the wave by summerfield

the wave

i finally convinced myself that i should try this painting thingie on my own before i commit to a three-hundred-dollar course. i found this tutorial by a young brit painter, katie jobling, on youtube. her explanations are short and to the point. not a lot of talking, nor pointing out her successes; she just gets you to do things with her. i didn't outright copy her work as i added the wave on the right part of the canvas. i was also disappointed that the colours didn't turn out to be the same, even though i used the exact colours she was using. any of you who can paint and draw, would appreciate your critique on this handiwork. ๐Ÿ˜œ

this took me a good six hours of my time, and mind you, by the fourth hour, i was ready to throw the towel. i was hungry, my fingers were dirty, as well as in pins and needles from holding the brushes. at any rate, i might modify this tomorrow as every time i look at it, i know there's something not right with it. but, moving on....

this afternoon, i got a call from that art school, the half owner, not the artist, called to apologize for the artist's behaviour. turned out they are business partners. she was afraid that i would do what some of you suggested, that i get on the social media about the woman's behaviour. i told the lady that i cannot accept her apology because she didn't do anything to me, that the woman/artist should be the one to apologize. and i also told her that she should find other places in which to invest her money because her partner artist would only bring the business a lot of trouble for her rudeness and lawsuits would follow. i told her how much a business litigation lawyer costs.
i like the painting, and the colours are in my favourite pallette. What medium is this? Acryllic, oil? In my humble wanna-be painter opinion, I'd say that this is a great start. You don't want to see my first attempts :D I have just watched a course on watercolour, and the artist teaching the class encouraged the students to give the piece more than one try. and indeed, it pays off (because it was a 30 minutes' painting). to encourage you to give this piece another one or two attempts would be a bit sadistic on my part. but i think you should not force yourself so much (up to the point of needles and pins in your fingers). that would eventually drive you away from the brush and colours.it will not be pleasure, but a punishment.
and before the 300-dollar course, i would recommend you to give skillshare a try (if you haven;t already). a lot of choices and, most important, a 2-months free trial.
keep it fun!
October 18th, 2020  
Wow, Vikki quite some hidden talent there! For a first attempt this is amazing. I love the colours and that breaking wave looks fab!
October 18th, 2020  
Well aren't you the painter! This is great Vikki
October 18th, 2020  
Wonderful for a first try
October 18th, 2020  
what a fun result
October 18th, 2020  
My comments are not to be taken as critical. I just think the camera can get a scene like this - with light, speed, and definition so well!
October 18th, 2020  
I think @monikozi has said the right encouragement it has to be fun, and I am Impressed there's , light action and interest. ( l love the curl of wave on the left) One thought, you're a fab photographer are you looking at this as a photograph And not a painting?
October 18th, 2020  
This is an amazing first painting, you are quite an artist. Above all you need to enjoy this though. I hope you like the different opportunities to learn, one will be right for you and you will love it. ๐Ÿ˜˜
October 18th, 2020  
A very impressive first attempt. It is easy to see what you were painting. I agree with the others about sticking with it and not expecting to look like a photograph.

How did the business partner know to call you? Nice to know that someone recognized how you had been wronged!
October 18th, 2020  
A great first attempt!
October 18th, 2020  
I would not have said that this is a first time painting. Waves are not easy to paint and one can see movement in your waves.
One of the things that has always bothered me when it comes to painting and 'copying' a scene is that one tries to hard to get the two scenes to be the same. One should try to remember that anyone viewing the painting is not comparing it the other picture but seeing it on its own. That being said we are all our own worst critics and most often the hardest to please.
I believe you should persevere and make it your own. The tutorial is purely for guidance.
October 18th, 2020  
WOW That is great you are a natural!
October 18th, 2020  
I like your painting. I like your response to the business owner. Good for you.
October 19th, 2020  
@monikozi - thank you very much for your comment. the medium is acrylic. this is not my first project per se. two years ago, i did try to paint a landscape that was in my head, a picture seen from a long time ago. bear in mind i have no understanding of colours, just the basic primary and the secondaries, really grade school basic. that painting looked like crap so i ended up slapping paint across it and it ended up being a crappy and ugly abstract that i cannot even explain the meaning (how could i?), then i sent all the paint and tools to my sister in manila who is the real artist in the family. i shall give skillshare a read one of these days. and i'm not going to re-do the painting again; i saw a photo of mine from 2014 https://365project.org/summerfield/365-again/2014-09-02 and that's what i will try to re-create taking the knowledge i got from doing this one. again, thank you, and i hope to see one of your works.

@maggiemae - i believe you. and my camera's done just that. please see the link in my comment above this.

@30pics4jackiesdiamond - that there is a photograph of a painting. ๐Ÿคฃ kidding aside, no, i look at it as a painting. and i do not wish to paint something that would look like a photograph. why do that when i can just take my camera and shoot what i want. thanks.
October 19th, 2020  
@louannwarren - thanks, law. but you must not forget that i did this along with the artist. my goal really is to learn the concept of painting and to prove to myself that i at least can do this (we are six siblings and everyone knows how to draw except me.) my only painting experience was painting the walls of my apartment 12 years ago and i was amazed how it came naturally to me. of course i am aware that is not the same as painting a painting.

@grammyn - i filled up a form when i got there, before the little bitch pissed me off. (note to self: do not leave any trail for the enemy to follow ๐Ÿคฃ) thanks, girlfriend.

@salza - thanks, sally. i chose to do this tutorial because i have a picture in my mind and in my album, see my reply to monikozi above. my idea really is to put into canvas some of my photographs, but not with the aim of making it looking exactly like the photograph. my goal is to understand how to get those colours, learn the various techniques (and there are a lot) with the use of the different tools. i remember doing watercolour paintings in art class in grade 1 and my father was so disheartened and disappointed that i could not paint like him. the man could've been a great painter if he had the means. among us six children, my older brother in chicago is the one who really has artistic talent when it comes to drawing and painting, but the irony is he's also the least bit interested in it. my youngest sister also is gifted that's why i sent her to art school. the rest of my siblings can draw and me, i can't even draw a stick people even if my life depended on it! i suppose my artistic talent is a bit different from theirs. my advantage is i can afford to buy the materials. just like in photography i am AGNI (all gears, no idea) ๐Ÿ˜‚.
October 19th, 2020  
I think it looks good for an on-line instruction pov. Of course if you're working with a live teacher you can ask "How do I mix that color?" and get feedback whereas on the tutorial, you can't. I was always a very frustrated painter. What I saw in my mind I could not do with my hands. The camera and the wonders of post-processing have freed up the frustrated artist, If your goal is two-fold: to see if you can paint and to understand more about color- then I would first start learning about color. That benefits both your painting goals and your photography. I would find a basic book on color (maybe one that has assignments) and start with that, then expand to the actual painting classes. Is this the only art school near you? Seems to me Toronto might have more than one. And there may also be an artist or two willing to give private instruction. Look for the up and coming rather than established for a better rate. Maybe just a few of those will be all you need as opposed to a whole semester of classes from a school you're not too impressed with at this point. Just a few thoughts off the top of my head! It looks good to me!
October 19th, 2020  
This turned out GREAT ... no advice since I can't paint well maybe a wall a solid color but that bores me quickly and Bob takes over.... Maybe trying to do the whole masterpiece in one sitting is a little much.
October 20th, 2020  
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