Three Square Inches of Inspiration class results

Boy! This turned out to be a fun and productive class! Above you can see my little bits of inspiration, using a few paintings I admire. Dreama's cat was a total blast to paint. Loved the colors and gestures. I didn't come anywhere close, but it was still fun! My buddy Ralph Parker's painting had mixed results, and I love Mike Hindle's work, but it's tough to emulate. I enjoyed every moment of my experiments, however.

It's too easy to get overwhelmed by trying to copy a whole painting, and usually copying presumes you have already developed a facility with the medium and are simply learning the fine points of painting. This  experiment is different. These little paintings give you the chance to:

• limit  the scale (small is easy and fun!)
• notice different parts (look closely)
• try new solutions (how did she DO that?)
• make new observations (look how she did it...)
• be inspired!

As you look at a painting by an artist you admire, you start to look into different things. Things like the basic, underlying abstraction, the really challenging spots, those places where the artist solved a problem you're having (reflections, glistening eyes, transparency, etc.), or just plain gave you a chill with the beauty created there!

So I suggest you make a little 3" viewfinder and start to move it over the surface of the paintings you have hanging in your house to look for special ideas, solutions, and inspiration. Then set up to let that guide you, as you make it your own.

Have fun!

Keep going, gang!
Deborah

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