Artists Magazine - USA (2020-04)

14 Artists Magazine April 2020

Prime CREATIVITY CHALLENGE

Two things that helped me stay

focused along the way—and contrib-

uted greatly to each painting session’s

success—were, first, to create an ini-

tial sketch for each card, and second,

to work with a limited palette. Bonus

outcomes? I improved my sketching

skills and color acumen.

WORKING TOGETHER

To add some fun, several times Page,

Marian or I selected the reference

photo for all of us to paint for the day’s

session. After we completed our paint-

ing interpretations, we compared our

works, observing and learning from

the differences. We also designated

days to share photos of our current

work areas and paint palettes with one

another and our online community.

There’s something collegial about

seeing works in process and knowing

that everyone is hunkered down in

their respective spaces doing the work.

We found that having a like-minded

community participate in the project

was a great way to add accountability

and to learn from others.

PUTTING IN THE

“BRUSH MILES”

If you’re looking to start small in oil

painting (or any media), to paint daily

or more consistently and/or to

improve your art, this might be the

perfect project for you. I firmly

believethattheonlywaytoimprove

yourpaintingskillsistoputinthe

timeattheeasel.Somerefertothis

as“brushmiles.”You’resuretobe

pleasantlysurprisedathowa month-

longprojectcanboostyourcreativity.

Itmaybejustthethingyouneedto

getyououtofa creativeslump.

Bonus:Recruitnewfriendswith

similarintereststojoinyou.By

sharingyourpaintings,critiques,

discoveriesandevenyourstruggles,

yourartlifewillgrow.

Michelle Wooderson lives in Kansas and

gains creative inspiration from walks in

the woods, trail riding in the mountains

and camping in a vintage Airstream. She

also enjoys painting en plein air.

For each index card painting,

I fi rst created a coordinating

composition and value sketch.

TRY THIS

To see my work, and the work of

Page Ellis and Marian Parsons,

follow us on Instagram:

@mishwooderson

@openfi eldmercantile

@marianparsonsart

To see our paintings and those

of followers who joined us

on our journey, search for

these Instagram hashtags:

#100meadowsproject

#my100hundredmeadowsproject

#indexcardartproject.

If you take up the challenge, feel

free to post your own works.