Limit yourself to Grow

Over the past 7 weeks I have held a Speed Studies class at Patris Studios in Sacramento, CA. This class is an accumulation of exercises that forces artists to change from their normal routine and approach painting differently. Many artists, new and experienced, can benefit from these exercises. They are like workouts or boot camp for painters. Just like an athlete practices routine drills or a musician practices scales - artists must practice their approach too. Every Week I challenge the participating artists with a new focus or exercise. A couple weeks ago we tried "limited stroke studies." This challenge was inspired by a lesson taught by Peggi Kroll-Roberts, a Northern California Painter. During this challenge, artists finished a painting study with a pre determined amount of brush strokes. This forced participants to pre-plan their brush strokes, and get creative in turning their brush to extend the stroke. Loading up the brush with paint also helped.

Here are a couple examples I produced. I kept track of my strokes by using tick marks at the top of the painting. They were each completed in about 30 brush strokes. 

This challenged forced me to load up my brush with paint and make bold and strong brush strokes. It also forced me to think through how I was going to approach the painting so I could guess how many brush strokes it would take. This challenge will translate into my other work by helping me feel more comfortable working with thick paint, preplanning my approach, and mature brushwork. 

Do you want to give it a try? 

You'll Need : 

Canvas [about 8x10 or smaller]

Paint  [you could use oil or acrylic]

Still Life [begin with something simple like an apple or pear]

Light [you could use window light or a spot light but it is important to create one single light source]

Other Paint Gear [ I use brushes, Gamsol, paper towels, palette, apron]

1. Set up your still life on a table cloth. Try to consider the colors of your still life objects and the color of the table cloth - Its nice to have some contrast in values. If your painting a dark red apple then pick a more neutral light colored table cloth. This will show the shadow shapes clearly and create a nice contrast of value between the apple and ground plain. 

2. Draw your composition onto the canvas. I like to use a thin brush and paint to do this. No need to use pencil. Be sure to include the shadow shapes in your drawing. If you squint you can often see them better. 

3. Think about how many strokes it will take to fill in the different areas. Try to count out how many it might take. Remember you are trying to limit yourself. Give yourself about 35 -40 starting out. 

4. I like to block in the shadow shapes first. The first few strokes will be a challenge as you instinctually want to lift your brush off the canvas. Fight the urge and see how far you can take one brush stroke. 

5. Keep track of your strokes. Its a good challenge to keep pushing yourself. 

6. Afterwards, take a few minutes to jot down your thoughts and frustrations in your sketchbook. Did you learn anything new? Did you like the approach? Taking a few moments to solidify your thoughts will help you recall it easier in the future.