7 Days to Better Paintings – Lesson 3: Mistakes

The last two lessons went rather deep, so I will try to keep things short and sweet today.

Let’s talk about mistakes.

First things first—making mistakes is OK! They will happen, no matter how experienced you are.

Most aspiring artists seem to have this idea that a painting should be flawlessly executed from start to finish, without mistake or hesitation. But let me assure you, that doesn’t happen for anyone.

I have watched some of the true masters of painting work their way through rather simple mistakes—misplacing the nose in a portrait, mixing the wrong color, making something too big or too small.

But, what separates the masters from the pack is their ability to identify and effortlessly work through mistakes. They make it look easy… so easy that inexperienced onlookers have no idea mistakes happened in the first place.

Below is a general road map for handling mistakes:

  1. Recognize you made a mistake. (Alarm bells ringing)
  2. Identify what the mistake actually is. (Diagnose)
  3. Determine if it needs to be fixed. (Is it critical?)
  4. Implement an effective solution. (Time to operate)

And all this needs to be done with a calm, level head. Don't spit the dummy (I know, easier said than done).

Also, be aware that this is not a rigid process. You don’t need to pull out a checklist and pen every time you think a mistake has been made.

This process should be seamless. But, for the purpose of understanding the process, it is better to see it in a “step-by-step” format.

Anyway, let’s move on.

You cannot fix a mistake you don’t know exists. So, I put together a list of the usual culprits. This is based on the hundreds of paintings I have been sent by readers over the years.

  • Focusing too much on developing a personal style
  • Trying to guess through problems
  • Overworking the painting (not knowing when to stop)
  • Leaving the painting unfinished (stopping too soon)
  • Overuse of hard edges
  • Lack of edge variance
  • Incorrect shadows (wrong value, temperature, position, or is simply missing)
  • Lack of atmospheric perspective (distant objects don't look distant)
  • Overuse of saturated (vivid) colors
  • Overuse of pure white, especially for highlights
  • Trying to paint with too much detail
  • Incorrect values
  • Trying to paint too many values (weak value structure)
  • Using low-quality art supplies (particularly brushes and paints)
  • Incorrect use of art supplies
  • Lack of brushwork variance
  • Paying too much attention to unimportant areas
  • Caring too much about what other people think
  • Relying on gimmicky techniques
  • Poor subject selection
  • Highlights which are too strong, too weak, or misplaced
  • Over blending of brushwork
  • Awkward composition design
  • Lack of preparation
  • Painting a subject you are not inspired by or excited to paint
  • Painting too fast or too slow
  • Focusing too much on the subject, rather than the colors, shapes, lines, edges, etc. which make up the subject (you are not painting a tree, you are painting an arrangement of colors, lines, and shapes which looks like a tree)
  • Using too much paint, or not enough
  • Reckless painting
  • Timid painting

[Exercise] Go through the list and familiarize yourself with the mistakes. Then, put this list all the way in the back of your mind.

I don’t want you to tip-toe through your next painting trying to avoid every possible mistake (after all, timid painting is on the list).

As Vincent van Gogh put it:

“It is better to be high-spirited even though one makes more mistakes, than to be narrow-minded and all too prudent”.

Right now, all I want is for you to start recognizing and identifying mistakes when they happen. This is the hardest part!

Most people can tell when they make a mistake in their painting, but few people are able to quickly and efficiently identify what the mistake actually is.

I’m sure you know the feeling. Something looks wrong, but you just can’t put your finger on it.

Note: You don’t need to fix every single mistake you make. You may decide to exercise your “artistic license” to leave a mistake as is.

“Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep”. - Scott Adams, Creator of the Dilbert Comic Series.

In the next lesson, I will teach you how to “see” like an artist. Do this well, and you will dramatically reduce the number of mistakes you make.

Your inbox, same time tomorrow.

Regards

Dan Scott

drawpaintacademy.com