Today I am writing about enjoying the process of art, as a follow-up to last week’s post about finding your creative voice. I was inspired by this topic when I read the article entitled, Five Ways to Enjoy the Process of Making Art, by Sandrine Pelissier, on https://paintingdemos.com/enjoy-the-process-of-making-art/. I think that learning to enjoy the process of painting is a big part of finding your creative voice, because before you can define who you are as an artist, you have to practice, practice, practice your craft whether it’s drawing, painting, sculpting, etc. You know the old adage, “Practice makes perfect.” And to maintain that sort of dedication, you need to be able to enjoy the activity regardless of the outcome. For example, it has taken me about 12 years to learn how to paint in an impressionistic style, and I learned how to do it by a process of trying different types of paint brushes, various consistencies of paint and painting techniques, and holding the brush in different positions. It also helped to look at the artwork of Claude Monet and try to copy his paintings, especially the Waterlilies series, which is kind of loose and painterly. What others may think of as “talent” has been a long-term process of practice, trial, and error. Here are some examples of my work as I was attempting to learn how to paint in an Impressionistic, wet into wet style.
From left to Right: Breakfast Blend, oil on canvas panel, 2006, Chincoteague Marsh, oil on canvas panel, 2009, Cow in Meadow, oil on canvas panel, 2014, Pathway in Monet’s Garden at Giverny, oil on canvas, ca. 1901/1902, After Monet, Jodie Schmidt, 2014, Waterlillies, oil on canvas, 1906, After Monet, Jodie Schmidt, 2014, and finally one of my more recent paintings, Jack Daniels, oil on canvas, 2017. I hope this encourages you not to give up on your art if you are struggling to improve your work.
Art of Schmidt 