I'm Self Taught And Proud Of It!

Great job Mario...now lets see you paint again.

Than you Lisa I'm sure you will, this immersion into the great masters was all to spur the next inspiration on, I have a loose idea of what I want to paint next. I don't know how I feel about filming the process but I will certainly share the completed work. Some of these painting are taking me up to 10 hours to complete, that's 10 hours only stopping to go to the bathroom or grab a bite to eat.

U B painting dude!

I cannot get over how nervous I am in front of the camera and I've been in front of one for the better part of twenty years. When I choose to paint, however, it sucks. I lose something in the process, paint won't come out of the tube, or the tube of paint makes a fart noise, or I can't see what I'm doing because I'm worried about how I look or how the movie set looks and it goes on an on. I'm OCD while filming.

I have to just keep practicing and practicing.

Lol! , Lisa the nervousness does not come through in the video. Also, editing is super easy in movie maker, instanltly gets rid of all those unwanted visuals or noises. :-)

Thanks Ronald, you could say that! Lol!

Lisa,

You will be glad to know I have finished my first wine bottle....without drinking a drop because they frown at the meetings if I do.....my bottle looks great....and as you know me by now....different.

Mario,

It has never been a matter of educated v uneducated. This does not break down into two categories. It has always been a matter of 'life is what you make of it'.

Dave

Mario,

It has never been a matter of educated v uneducated. This does not break down into two categories. It has always been a matter of 'life is what you make of it'.

Dave

I agree David, like I said one is not better than the other and that is why it's totally ok to say "Hey, I'm a self taught artist" nothing to be ashamed of or something that should go unsaid as if somehow one who is would be any less professional or at least preceived to be. I might disagree that it does'nt break down to two categories, category one is self taught, category two is formally educated, I'm sure we could both think of other categories. I totally agree it should not be "one vs the other" but there are distinctions.

I've heard things like I've spent half my life getting a formal art education and the other half trying to forget what I learned. :-)

What an artist learns matters little. What he himself discovers has a real worth for him, and gives him the necessary incitement to work.-Emil Nolde

Mario,

There are plenty of art students who have nothing to say.

You are not one of them. That perhaps is the most important difference.

Dave

Lol, but I am an art student and I do have a lot to say..

I used to hang with a guy I had endless problems with. But the problems were all based on his lack of art.

He had won a scholarship to a very prestigious art college. I cant remember the name of it even.

He become a graphic designer. He was in and out of jobs, particular as the digital age advanced. He was not very computer literate.

He was sharp for image quality.

The big problem he had was no visual memory at all for what he was working on. So if the computer was turned off, he forgot every last ounce of where he was and what he was working on. No idea.

His dream was to set up a studio. I asked him what he would paint? He did not know at all.

He found my excitement to become an artist back in 2012 inversely proportional to his terrors of being a graphic designer. It was really very rough for him.

Dave

My bottle of wine and my shades are done. I need more ideas. I will have them soon.

addition: Possibly a lamp.

Dave

I'm sure this has been covered before. Simply stated we are all self taught at some stage no matter if you have a degree or never had any formal training. Those that have schooling have to work to transcend the things they were taught. That took me several years.

David Randall is right. The advantage of a formal education is exposer to various artists and concepts that you might have otherwise have missed. The disadvantage were as David R said, takes a while to sort through all the material.

Jazz, lets see that wine bottle! Show it off.

Lisa,

It first has to be registered with the US Copyrights Office. That might be a month from now.

No lamp? Maybe not. Maybe super models for this next job.

Dave

Ronald, my brain almost exploded graduate school year. It took years to sort it all out.

I'm not knocking education, as a matter of fact right now I would welcome some formal training in painting, it's not at all easy figuring it out on your own. Today I spent the greater part of the day trying to paint light. I'm sure if I had a teacher next to me guiding me it would have gone quicker and better. In the end though I think the level of personal satisfaction would not be quite as great as the feeling of self acommplishment when one goes about on their own. Then there is always the possibility of getting it all wrong all on your own as well.

That said at age 57 I have no inclination to go get any formal training in a classroom setting, I can't even imagine that, so I guess I'll be studying (viewing) the works of the masters in hopes of gathering bits and pieces.

Here is what yesterdays going though countless volumes of vintage reproduction prints from histories great masters inspired me to paint.

Mario,

The milkmaid is actually in front room with a window. The light is striking the edge of her and her clothing. The shadow is on her clothing as well. But because she is in space in the room there is no cast shadow in sight. We do not see the floor.

I took the room away.


Dave

Okay, gotcha ya, Jazz. Let me know when you want to show off your hard work.

Lisa,

If I get to the collection stage, will do really, then I might run an image free thread here. Just a link to the collection.

Should be fun.

Thanks for your interest,

Dave

David that is a nice piece, I am very much attracted to works were light is an integral element of the painting and it is those works I am looking at to understand how to paint the light. I'm also as you can see trying to learn how to paint nudes, that part is a lot of fun.

Mario,

Google Images see Rembrandt's work. Study his abstraction of light. He often leaves out the wall behind to paint the environment of the room with a shaft of light.

It is more important to know how light lands than to have the shaft defined.

Dave

.David I have been doing just that not just from google but from my vintage collection of some old Abrams art books which have large reproduction prints of many of the master"s works, I also like Caravaggio's works.

Tom Keating was a forger who claimed he still had works in major collections even after he was caught. I found his TV program very informative in terms of technique. There is one on Rembrandt

This is the general list:

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=tom+keating

My artillery gun is finished. I am shooting up the French country side this time. Nothing new.

Dave

This is another work or part of the other?

This last attempt just don't work like the previous. The knife works okay for quick man made objects with lotz of edges but curved objectz not so good. possibly works with long exaggerated stylized figures. To much empty space filled with uninteresting texture.
good experience with knife though. takes work to learn. When mastered, gives free flowing instinctive style to a work.

David, I started another one late last night, my wife saw the rough sketch and thought I was drawing porn, Lol! you might like this one as well. I won't talk about it until I complete it though, like all my works.

My wife ask me questions all the time about art I'm working on and I have to remind her, I don't talk about the work until it's completed. :-)

Running off to work so I can finish early and come finish this one.

Drew, I don't totally disagree, it is different than the previous work, that part was expected. For this next one I thinking using a combination of knife and brush for detail. Now I've see some palette knife artists do some incredible portrait work. Getting to know and use different tools is part of the exploration. I don't expect them all to be great, lol! That said, that woman I painted has some fans. :-)

Back home earlier than I thought, painting.

Mario,

Made a dress design from a 1850s dress this time.

The artillery gun is shooting up the French country side.

Dave

I like that era, I've done a traveling woman sculpture in a long dress with her luggage in hand. I also like the elegance of womans attire from the 1930's.

I just finished the painting I mentioned earlier. I'm not 100% sure it's a Jean-Pierre Cassigneul painting but it came up on his search pages. For some reason the image kept catching my eye.

I painted this with palette knife and detail brush. This one took like 7 hours to complete.it's aprox 8" x 10".

Mario,

I think you can google 'wiki jean-pierre cassigneul' to see his work on a wiki page in chronological order.

Extremely good work just above.

Dave

Thank you David! I just did a short film compilation with all 29 paintings, I posted it in another thread.

I got tired of searching for the image David, I just could not find it.

http://tomasz-favorites.wikidot.com/jean-pierre-cassigneul

Mario,

I think he is still alive. Hard to sell your take on his work.

Dave

Oh, it looks like he is still alive, born 1935. Hmmm, I guess I will not be offering them for sale online.

He was greatly influenced by the works of Kees von Dongen.

It really doesn't matter, I'm about to break out and create my own paintings any minute now. The incubation period is about over. Lol!

I like half naked women...

Go for it Mario........

Dave

Tod, that's one of my favorites as well.

David, this exploration into the unkown has really opened up a new world of possibilities for me art wise. I'm elated that I was driven to experiment in areas I overlooked, it has revitalized my creative process and I feel I can express myself in any medium I choose.

Please stay away from Photoshop....LOL

Dave

Lol!

Tod,

I like whole women...Naked or Clothed

Lol.

Roger, I was driving out to see a customer the other day on water, and the roads were all named for fish except for one, it was named Coot Ct., I was looking in all directions wondering if I would see you around. :-)

Mario,

You have to drive very carefully on that road

Lol! Love it Roger!

Yep, Roger that was the place..............hahaha

Attention all self taught and self made artist! Stay positive, don't let anyone tell you your any less of an artist because you didn't study art, it's nonsense. Don't argue with them, just show them with your art, guranteed to shut them up! :-)

Time to close this one down, I can think of one or two persons who will breath a sign of relief, you know who they are. Lol! peace.