My paintings always become my enemies... PIP

Re: My paintings always become my enemies... PIP

• RebeccaFlower member

  

  December 2014

  I'm swooning over your sisters two canvasses, so you can mail them to me if she doesn't like them. Plus, she'll be thrilled that you made something for her. I think you should trust your gut because you are clearly very talented and it sounds like sister is all over the place with her tastes. 

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• dcbride86 member

  

  December 2014

  You are enormously talented!!!  I can't even imagine having a talent like that!

  <a href="'>http://www.theknot.com/?utm_source=ticker&utm_medium=HTML&utm_campaign=tickers" title="Free Wedding Vows">

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• novella1186 member

  

  December 2014

  Aw thank you, guys! But the creative part of my brain has quit working  

  

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• Maggie0829 member

  

  December 2014

  I know you thought it looked too cartoony but I liked the sailboat.  You have a great natural scene and then the sailboat was a subtle nod to their newly purchased sailboat.

  
  

  I really don't think adding an abstract element will really go with what you have already done.  Then you will have two different themes fighting against each other.

  
  

  And I could picture a small (like 3) subtle flock of seagulls up in the left hand side of the painting.

  
  

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• novella1186 member

  

  December 2014

  Maggie0829 said:

  I know you thought it looked too cartoony but I liked the sailboat.  You have a great natural scene and then the sailboat was a subtle nod to their newly purchased sailboat.

  
  

  I really don't think adding an abstract element will really go with what you have already done.  Then you will have two different themes fighting against each other.

  
  

  And I could picture a small (like 3) subtle flock of seagulls up in the left hand side of the painting.

  You're right... it could turn into a big mess if I suddenly go abstract with just the bottom of it :S 

  
  

  Hm.... 

  

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• esstee33 member

  

  December 2014 edited December 2014

  What about adding some clouds that echo the swirling pattern in your second picture? 

  
  

  I don't really think it needs anything, though. 

  
  

  Also, these are fucking incredible!

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• novella1186 member

  

  December 2014

  esstee33 said:

  What about adding some clouds that echo the swirling pattern in your second picture? 

  
  

  I don't really think it needs anything, though. 

  
  

  Also, these are fucking incredible!

  Thank you! I keep thinking I need to add something because now that sailboat is gone, and this canvases are really big. So it's like a giant blue blank. 

  

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• VulgarGirl member

  

  December 2014

  I'd honestly leave the first one as is. I find it really soothing when I look at it, and I love the second one.

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• levioosa member

  

  December 2014

  I had "PAINT A KRAKEN" all planned out to post in my head before you even asked about sea monsters.  So, yeah. A kraken.  It's what's missing.  Obviously.  
  
  On a more serious note, you are very talented, and I think those are all great.  

  
  

  
  

  

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• PowerDoc member

  

  December 2014

  I think a sea monster would add a lot of fun actually, like a Kraken or something. As it stands compositionally, your horizon is so centered that you lose any detail you put strictly above or below, so adding a larger element that cuts across the horizon line (like a creature for instance) to the left piece would help immensely.  Hope that helps or at least makes sense! Good luck!

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• novella1186 member

  

  December 2014 edited December 2014

  levioosa said:

  I had "PAINT A KRAKEN" all planned out to post in my head before you even asked about sea monsters.  So, yeah. A kraken.  It's what's missing.  Obviously.  
  
  On a more serious note, you are very talented, and I think those are all great.  

  
  

  PowerDoc said:

  I think a sea monster would add a lot of fun actually, like a Kraken or something. As it stands compositionally, your horizon is so centered that you lose any detail you put strictly above or below, so adding a larger element that cuts across the horizon line (like a creature for instance) to the left piece would help immensely.  Hope that helps or at least makes sense! Good luck!

  Omg I love you both. Genius. I'm gonna work on some sketches but that might be the answer I've been trying to figure out for weeks!!! Ha! 

  
  

  And thank you! 

  
  

  ETA: and YES! You're absolutely right, I need to cut across the horizon line. I hadn't even thought of that. Thank you thank you thank you! 

  

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• sarawifenow member

  

  December 2014

  I love all of the paintings! I also think that adding something more abstract to the first one may be too much.

   

  I can't believe how talented you are! You should open an Etsy shop!

  

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• novella1186 member

  

  December 2014

  sarawifenow said:

  I love all of the paintings! I also think that adding something more abstract to the first one may be too much.

   

  I can't believe how talented you are! You should open an Etsy shop!

  
  

  SIB

  Thank you!  

  

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• anemone137.defunct635825918192908843 member

  

  December 2014

  These are lovely! 
  No matter the question, a Kracken is almost always the answer.  But if you're still looking for other ideas... you could always add a dock (with or without sailboat(s)) or tall grasses in the foreground. 
  I also like the idea of a steampunk-ish Zeppelin in that gorgeous sky.
  

  

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• theartistformerlyknownas member

  

  December 2014

  It sounds like maybe she doesn't know what the difference is between abstract and surrealism and she probably meant surrealism. So... SEA MONSTER!

  
  

  
  

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• novella1186 member

  

  December 2014

  Ah! You guys always have the greatest ideas for everything! I knew you'd all kill my creative block! I'm so excited to go home and work on it now!!! 

  

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• loro929 member

  

  December 2014

  I'm glad you busted out of your creativity block. Your work is really amazing. You have a truly great talent!

  

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• novella1186 member

  

  December 2014

  loro929 said:

  I'm glad you busted out of your creativity block. Your work is really amazing. You have a truly great talent!

  Thank you!  

  

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• raissyrais member

  

  December 2014

  Release the kraken!!!!!

  
  

  Those are very nice Novella. You're quite talented! I like the second one most I haven't painted in a while, maybe it's time. You're inspiring me!

  

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• novella1186 member

  

  December 2014

  raissyrais said:

  Release the kraken!!!!!

  
  

  Those are very nice Novella. You're quite talented! I like the second one most I haven't painted in a while, maybe it's time. You're inspiring me!

  
  

  
  

  SIB

  That is awesome! And thank you for the compliment! 

  

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• Inkdancer member

  

  December 2014

  You are incredibly talented. I would totally buy your work to put in my house!
  

  

  

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• climbingsingle member

  

  December 2014

  Holy shit, girl. You are crazy talented! I fucking love these paintings! 

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• cupcait927 member

  

  December 2014

  No suggestions because I have zero creative bones in my body, but I just wanted to tell you that I'm obsessed with the second painting. Love the detail and the ships!

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• novella1186 member

  

  December 2014

  Wow... thanks guys! These compliments are totally making me smile! 

  

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• HaileyDancingbear member

  

  December 2014 edited December 2014

  The painting is gorgeous.  But since you asked for it, here's a critique- It needs a bit more dimension as far as the colors go. Other than that spot of yellow, it's entirely shades of blue and green.  That might be why you're not entirely satisfied with it.  On both sides of the ocean where the shadows are is the first place you should start adding color-  (correct me if I'm wrong because it could just be the photo) It looks like you took the blue you used for the ocean and added black.  A rule of thumb I picked up when I went to that art school is that you should avoid mixing black into your colors, and instead add a contrasting color- so I'd suggest adding red to the blue you're using instead. That way instead of just being a darker shade of the blue, you use a deep violet- the tones of red against the tones of blue will also help to create depth, so you may not even have to go as dark to create the same illusion.  The purple will also go well with the little touches of purple on the landscape.  
  

  
  

  Also, I really love the splash of yellow on the corner, and I think you should keep going with that- part of being able to go abstract is that you can be really ballsy with the colors you put in the sky, and you could add in shades of orange, red, purple etc.  in the same style as that splash of yellow.  Especially on the left side- I think another reason you may not be satisfied with it is that all of the action seems to be toward the right; try looking at the two canvasses individually.  Think in terms of "if this single canvas was alone, would I like it?" even if they're meant to be hung together, both panels should be interesting pieces on their own.  The right canvas needs a bit more work to make it as engaging as the left.  Definitely put the Kraken on the left side (And consider using it as a way to add a new color into the mix- maybe red?)

  ETA: I wrote right when I meant left.  

  

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• novella1186 member

  

  December 2014

  HaileyDancingbear said:

  The painting is gorgeous.  But since you asked for it, here's a critique- It needs a bit more dimension as far as the colors go. Other than that spot of yellow, it's entirely shades of blue and green.  That might be why you're not entirely satisfied with it.  On both sides of the ocean where the shadows are is the first place you should start adding color-  (correct me if I'm wrong because it could just be the photo) It looks like you took the blue you used for the ocean and added black.  A rule of thumb I picked up when I went to that art school is that you should avoid mixing black into your colors, and instead add a contrasting color- so I'd suggest adding red to the blue you're using instead. That way instead of just being a darker shade of the blue, you use a deep violet- the tones of red against the tones of blue will also help to create depth, so you may not even have to go as dark to create the same illusion.  The purple will also go well with the little touches of purple on the landscape.  
  

  
  

  Also, I really love the splash of yellow on the corner, and I think you should keep going with that- part of being able to go abstract is that you can be really ballsy with the colors you put in the sky, and you could add in shades of orange, red, purple etc.  in the same style as that splash of yellow.  Especially on the left side- I think another reason you may not be satisfied with it is that all of the action seems to be toward the right; try looking at the two canvasses individually.  Think in terms of "if this single canvas was alone, would I like it?" even if they're meant to be hung together, both panels should be interesting pieces on their own.  The right canvas needs a bit more work to make it as engaging as the left.  Definitely put the Kraken on the right side (And consider using it as a way to add a new color into the mix- maybe red?)

  To the bolded, I actually never heard of that before (I have pretty much no real training so there's A LOT of important stuff like that I'm sure I don't know) but that sounds amazing. I'm definitely going to use that when I re-do the lake part and I'm really excited to see how it works out! I love that idea so much! 

  
  

  You have a ton of good advice that I was not even aware of, so thank you! So so so much: thank you! You totally just improved my painting skills! 

  

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• HaileyDancingbear member

  

  December 2014

  novella1186 said:

  show previous quotes

  HaileyDancingbear said:

  The painting is gorgeous.  But since you asked for it, here's a critique- It needs a bit more dimension as far as the colors go. Other than that spot of yellow, it's entirely shades of blue and green.  That might be why you're not entirely satisfied with it.  On both sides of the ocean where the shadows are is the first place you should start adding color-  (correct me if I'm wrong because it could just be the photo) It looks like you took the blue you used for the ocean and added black.  A rule of thumb I picked up when I went to that art school is that you should avoid mixing black into your colors, and instead add a contrasting color- so I'd suggest adding red to the blue you're using instead. That way instead of just being a darker shade of the blue, you use a deep violet- the tones of red against the tones of blue will also help to create depth, so you may not even have to go as dark to create the same illusion.  The purple will also go well with the little touches of purple on the landscape.  
  

  
  

  Also, I really love the splash of yellow on the corner, and I think you should keep going with that- part of being able to go abstract is that you can be really ballsy with the colors you put in the sky, and you could add in shades of orange, red, purple etc.  in the same style as that splash of yellow.  Especially on the left side- I think another reason you may not be satisfied with it is that all of the action seems to be toward the right; try looking at the two canvasses individually.  Think in terms of "if this single canvas was alone, would I like it?" even if they're meant to be hung together, both panels should be interesting pieces on their own.  The right canvas needs a bit more work to make it as engaging as the left.  Definitely put the Kraken on the right side (And consider using it as a way to add a new color into the mix- maybe red?)

  To the bolded, I actually never heard of that before (I have pretty much no real training so there's A LOT of important stuff like that I'm sure I don't know) but that sounds amazing. I'm definitely going to use that when I re-do the lake part and I'm really excited to see how it works out! I love that idea so much! 

  
  

  You have a ton of good advice that I was not even aware of, so thank you! So so so much: thank you! You totally just improved my painting skills! 

  I'm glad I helped!  I haven't had much real training, but I did one year at an art school where I took painting, drawing, and sculpture classes.  Being first year I didn't get to do anything too advanced, but I did get a lot of practice and a pretty good knowledge of the basics of those subjects.  But the most important thing I learned was how to give and accept a good critique, which, in my opinion, is way better for improving your artwork than any lesson or book, as long as you can accept constructive criticism.
  

  
  

  I can tell that while you're great now, you're only going to get better as you go on because you're good at accepting criticism.  When I was in school, the students were pretty much in two categories- those who took criticism well, and those who flipped out at any small criticism.  The first group ended up with amazing work, while the second group just kept producing the same stuff over and over.  

  

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• novella1186 member

  

  December 2014

  HaileyDancingbear said:

  show previous quotes

  novella1186 said:

  HaileyDancingbear said:

  The painting is gorgeous.  But since you asked for it, here's a critique- It needs a bit more dimension as far as the colors go. Other than that spot of yellow, it's entirely shades of blue and green.  That might be why you're not entirely satisfied with it.  On both sides of the ocean where the shadows are is the first place you should start adding color-  (correct me if I'm wrong because it could just be the photo) It looks like you took the blue you used for the ocean and added black.  A rule of thumb I picked up when I went to that art school is that you should avoid mixing black into your colors, and instead add a contrasting color- so I'd suggest adding red to the blue you're using instead. That way instead of just being a darker shade of the blue, you use a deep violet- the tones of red against the tones of blue will also help to create depth, so you may not even have to go as dark to create the same illusion.  The purple will also go well with the little touches of purple on the landscape.  
  

  
  

  Also, I really love the splash of yellow on the corner, and I think you should keep going with that- part of being able to go abstract is that you can be really ballsy with the colors you put in the sky, and you could add in shades of orange, red, purple etc.  in the same style as that splash of yellow.  Especially on the left side- I think another reason you may not be satisfied with it is that all of the action seems to be toward the right; try looking at the two canvasses individually.  Think in terms of "if this single canvas was alone, would I like it?" even if they're meant to be hung together, both panels should be interesting pieces on their own.  The right canvas needs a bit more work to make it as engaging as the left.  Definitely put the Kraken on the right side (And consider using it as a way to add a new color into the mix- maybe red?)

  To the bolded, I actually never heard of that before (I have pretty much no real training so there's A LOT of important stuff like that I'm sure I don't know) but that sounds amazing. I'm definitely going to use that when I re-do the lake part and I'm really excited to see how it works out! I love that idea so much! 

  
  

  You have a ton of good advice that I was not even aware of, so thank you! So so so much: thank you! You totally just improved my painting skills! 

  I'm glad I helped!  I haven't had much real training, but I did one year at an art school where I took painting, drawing, and sculpture classes.  Being first year I didn't get to do anything too advanced, but I did get a lot of practice and a pretty good knowledge of the basics of those subjects.  But the most important thing I learned was how to give and accept a good critique, which, in my opinion, is way better for improving your artwork than any lesson or book, as long as you can accept constructive criticism.
  

  
  

  I can tell that while you're great now, you're only going to get better as you go on because you're good at accepting criticism.  When I was in school, the students were pretty much in two categories- those who took criticism well, and those who flipped out at any small criticism.  The first group ended up with amazing work, while the second group just kept producing the same stuff over and over.  

  I know exactly what you mean. My writing classes in college were all based on being critiqued by your peers and by the professor, and I was always really excited to get criticism because that's the best way to see your weaknesses and try to fix them. And just like you said, the students who couldn't handle criticism were the worst writers by the end of the program. 

  
  

  I didn't even see what you said as criticism, though, I just saw it as super helpful advice and I'm excited to learn new stuff! 

  

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• Teddy917 member

  

  December 2014

  You could add some ducks/geese/swans/some sort of bird.

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• ashley8918 member

  

  December 2014

  I see that you have already received some great ideas, so I'm just here to say that I fucking LOOOOVE the ones of the dogs. God, H would love if i did something like that. Of course, I can't really paint. I'm pretty much a pens and pencils only kind of gal.

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