Home › Forums › Explore Media › Watercolor › The Learning Zone › Would You Paint The Same Scene 30 Times?
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July 10, 2013 at 12:29 pm #991065
Would you paint the same scene 30 times as a sort of anal retentive skill building project?
I’m actually thinking about painting the same scene until I have it down pat.
Do you see this as crazy or worthwhile?
July 10, 2013 at 12:50 pm #1190259There’s nothing wrong (or anal) about repainting a subject, exploring various approaches and techniques. Many painters certainly do this–I do.
Thirty times may be a bit much, but if one learns something useful from every attempt, why not? As long as the creative energy holds out, why not?
The goal is to learn something with every painting effort, not to simply reproduce a subject XX times. I’m not sure what “down pat” means to you. Keep in mind that, for many painters, there are subjects that are less successful than others.
FWIW, a number of “award-winning” paintings are the result of multiple attempts. One never know how many times a painter executed one of those “award-winning” efforts before it became “award-winning”! Good luck on your journey!
Sling paint,
VirgilSling paint,
Virgil Carter
http://www.virgilcarterfineart.com/July 10, 2013 at 1:04 pm #1190275Indeed. The goal would be to make improvements and to learn something new on each attempt. I have a music background so I relate it to practicing etudes that are meant to help a musician improve his/her skills.
July 10, 2013 at 1:19 pm #1190264Many paintings are made in series. For example, Monet made a series of haystacks painted at different times of day, or a church, or a stand of trees, all painting over and over from the same viewpoint. Doing this can help study the different aspects and possibilities within the same scene.
I’ve never painted one thing 30 times, but maybe 10-12 times for one or two things.
Something I always found lacking in my art classes, especially after the fact, is how much obsessive focus there was on theory, meaning, artistic vision, criticism, etc., but how little time was spent just on practicing the brushwork (i.e. the basic building block of a painting) or knowing your materials (like pigments, which I can’t remember ever being talked about).
July 10, 2013 at 1:20 pm #1190241Why not ???
But I promise, you will lose the inspiration and zest you had for it Fast and will begin to hate it .:lol:
June:cat:Follow your Bliss and the Universe will open doors for you , where there were only walls. Joseph Campbell
July 10, 2013 at 2:00 pm #1190239I’m actually thinking about painting the same scene until I have it down pat.
Then do not paint it more than onceBut if you paint it 30 times to see how you change and see the view differently each time
And how the series develops into something new
Then yesJuly 10, 2013 at 2:01 pm #1190245If it is still interesting and you are enjoying it, go for it! If you feel like you are learning as you ago, it’s great. I had a favorite scene in my old neighborhood that I sketched over and over, because I loved it. I did get really “good” at it, but I also enjoyed it, every time. It changed with the seasons and I switched my focus and mediums, but I never tired of it. I don’t think I could “make” myself paint something over and over, if there was no joy there. I’d say, if you want to do this, pick something you really love.
Another approach I have used was to paint two (or more) paintings at the same time, with a couple of sheets taped to my board, so when I tried something I didn’t like in the first one, I could try it right away, in the second. Sometimes, it is great. Sometimes, the paintings lose their freshness, due to “trying” too hard, but I did learn, which was my objective.
Let us know what works out, for you!
Noelle
July 10, 2013 at 2:48 pm #1190238I agree with June; I’d get very sick of painting the same thing by about the 3rd attempt. If you can do it and like Virgil said learn something new and useful with each painting I say…GO FOR IT!
Darla
If I create from the heart, nearly everything works: if from the head, almost nothing. — Marc Chagall
July 10, 2013 at 2:50 pm #1190267[FONT=”Century Gothic]Paint as many times as it takes to get what satisfies you.
My online drawing mentor says draw it “100 times” if that’s what it takes. I agree. I’ve drawn a simple ball with nose/eyes/lips till I’m sick to death of it, but I AM improving. I finally made my first serious attempt to draw a recognizable pencil portrait. I was amazed at how well it came out. I’ll keep on keeping on. Hard to argue with success.
For what’s it’s worth, I’ve been watching art documentaries. One series goes into almost painfully boring detail about a few very famous paintings. Almost all of them required multiple efforts, some taking years to finalize. If you’ve been struggling through multiple attempts, you are in good company. [/FONT]
[FONT=Century Gothic][FONT=Century Gothic]nulla dies sine linea[FONT=Century Gothic]
July 10, 2013 at 3:07 pm #1190271If I’m attracted to a particular scene, I might paint it 3 times. Once I wanted to give a friend a small painting and I wasn’t satisfied with the first attempt so I tried it a second time, and it turned out better, but not super. So I attempted it for the third time and I was amazingly pleased with the final result.:clap: I learned from the mistakes.
I’ve begun to do this with other paintings when I don’t get the result I’m looking for, and for me, this helps!:thumbsup: As others have already said, it helps for the painting to be one that you feel connected to or you will get tired of it really fast.
Last comment, for me it makes sense to have more than one painting going so that while one is drying, the other can be painted.
Shirley:wave:
There are three classes of people: Those who see. Those who see when shown. Those who do not see. --Leonardo da Vinci
July 10, 2013 at 3:22 pm #1190257Yes – paint it over and over BUT do one or two small things differently in each rendition. Remember – Monet’s Water Lilles was the rersult over 50 paintings and repaintings until he was satisfied.
I have about a half dozen paintings that always sell at shows. Believe me I do ’em over and over. They are, of course, not exactly alike.
Another way to improve is to paint the same scene with imagination. Make it Winter, Spring, Autumn or Summer. Sunshine, Mist, Rain, etc
Ptobglem is ” what do you do with all those previous;ly painted sheets you end up with.
UNK
July 10, 2013 at 10:43 pm #1190260They were not all the exact same image, but PainterRon got a lot of mileage (heh) out of painting the same yard of old rusty cars. I’ve never seen a painting of his that wasn’t from that yard, all unique, all wonderful. I’d paint the same thing more than 30 times if I was continuing to learn from it, or getting improved “takes” on the subject.
May I ask what instrument you play? My other half plays piano, I have enjoyed many a Chopin etude while painting (our studios are in the same room ;))
CK =)
I take great comfort in knowing that my genuine typos will probably be blamed on some device's autocorrect.
DIY art supplies, sketches, and more: cyntada.com / @cyntadaJuly 10, 2013 at 10:50 pm #1190254Why not ???
But I promise, you will lose the inspiration and zest you had for it Fast and will begin to hate it .I once did 17 ink sketches of a horses and didn’t come close to exhausting the subject. It all depends on what you can see in a chosen subject.
It is only on a basis of knowledge that we can become free to compose naturally. -- Bernard Dunstan
blog.jlk.netJuly 10, 2013 at 11:09 pm #1190252I’ve gone to the lake to paint over and over again over the years…the look of the lake and mountains changes with the weather, time of day, time of year, and the advent of new parks…
I’ve also done lots of portraits in lots of different mediums — all have eyes and ears and a mouth and a nose, but, again, different each time
July 11, 2013 at 1:32 am #1190263 -
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