Practicing Daily Warmups in my Studio
Welcome back to another BobBlast!
This week's BobBlast takes a close look at how and why I paint a series of small warmup paintings before working large.
These daily routines are my stretching, warm up painting exercises where I repeat the same image over and over.
Typically, I divide my watercolor paper into sections - 6.5 x 9.5 inches. A full sheet of watercolor paper (23x30) yields 10 paintings! You can see the layout on a sheet of watercolor paper in the video.
Next step, before starting to paint, I cut the sections to size, and temporarily tape 4-6 of them together - on the back. That group will be one series of the same subject - like 4 pears or 6 coffee cups. These are my warmup, practice pieces... I figure athletes and musicians repeat stretching, warmup exercises before performing. We artists could be doing this too!
As I paint each one, I place a discarded mat over each - to isolate and easily see how it's coming along! Painting this way may feel like "production line" painting. For me, there's a rhythm to painting - almost like
Robert Motherwell's automotism.
The final step is to sign it, varnish the painting, mount it behind a mat and slip it into a crystal clear bag!
And that's how I practice painting... See you at the summer art fairs!
Thanks again for watching and telling your friends! We strive for short, substantial, informative bits to help jumpstart your time in your studio.
