On Being Illustrative and Picture Cropping



I started this painting in October of 2007 - this is the one based on Psalm 126. I've written about it before. It has a few things that work and many things that don't. I may just leave it as it is, anyway, or I may repaint sections or I may prime over the whole thing and begin a new painting. When I was in art school, sometimes a teacher would say, "Your work is very illustrative." It was not a compliment. But my brain works in an illustrative way, so that is that. Sometimes when I have a painting that is okay but not wonderful, I like to take pictures of it and crop the painting into sections. You can discover ideas for new paintings that way:







3 comments:

Sandy Mastroni said...

I was never 'painterly' enough for my teachers either . This is so interesting. I do the same thing. There are paintings within paintings !

Blondie ~ Vintage Primitives said...

your painting is very illustrative and I mean that as a complement. Love this one, Dix. And I agree with Sandy above me. There are paintings within paintings.
Keep dancing to the music in your head.
Blondie

Anonymous said...

PLEASE DO NOT PAINT OVER THAT!! THE SECOND I SAW IT I CHECKED TO SEE IF YOU HAD IT ON EBAY...then I went back and read your blog...I am just drawn to your paintings my friend.

I have had "go to Dixie's blog" on my mental to-do list for some days now..but we have been muy busi-oso...I wanted to comment on your sweet entry about my paintings and have not taken the time to do so.

I even had this weird idea that you and I could record music together. I am a singer song-writer (write mostly about Jesus) and I am moving into a house with really great accustics that inspire me to sing...I have been thinking that I would get into recording in my art studio even with a cam-cord or some little hand held device...Then, I was thinking how you wrote that you sing back-up in the car...

Anyways, just sharing my train of thought with you.

Hope you are well. Keep up the painting.

Love, Jane


"Do not let what you cannot do
keep you from doing what you can do."

John Wooden