it saddens me that so many people are so creatively blocked.

this is really a telling-off post, so if you are a bit delicate better go and read something else.

Many people come to my workshops and classes and are totally soul destroyed that their painting hasn't worked out.

How do you think i feel when i paint a clunker and have nothing to sell?? how do I put food on the table then McDuff? mamma mia!! What happens when I paint something really fab and it still doesn't sell?? mamma-flipping mia!!

Students invest heavily in a one day workshop and expect to come out with a masterpiece, or they say "I'll see how the day goes and if I paint something really good then I will come to your classes". Erk - hello?

They make up all these weird rules, goals and stories that are really just blocking their creativity and maybe even their lives.

Come on people, time to straighten up - life's not meant to be easy, I'll bet you don't expect to play chopin if you haven't played the piano before. So why is this any different?

I discovered why this morning, and that's why I am sad. I am sad because then you don't have to put any effort in and if you don't put effort in you don't have to face the reality that maybe you are not as creative as you thought you wanted to be. Maybe you can just blame the teacher, "the teacher wasn't good enough to teach me". AGAIN - HELLO? Time for us to take responsibility for ourselves.

The truth is, creativity takes effort and hard work - paintings, sculptures, poems don't just miracle themselves. A true artist works at their skill, develops their ideas, studies and thinks, reworks when things go pear-shaped: creativity takes intellect, creativity takes guts. The not-so secret is creatives are disciplined and have thick skin and are regular failures.

I'm sad you are too scared to have a go.
I'm sad you are too scared to work at it in case you fail.

I challenge you to be kind to yourself and have a go and fail and pick yourself, smile and have another go!!
​
:(

Amanda

For more watercolour Paintbox Tips, articles and learning, visit my FREE TO JOIN network for student's of all levels

Come paint with me in Italy
Watercolour for Beginners - Auckland New Zealand
Weekly Classes - Auckland New Zealand
En Plein Air - One Day Workshops

Do I have to finish my painting on site for it to be classed as en plein air? When is a plein air piece 'en plein air' and when does it become a studio piece? 

I reckon if a work is substantially created on location, let's say 95%, then it is an en plein air painting. To add a couple of additional marks when you return to your studio does not make your painting/sketch a studio piece, it just means you know how to finish a painting or you had to pack up quick to get away from the approaching storm. At the end of the day it really only matters if you are entering en plein air competitions and then you'll be on site in the thick of it.

It seems there are too many rules and regulations about art and creating, it seems to me that most of these 'rules' are handed to us from either 150 years ago or by some 'expert' who is not a painter! To be a creative is to not be bound by other people's 'rules'. 

For example, for me, it does not make sense to go back to the same place for several days running to complete a painting - I certainly would not be able to do that in NZ (4 seasons in one day - and fairly unpredictable unless mid-winter and then you know it's going to be rainy or stormy!). Further, I want to push my skill as a watercolour painter and develop my creativity and thinking, watercolour is fast and immediate, i want to take advantage of that while I can.

For me, en plein air is all about getting to know a scene/subject, understanding it's essence and getting a sketch down and dirty as quick as possible. I give myself 1.5 hours - after this time, light and atmospheric conditions have changed substantially and only provide a new set of facts that are likely irrelevant to my current work. My plein air sketches provide me with detailed notes so I can create a finessed studio painting, sometimes my plein air works are good enough to sell, sometimes not - so be it - do it again!

​My methodology is to scope out the scene, sit and observe the light and shapes from my selected spot, create/design a couple of thumbnail value sketches, take a mental snapshot and get stuck in. A painting buddy pointed out to me recently that I don't refer to the actual scene very much after that except for a few detail reminders. For me it's all about the essence of the scene, and certainly, sometimes I wonder who made me paint in that particular locale - it's all their fault!! :)

Please remember these are 'rules' i have set for my myself and you don't have to follow them blindly - they might not work for you/your current style/medium/whatever. I think this is where students get caught up, rule #10181614172930 works for X and X swears by this rule and may insist their students follow it too (when a tutor start telling their students there is only one way and it's their way or the highway, choose the highway!) Remember, there are no magic bullets - you might have to forge on and create your own methodologies - experiment and have fun!!

ciao bei pittori xx

Amanda

For more watercolour Paintbox Tips, articles and learning, visit my FREE TO JOIN network for student's of all levels

Come paint with me in Italy
Watercolour for Beginners - Auckland New Zealand
Weekly Classes - Auckland New Zealand
En Plein Air - One Day Workshops