Pastel Journal - USA (2019-05)

5-Minute Coach

ART

CLASS:

HERO

IMAGES/GETTY

IMAGES;

MUSICAL

NOTES:

TONGRO

IMAGES

INC/GETTY

IMAGES

“Is My Painting Finished?”

Christine Swann offers this checklist of nine criteria for you to consider when

assessing the progress of a painting.

ACCURACY

Isthedrawingaccurate?

AmI afraidtoreworkan

areaforfearofruiningit?

Beingafraidofanarea

createsfearinthepaint-

ing.Doesanyarealook

timid?If so,doI havethe

gutstowipeit outand

tryagain?

BEAUTY

DoI haveareasthat

arejustplainbeautiful?

Beautyinthemarks?In

thetonetransitions?In

theturnofthelight?Inthe

accuracyofanexpres-

sion?If not,canI findit?

CanI makeviewersstop

andlook?If I stepback,

doI seeanopportunity

toadda fewmeaningful,

beautifulmarks?

TEXTURE

Doallofmystrokeslook

thesameoristherea

pleasingvarietyoftex-

turesandstrokesgoingin

differingdirections?Are

therebothsmoothand

roughareas?Cansome

texturebeeliminatedfor

thegoodofthewhole?Is

therea “breathing”area

toallowrestamidstall

thedetail?PJ

Pittsburgh artist Christine

Swann (swannportraits.

com) is known for award-

winning portraiture. She’s

a signature member of the

Pastel Society of America and

a Master Circle artist in the

International Association of

Pastel Societies.

INTENTION

This is always No. 1 on the

list. Ask yourself: What’s

the story? What is it that

I’m saying, and is it com-

ing through? How can I

add to the story? Is my

voice as an artist clear?

Did I follow through with

my original goals? Did

they change? Does the

painting tell me, visually,

what they are? How can

I strengthen them?

COLOR HARMONY

Did I build color harmony?

Could one color be

brought into greater

dominance? By lowering

the chroma in certain

areas, could I help other,

more focal areas pop for-

ward? Which color is my

accent? Is it important?

Is it supportive? Does

anything feel hazy? Clear

colors can help with that.

COMPOSITION

Are focal areas not only

planned, but also percep-

tible to the viewer? Can I

further strengthen them

through edgework, more

defi nition of an object or

color changes? Would the

addition of some diago-

nal, vertical or horizontal

supports, pointing to my

main area, bring more pol-

ish to the piece? Can I let

some areas or details go?

LIGHT & VALUE

Are there places where

my representation of the

light doesn’t make sense?

Did my photo references

lie to me? Lit areas and

shadow areas need to be

defi ned and separated

by value changes. Do

the values create a clear

defi nition between what’s

lit in the painting and

what’s not?

Feedback

Ask someone to describe your painting to you. Did he

or she understand your intentions? Did he or she find a

drawing error? Even a non-artist’s opinion can be help-

ful, so let a child or neighbor take a look. You might be

surprised by what they see. You might be encouraged to

make a few more adjustments before signing your name.

Music

What’s the musical score of this piece? Does it feel like

Enya? George Winston? Joss Stone? Tina Turner in high

heels? How can I make the painting “sing” more?

8 Pastel Journal JUNE 2019