Exercising Your Artistic Eye

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If you have ever been guilty of making painting more complicated that it need be- try this approach. Find an object, preferably an object that is interesting in shape, trace it on several pieces of watercolor paper, canvas, or board and without looking at the object experiment with trusting your eye to arrange colors and values on the traced shape. The four images shown are obviously traced from a pair of scissors. I do these with never a thought as to design or visual accuracy and love the results. There must be a lesson here.

All these paintings are 9″x 6″ watercolor and gouache on paper.


Skip Lawrence

Skip Lawrence

I love everything about painting. I love feeling the paint, seeing a rich color spread under my brush onto a surface, and the play between colors coming together. I love watching my idea take form until a painting finally says “it” and I am surprised and delighted every time. I love sharing my art and knowing that someone is moved by it.