This weekend I picked up a paintbrush for the first time in MONTHS. I had lost my desire to paint for a while, mainly because I felt like I was technically not where I wanted to be in terms of skill level. But then I had a moment of clarity. With my other painting I was working on, I was trying to stay within the lines, blend colours nicely and try to be ‘perfect’. It just lost all fun. I realised this weekend that the essence of painting wasn’t about achieving realism or being all technical (unless that is your style. Clearly it’s not mine) but about expressing a mood or evoking feeling. I enjoyed being really loose with the brush strokes and it’s cool that you can see the brush marks! It’s also the first time I’ve painted a person. I think I will repaint the face though. It looks like a ‘V for Vendetta’ mask to me.

I think this is a step in the right direction.

Filed under: Inspiration, Painting, Random, Sketches by Sam | August 30, 2010