Today's Assignment

Today's assignment was hard but I'm trying to remember that this is not a painting class, it is a design class. If I look at this assignment that way, it is more successful than if I just look at it as a painting. So, because the original is so integral to the design problem we were set to solve, I'm showing them together. The first objective was to make a master study, which is to study then copy a painting by an famous painter or "master."  I chose a painting by a favorite artist named N.C. Wyeth called "The Mill."  I liked the painterly, impressionistic lines and textures and the soft colors. The second objective was to analyze where the focal point of the original painting was and in my painting, move the focal point using color or texture. We were not supposed to change the painting's composition, only the focal point.  It was an interesting exercise. Not my favorite of my assignments, but good practice at seeing what is important. I did not have the painting skill to even come close to the nuanced lines and beautiful blending of Wyeth's original, but I'm okay with that. Maybe someday I can take an actual painting class and learn all that. And for all those who have ever looked at an impressionist or seemingly simple painting and thought to themselves, "I coulda done that! It's just little blobs of paint," I'm here to tell you that you're kidding yourself. It is dang hard to make those little blobs and seemingly random brushstrokes all work together properly.