Looking at art we can learn a lot about the artist and their style
Art is subjective, but there are some things that can really turn me off of a piece.
Lets take a look at Jim Carrey’s work, shall we?
Are you sure? Lets do it.
Jim Carrey is an awesome guy. He’s well known for his hilarious comedy roles in Ace Ventura Pet Detective, The Mask, and Dumb and Dumber. He also has a great deal of success as a dramatic actor with his role in The Truman Show. Oh, I almost forgot to mention he is also a very successful artist.
I’ve been studying art for years now (as well as writing about other things on my blog) and have developed my own criteria for evaluating art. I’m not saying everyone has to agree with my opinion or method of evaluation, but it works for me and has helped me learn a lot about the artists I study. You can read more about it here: The Subtle Little Details That Can Make A Big Impact: a blog about details and how they affect our day-to-day.*
So today we will be looking at one of Carrey’s paintings titled “Pillar of Autumn.”*
The subtle little details that make a big impact are the ones that we don’t notice until they’re gone. They’re also the ones that make us feel like we’re at home, in a particular place — in a certain neighbourhood or city, for example.
Tastes differ, of course, but when it comes to the details that can sometimes make all the difference in a room or a space, there are some things that appeal to most people. It’s those details that give something character and personality, and add up to help create a sense of place.
In this sense, it’s the small stuff that adds up to the big stuff. The building blocks of something larger. And ultimately, it’s often these small details that can make the biggest difference in how we feel about our surroundings — wherever they may be. It’s these details that can shape our moods, and bring out what’s already there — even if it wasn’t at first obvious.
Today, I’d like to talk about the subtle little details that can make a big impact.
How do you know if something is missing in your image? The first thing you need to do is look closely at it and analyze the elements you have in that photo. Look for colors, lines, shapes, reflections, textures and so on. What looks good? What could be better?
Take this picture for example, it’s a picture of Jim Carrey as Andy Kaufman. It’s simple on the surface but there are a lot of details that make it interesting:
the contrast between the red and the blue
the circular light source which gives texture to the background and makes Carrey stand out even more
the curled up arm and the hand position on his face
the facial expression which suggests he’s thinking about something
Some things are hard to add or change in post-processing because they require multiple layers to achieve. But most of these details can be added during the shooting stage by simply checking your composition before pressing the shutter button. Just stand back from your camera, zoom out if possible and observe what might be missing.
Details matter. Everything you do should be done with purpose and intentionality.
The way you dress communicates something to those around you.
The way you organize your work space tells people a little bit about who you are and what’s important to you.
The way you decorate your home says something about your personality and taste.
The way you speak, the words that come out of your mouth, the little things that pop out of your mouth in conversation- these all communicate something to those around you.
And so on and so forth… details matter.
A lot.
If you want to be successful, if you want to make a difference, if you want to make progress in any area of life; pay attention to the little details because they add up to big things!
Are there any areas of life that need improvement? If so, take note of the details you’d like to change or improve. What are some specific things that could be changed or improved? What small changes would have a big impact? Write down a list whenever an idea pops into your head. Then take some action! Go for it! Don’t let anything hold you back from changing it from an idea into reality! Your dreams can become reality! It takes hard work but
In the past couple of months I’ve been working on some pictures for a friend’s upcoming art book. His style is very loose and he wanted me to replicate it, but everytime I tried, it felt really stiff and unnatural…
Then I started to think about my own work and how I create loose lines. The truth is that in order for the line to look loose, you have to draw over it many times. If you draw fast enough and make sure the strokes overlap a bit, the final result will be a line that looks almost like it was painted with a brush.
The first time I saw this kind of line was when I watched one of Robh Ruppel’s videos. He used to do a lot of ink drawings in which he would do a black outline with a brush pen, then go in and finish the image by adding in all the little details with a gel pen.
In their book, “Art & Fear,” David Bayles and Ted Orland explain the difference between “beginner’s mind” and “expert’s mind.” A novice potter doesn’t worry about what kind of pot to make. She just throws on the wheel whatever she happens to be thinking about as she works.
The expert, on the other hand, has a plan; he is making a certain kind of pot or bowl. He thinks about all the steps ahead of time – he plans his work. He worries about the outcome. He may even have an idea of the final product before he starts working.
That expert is likely to make a better pot than someone with no experience, but, in the end, it isn’t as interesting or unique. It is difficult for us to let go and not plan our work in advance because we fear failure. That fear makes us try to control everything – every step along the way. But that only guarantees we will fail eventually – and makes it happen sooner than it might otherwise have happened.
There is a common belief that you need to focus your art on one style or medium, and stick to it. This is false. In fact, you need to work hard at keeping your skills sharp in many different styles and mediums.
This doesn’t mean you should be producing more art than you can handle, but it does mean that you should have several projects going at once of varying difficulty levels. You need to retain the flexibility to jump from project to project on a moments notice if you want to survive in this industry.
