TIME TO
REFLECT
The hard work doesn’t stop once a
good art class has ended. As you walk
out the door you should fi nd yourself
brimming with ideas for practising and
improving. Beyond revising techniques
taught in the lesson, the time between
classes is a valuable opportunity to
refl ect on your work, using your new
found knowledge to identify areas for
improvement in a fair and constructive
way. That said, it can be easy to slip
into a habit of being overcritical when
reviewing your own work so St Ives
School of Painting tutor Liz Hough has
put together some top tips for
critiquing your artwork in a way that
will benefi t your practice.- COMPARE TO YOUR AIMS
Whether it’s a fi nished piece or a few
sittings away from completion, look at
your work and think back to your initial
idea. Have you strayed from it? If so,
which areas have worked better than
your original design and which could
use work? Consider these points
when you next plan a composition. - CONSIDER A SERIES
Look for an area in the work that
The learning process
can continue after
class if you learn to
critique your own workinterests you, something that’s
working well. Think of this as the
“main event”, which could become a
starting point for new work or even a
series. It can also be helpful to look
for things that didn’t go to plan. Think
of these as disappointments rather
than dwelling on them as failures:
what could you have done differently?- BE PREPARED
TO SACRIFICE
Look at the bigger picture and
consider how the entire work is
coming together as a whole. You may
fi nd you have to let go of a favourite
part for the composition to work best. - LOOK FOR A NEW ANGLE
Changing the way you look at your
work in the most practical sense can
go a long way to helping you identify
potential problems. Try turning the
canvas, looking at it sideways on,
upside down or even in a mirror. This
altered view will give you a greater
understanding of the balance and
highlight elements that aren’t working. - GET SOME DISTANCE
Gaining distance over time will also
help you bring fresh eyes to a piece,
so try returning to your work a few
days later to see what speaks to you.
Finally, a change in scenery can make
a real difference so, if you’re still
struggling to take an objective view,
take your work outside the studio,
hold it up against a different wall or
even take it out in the garden.
BRINGING IT ALL BACK HOME
Works in progress and sketches make useful
reference materials, so it’s worth investing in kit
to help you get them home from class in one piece
Mapac Quartz A1 Portfolio
aps down artworks in this weather-
istant folder to avoid them rattling
ound.
http://www.mapac.comNitto Acid-Free Art Tape
Prevent drawings being torn in transit by
taping them to mountboard in your
portfolio.
http://www.jacksonsart.co.uk•Pegasus Art Telescopic Carrying Tube
a cases are a burden in a strong wind,
soput papers in this tube that extends
to126cm.
http://www.pegasusart.co.ukchmincke Universal Fixative
tect drawings and watercolours after
ss with a fast-drying, colourless spray.
w.schmincke.de
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