A Prerequisite to Painting

by Jim Stratton
(Florence, S.C.)

If you really want to paint seriously, you need to first learn how to draw. If you were not born with an innate talent to do so, there are certain basic skills that can be learned to help you do so reasonably well.
Being able to draw can elleviate stress in the composing of your painting and eliminate much of the frustration you will encounter when "something just doesn't look right".
First of all, you may need to change the basic way you look at the world...the way you see! Here is a checklist that shows what I mean.
1. Try to see the overall shape of something. Remember that shape is the 2-dimensional perimeter. Is it circular, square, elliptical, etc.? Combine simple shapes like these to build more complicated ones.
2. Look at positive and negative shapes and spaces...they can create interest and realism in your work, but mostly the contrast of the two help you to show what is coming towards you and what is going away.
3. Sketch quickly and don't worry about details in the early stages of the drawing. If you are doing the drawing as a finished piece of artwork, then finish it carefully and cleanly. If it is a rough sketch for a painting, quit as soon as you have settled on composition, positioning the objects, and the general light and dark areas (shading).
4. Remember that very few really successful paintings came from only one sketch. Don't be afraid to change from your original vision to make the composition better. Mistakes are much easier to correct in this stage of the art process.
I will add more to this lesson in the next few days, so keep checking, so that you can begin your journey with me as we become better artists together.

Jim Stratton