for 5 min each. In graphite, on bond paper. That exercise will help me see landscapes better. For the last several days I’ve been drawing my hand in various positions. Here’s a quote from a WC thread
“Wrinkles (on faces) are another thing … they actually consist of a place closer to the viewer, a place where they curve away into the crevasse and then the crevasse itself – and back again on the other side. Try to avoid lines because they tend to be too harsh.”

This easily translates to any other subject: being able to see, understand, and portray those details.

Budigart just said the same thing.
The only reason you don’t have anything to draw or paint is because you limit yourself. Get out or your way!:)

A great deal of good things can be said regarding viewing an image at a greatly reduced size. When viewed in such a format, a subject often catches your eye, where others don’t. At a reduced size, “good designs” will somehow stand out, and grab your attention immediately.

Since I paint from photographs, primarily, I seek out images on sites such as Wet Canvas, or Paint My Photo, and I browse through dozens of images until I see one that “catches my eye”. That one will likely be my next painting.

I don’t have any trepidations about “copying photographs”, because I don’t merely “copy” them–I try to improve upon them. I paint many subjects that I make up from imagination, so I truly don’t need to rely upon photos in order to paint subjects, but to be quite honest, I use plenty of photographs as references for my paintings. It is the viewing of them at a small size that influences my decision regarding whether to choose them, or not.

That’s how I decide what to paint.:)

Painting to me, is “drawing using color.” So anything I would draw, I would paint also. I usually paint or draw things that I feel I should “practice” on. Artists are like musicians in that they need to practice their use of their chosen medium. Sometimes these practice sessions do not produce viable work, but they often lead to funther exploration. I think that exploration is a key word. The further (or deeper) you explore, the more you have to say about the subject. If you look at many of these “famous” artists, they spend massive amounts of time and energy “exploring” subjects before committing to a “finished piece.” Sometimes you explore landscapes and the things in the landscapes, sometimes you explore a type of medium or color, or even a feeling or psychological condition.

Inspiration comes from the places that the exploration leads you. So it is not a “piece by piece” experience where you paint random things. If I did that (painted random things) I would not be inspired either. As far as I can see in the art world, artists do not become “known” because they explore random subjects. They become known because they are known for something. This is the whole idea of building a theme in your work.

Obviously being known is not the first step. If you are a beginner, by all means, go random, however often the mark of a beginner is no clear focus on any one thing. After a while, you settle down and say to yourself “This” is my thing. This is what I was meant to do, this is my comfort level (etc.).

So I guess my advice is to paint what attracts you because you are moving towards your “theme” whatever it is. Don’t paint things that don’t interest you.

What a great answer. inspiring

I love to paint the scenes that I had in my dreams. They are so interesting to paint!

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