Are you a puzzler like me? My best friend growing up was my polar opposite, but we found common ground on either side of the puzzle table. We liked ’em challenging and big, so that we could spend hours pouring over shapes and colors, searching out the details of every piece of the puzzle, exalting when one of us found a corner piece and then racing each other to be the one holding the last piece of the puzzle.
What has a puzzle to do with painting, you ask? Everything! Most of our puzzles were of paintings! Now, when I paint, I’m searching the photograph for the details and the color notes. I would love to paint impressionistically, but my eye has been trained through rigorous study of puzzles to paint the details!
If I post a “painterly” painting on this blog, please know that I’m going to be ultra sensitive to criticism. It’s what I see as the ultimate success in painting, and I strive for it in each new work. I’ve been told to squint my eyes to eliminate the details and to only draw shapes, paying close attention to values and not necessarily the colors. Sigh. We’ll see, won’t we? If I’m a good student, then perhaps my paintings will improve.
Click here to see my work on canvases and canvas panels!
Click here to view some tiny oils, inspired by Miss Mustardseed.