Try A New Motif and/or Painting Style

For Me, A New Motif
and Painting Style

Maybe it's just the summer doldrums, but every once in a while, I want to try something new? Don't you? Variety, as they say, is the spice of life, right?

Just to be clear, I’m speaking of trying something new in your art, not necessarily taking up sky-diving, for instance. I am, or want to believe I am, in the mode of continuous improvement in my painting. However, I have found that if I keep at this for any length of time, what should be happy time—creating art—can often turn into monotony.

Nothing, in my opinion, is worse than a monotonous painting or a monotonous painter.

What to do? How about—try a new motif and/or style of painting?

If you paint florals, try abstract; if you paint loose, try photo-realism. If you paint in abstract expressionism, try Impressionism. Switch things up a bit—try something that is directly opposed to your current subjects, style, or method.

If nothing else, it may shock you out of your comfort zone (or the doldrums) and set you off in a whole new direction.

For me, I have been wanting to include people in more of my paintings. It seems I have been painting landscapes and outdoor scenes and/or still lifes for a long, long time. A different motif may be just the thing.

I also have been wanting to paint more in the style of Impressionism rather than representational.

So, in my attempt to shake it up a bit before the “dog days” really settle in, check out my painting in today's image in which I included people and painted in a somewhat looser style. I like it, but if nothing else, it broke the monotony.

Happy Painting!