Weekly BobBlast Issue 545
How I Get Ideas for Painting
Welcome Back to Another BobBlast!
This BobBlast is in answer to two questions I often get—how I get my ideas for painting and how do I start a painting? The hardest part is knowing when and how to start. I remember when I was first starting to paint… I was so nervous about making an unsuccessful painting! I mean, what will my friends and other people think if I made a bad painting? So I would paint subject matter that I thought would be popular and well-liked. Hmmm… I may have had more success, but I wasn’t happy.
I realized that I paint better and I’m happier when I paint a subject that’s closer to my heart:
•Childhood memories
•Personal experiences
•My own stories
My interests that find their way into my paintings are Magic, Music and People. They start off as multiple warm-ups as I am working out my thoughts. These multiples develop into a series, then a body of work.
So, at first I journal about why I am painting this series, including any feelings I have about the subject. That’s what I paint! I believe it doesn’t matter how you communicate—it just matters that you do.
Decide what you want to paint. It can be a simple subject. It doesn’t have to be a high and mighty concept. Paint your own story, your own interests, paint what pleases you!
In the video, I decide to paint a common, everyday object that I use everyday! A Coffee Cup. I write about it, I study the coffee cup, I draw it, I paint the structure of the cup in black and white. After I am familiar with the coffee cup, I add color and start to have fun with it!
Just Start! Then paint it over and over and over!
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