When I set out to do something, I endeavor to do it to the best of my abilities. There is no happiness, or satisfaction to be found for me in complacency. It goes against my nature and it is something I will make no attempt to change. The people in my real life are not surprised then to see me working so hard to improve as a painter.
Because I do not game, there are many conversations that I cannot participate in. And sadly, the painters in the Fantasy genre are not a friendly lot. They are competitive and they do not share the same level of camaraderie that the painters in the historical genre do. .I visit many forums and have observed this in some detail over a period of months.
In order to improve as a painter, I must have my work critically analyzed. Thankfully I have a friend who is eminently qualified and who is willing to take his time to help me develop as a painter.
Kris has been there for me from the beginning. He gave me my first set of paints and held my hand via email as I took my first tentative steps as a painter.
He is still there for me today. Telling me what I've done right, and more importantly telling me what I can do better. For example here is a short excerpt from one of his critiques (I have his okay to post this).
So now here are the things you can work on. It looks like you are still tending to drybrush your highlights so its time to work on your blending skills a bit. Some of your transitions are still a bit abrupt and the drybrushing tends to leave behind granular dried paint which we need to smooth out. There are a number of different methods to do this.
And then he goes on to tell me where I can find tutorials to learn the techniques I need.
Yes, I may act a wee bit silly here on blogger at times, but I take my painting seriously and hopefully, with a little help from my friend, I will continue to improve over time.
Now with all that said, I have one more post in me and then I will be taking a hiatus from blogger in order to focus on painting.
Well folks, it's Monday and the start of a new week and the flowers are in full bloom. So take a little time to notice the natural world around you and be inspired by it. I know I will.
