Weeks 2-3: Trials and Tribulations

Long time no see!

I've already learned so much since the last blog. While I definitely gained some helpful techniques from the YouTube videos I watched in Week 2, most of this learning was through making mistakes. And trust me, I made a LOT. But let's rewind here. I promised you my baseline painting in Blog 1, and I must deliver. 

It's...a start. It really could use more shading and accurate proportions, but it'll do. A baseline isn't supposed to perfect. I did have difficulties with this piece, though. For one, I had yet to learn how to properly use oil paints. Oil paint is very thick and is best used with lotttts of medium/thinner. I didn't know this and smeared it on the canvas like any other paint. And due to its viscosity, the thick layer of paint became muddied as I added color to the portrait. It ended up taking five days to fully dry 😬. But it's all a part of the process. As Bob Ross so famously said, "We don't make mistakes, just happy little accidents". 

For Week 2, I followed YouTube tutorials from seasoned artists on how to paint using perspective and light/dark.

Here are the ones I watched:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLjzEmP4534\

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVJAJTk2uNI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=736EHKQWjGY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LrqwaWh5z0k

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YzHt7RrTyhc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PgE-ZKlV0ko

I found all of them very helpful and took notes on each as I watched them. My key takeaways were to identify the horizon line and mark everything where I wanted it to be on the canvas. I also learned to not paint details until the end and rather focus on blocking out shapes. Finally, with all my paintings, I should generally start with the darker parts of the piece and gradually move to the lighter ones.

With my newfound knowledge I began to work on my Week 3 landscape. (The baseline was a struggle, but oh boy, was I in for a treat with this next piece). It started out fine; I had picked a reference depicting snowy mountains on a lake with the moon peeking out from behind. I began to paint, but I forgot one crucial thing: the thickness of the paint. Once again, I coated the canvas in hefty layers of paint and was unable to incorporate any shred of realism into the piece. This was incredibly frustrating considering I had spent a good chunk of my day working on it. Nice going, Keira. 

I was so close to giving up and just posting my second grade-esque painting on this blog. But I didn't. The whole point of the Genius Project is to make progress and improve. By not putting my best effort into this painting, I would be defeating the project's purpose. So I set my painting aside, pulled out a blank canvas and rewatched one of the tutorials. I knew I had it in me to make a nice landscape piece, and I did. The key to my success was outlining each object at the beginning and working my way from background to foreground. And this time, I went heavy on the paint thinner. Because I kept going and pushed myself to keep trying, I now have a painting I can say I'm proud of.

These were a very eye-opening and learning-filled two weeks. I'm really starting to have fun with this project and can't wait to see what the next few weeks have in store.

P.S. I commented on Weston, Sonia, and Diala's blogs for Week 1