Oxbow

Treasure Chest: Tips for Improving Your Paintings

“Alien Gate”
Watercolor crayon on paper
9″ x 12″
© 2009 Marilyn Fenn

Treasure Chest

Today I’m participating in a collaborative online project with other art bloggers.  We are re-posting one of our favorite posts from our blogs.  I chose to re-post some notes from art school from way back when, because I find these tips personally useful to review every so often, especially this year when I am exploring various other avenues in my creative process.  Perhaps other artists will find some of these tips helpful, too.

I also recommend that you view the post from the organizer of this project, Seth Apter, on his blog The Altered Page.  It’s a gorgeous, compelling and inspiring piece.

You can link to all participating artists from the Treasure Chest post on Seth’s blog.

Finally, the piece above is a brand new work from my new series, Paintings from the Hot, Hot Summer of 2009.  So here’s my Buried Treasure:

Class notes from art camp classes with George Liebert and Dan Gustin, Oxbow, MI, summer 1991.

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Tips for Improving Your Paintings

Drawing by Rembrandt van Rijn
“Reclining Lion”
pen and paint brush
ca. 1650

Class notes from art camp classes with George Liebert and Dan Gustin, Oxbow, MI, summer 1991.

Make a list of verbs and adjectives about your own work.

When struggling with a work, isolate parts of it and do lots of sketches to come up with a better composition.

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Class Notes: Some Artists to Look At

Painting by George Tooker
Waiting Room
Egg Tempura on Gesso Panel
24″x30″

See more of George Tooker’s work.

Class notes, SAIC, 1991.

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