Don’t be discouraged

So you have been working on a painting for months, maybe it is your first or second painting, and nothing seems to be going right. You feel there is a gap between what you are communicating and what you want to communicate, what do you do? Stop and assess the situation. There are a number of things that may be going wrong.

• Is the basic premise correct? Plans are important. The validity of the original idea has to be strong! Make sure the composition, proportion, anatomy and perspective is working from the outset.
• Are you attempting to paint beyond your ability? Practice. Sketch. work out colours. You cannot be Leonardo in a day! Find a way that works for you. 
• Is the composition sound? Do you know the rules of composition? Find out and apply them!
• Is there too much detail? This distracts the eye and can lose the artist and the viewer in a morass of irrelevant information, diluting the impact of your work. Keep it simple.
• Is colour theory working for you? Too many colours? Are they fighting with each other? Do you even know what that means? Find a colour wheel and study colour relationships
• Keep moving. If you are stuck with a painting start a new one. Plan carefully, work quickly. Do not be scared of perceived weaknesses in your technique, polish them with practice.