7x7 pastel and watercolor on Uart paper $100Back to fingers... well the issue with pastel is the very coarse sandpaper on which I love to paint. It sands away skin and nail. The bandaids drive me crazy, lefty painting is clumsy...but eureka! why not use my right ring finger and thumb! Studies show that an artist should never paint like she/he writes. The reason being the tripod (writing) grip sends messages to the brain, "I'm writing, I'm writing." That's not the message an artist wants. Therefore I have always held my brushes, pastels with a side hold. Now this is just a little funkier.
Analyze your grip...what message are you giving your brain?
This painting is at a new spot on the Potomac river. There is a little pond before the actual river and the light dances over it, especially with the tiny ice pieces still visible.
Thank you to everyone who sent me support over the finger issue. What would I do without you'all?
10 comments:
This is so nice! I love the contrast between the horizontal bands of land and the vertical trees. Have you ever tried using a thin plastic bag over your blending finger? I sometimes use the bags you put your produce in at the grocery store for blending. You have to change to a new area when you wear a hole in the bag but it sure beats wearing down your skin! I know, there's nothing as good as your own fingers.
Thanks Donna!
Oddly enough I don't blend. The tearing down happens just as I work and my nail bed and finger tip touch the paper. I have tried gloves and finger cots, but I never feel the pastel with them in the way. Oh dear me! I hope my new grip will give a rest to the offended part.
This is beautiful. I love the reflection on the pond and the glimmer of light through the tree trunks.
Hi Loriann, This painting is so beautiful. It has a wonderful ethereal feel.
Hi Jean!
Thank you. That helps...especially after my husband commented..."is it finished?" Oh Boy!!!! Thanks for the needed boost!
Hi Susan,
Thanks for visiting my blog. I have visited your blog often and each time I have admired your beautiful paintings.
Thanks too for the glowing comment. Ethereal is a feeling I try to paint.
Loriann
That's so interesting...about the grip. I swear my paintings (the marks in them) changed when I started being conscious of how I hold my brush. I still have to direct my attention to this as I work, because it's sooo easy to slide back into holding like a pencil.
Karen, How have you chosen to hold your brush? I try to side hold mine. It is so hard to remember...except when one is wearing 2 bandaids.
hmmm...maybe I should put on some band-aids, too! I try to hold it with the handle in my palm, and not like a pencil, probably same as you. One thing that's helped me a lot too is to remember to step as far back as I can from the easel, so my arm is always almost fully extended, so even if I end up holding it like a pencil, it's too far away to get too fussy. Good isometric arm exercise, too. :)
Karen, Stepping away from the easel is crucial, I agree. And Oh those holds!!! I, too, hold a brush in the palm of my hand and pastels on their little sides (using my thumb and ring finger). Do I slip into writing mode and scold myself???? Of course!
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