Keep it Simple

By Mildred Wilson.

Yes, feeling pretty inspired by this lady painter, Jane Slivka, award-winning artist and instructor. It's always INSPIRING to appreciate competent individuals speaking and doing their craft. What else is life about if not aspiring (and doing it) to master the things that we love, and through that perhaps inspiring others to become the greatest selves they can be. Pretty simple indeed.

I just remembered a casual conversation I once had with Dad; he told me then that life was 'pretty simple...' after I very seriously stated 'life was hard', not such a thing. We are capable of outstanding and remarkable deeds. Once you begin to inform your field and ACT upon, the universe will reflect back at you that which you set your motion towards. It is a miraculous quantum universe we live in and where all is possible to co-create.


   
 Source: janeslivkagallery.com

In watching Jane's video (posted below) on the making of this painting, I really have to bullet point some of the crucial points she makes on it which are real gems:

I paint all my canvases orange or red before I paint... one of the reasons why is that it is a mid value between light and dark... so it let's me see where I am going a lot earlier.
I use my tablet a lot for my refence pictures because I think there is more depth on a photo taken on a phone or a tablet than a hard copy of it.
I always start [the subject of the painting] with a hookers green deep mixed with a little bit of alizarin crimson.
really... enjoy yourself; we get so nervous that we are going to mess up. Don't judge it [your work], don't analyse it, don't start getting emotional about it one way or another because you can always change it.
don't fall in love with a special part of your painting and then the whole painting revolves around the spot you are in love with — that's not necessarily good for the whole painting.
don't get attached to your painting... get excited about the next painting.
I have not done my "favourite painting" yet.
"there is a life time of subject matter in your own back garden..." — Unknown.
...it could be anything, it could be a tennis shoe sitting in the back of your closet; [what's important] it's the way it is painted, it's the style, and it is the way the light is hitting your subject, and making it beautiful for the viewer.
get inspired by the way you look at things, the way you see light hitting things.
I usually start with a reference and then I put it away — so my imagination can go; I am freed of trying to copy something, that is a dread and I don't want to do that.

sometimes the brushstrokes and the paint and the process will let you know where it wants to go.
and you know... if a painting doesn't work it doesn't matter, paint over it or start over, or whatever — don't worry that much about it.
I don't like to go all over the place with colour because you are like 'look at me! look at me! I want it to be kind of held together a little bit.
and you know, you don't have to be all detailed about everything, it doesn't make it a better painting.
be loose with your brushstrokes.
and don't paint for people that don't paint because they don't know what you go through.
and they don't know that it is harder to be less detailed than to be more detailed because you can copy everything to what it's perfect...
but to save a few brushstrokes, that takes bravery and confidence, and not everybody can do that, but you can.
the brush [Liquitex 2"] can do so many things... it just takes practice.
and you have to know how to see; you have to know how to keep it simple.
and work out all over your whole painting, don't work out just over little sections a little bit at the time, that's what I used to do.
you want to stand across a room and love a painting from across the room, that's what people suppose to do — to enjoy your work.

and I'm gonna paint the background next — and this is going to make you crazy now because I am going to paint all around and even whilst is wet; if it smears, good, because that makes it look like... it gives it a little bit of movement and life, to me.
people have been asking the question too: why can't you paint the background first and then paint... say your trees or your flowers over it? [answer:] because that is not the style of painting I like; that is too ordinary, it's too predictable. I like painting the negatives basis behind things, because this space, right here, is just as important as the positive flower...
we tend to ignore the background, we put it down and that's the background and that's where it belong — that's not true, it's all in the same plane.
it my background is like... it changes, goes from different... picks on different blues, that's good, it doesn't have to be consistent.
don't make it harder for yourself [speaking about cheap brushes when handling edges].
I love to put my backgrounds in with 'sponge' [min 20:08] brushes and that's it.
I don't even use my pallet for the rear, I just put it on paper plate.
you know... I'll do like 4 or 5 canvases at a time painted in red so they are ready to go.
and also I paint a couple of paintings at the same time so that I don't fall in love [with one of them] and I don't dwell on them when I am painting and over work it.
a lot of people want to loosen up because they keep on over working [the painting].
if you are going to over work something, let it dry for a couple of days and look at it for a couple of days before you go and make changes.
keep just deeping into all those colours [that's when brush-stroking the background].
It's just kind of simple because it's just these big brushstrokes... something like this has way more power to it than if I were to make an accurate study of the technical display... [you know what I mean] there's more power sometimes in simplistic strokes.

artists, we are all the same, no matter where we live; we think alike, we all look at things the same, hopefully...
I really think being an artist is not so much your skill with a brush in your hand; it's your skill in how you see things, and how you see the light, and how you see beauty in the most simplistic thing.

Hats off to you, Jane Slivka (Jane's Website).


All photographs Source: Instagram @janeslivkagallery

"I really think being an artist is not so much your skill with a brush in your hand; it's your skill in how you see things, and how you see the light, and how you see beauty in the most simplistic thing."

— Jane Slivka.

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Keep it Simple

By Mildred Wilson.

In watching Jane's video (posted below) on the making of this painting, I really have to bullet point some of the crucial points she makes on it which are real gems:

I paint all my canvases orange or red before I paint... one of the reasons why is that it is a mid value between light and dark... so it let's me see where I am going a lot earlier.

I use my tablet a lot for my refence pictures because I think there is more depth on a photo taken on a phone or a tablet than a hard copy of it.

I always start [the subject of the painting] with a hookers green deep mixed with a little bit of alizarin crimson.

really... enjoy yourself; we get so nervous that we are going to mess up. Don't judge it [your work], don't analyse it, don't start getting emotional about it one way or another because you can always change it.

don't fall in love with a special part of your painting and then the whole painting revolves around the spot you are in love with — that's not necessarily good for the whole painting.

don't get attached to your painting... get excited about the next painting.

I have not done my "favourite painting" yet.

"there is a life time of subject matter in your own back garden..." — Unknown.

...it could be anything, it could be a tennis shoe sitting in the back of your closet; [what's important] it's the way it is painted, it's the style, and it is the way the light is hitting your subject, and making it beautiful for the viewer.

get inspired by the way you look at things, the way you see light hitting things.

I usually start with a reference and then I put it away — so my imagination can go; I am freed of trying to copy something, that is a dread and I don't want to do that.

sometimes the brushstrokes and the paint and the process will let you know where it wants to go.

and you know... if a painting doesn't work it doesn't matter, paint over it or start over, or whatever — don't worry that much about it.

I don't like to go all over the place with colour because you are like 'look at me! look at me! I want it to be kind of held together a little bit.

and you know, you don't have to be all detailed about everything, it doesn't make it a better painting.

be loose with your brushstrokes.

and don't paint for people that don't paint because they don't know what you go through.

and they don't know that it is harder to be less detailed than to be more detailed because you can copy everything to what it's perfect...

but to save a few brushstrokes, that takes bravery and confidence, and not everybody can do that, but you can.

the brush [Liquitex 2"] can do so many things... it just takes practice.

and you have to know how to see; you have to know how to keep it simple.

and work out all over your whole painting, don't work out just over little sections a little bit at the time, that's what I used to do.

you want to stand across a room and love a painting from across the room, that's what people suppose to do — to enjoy your work.

and I'm gonna paint the background next — and this is going to make you crazy now because I am going to paint all around and even whilst is wet; if it smears, good, because that makes it look like... it gives it a little bit of movement and life, to me.

we tend to ignore the background, we put it down and that's the background and that's where it belong — that's not true, it's all in the same plane.

it my background is like... it changes, goes from different... picks on different blues, that's good, it doesn't have to be consistent.

don't make it harder for yourself [speaking about cheap brushes when handling edges].

I love to put my backgrounds in with 'sponge' [min 20:08] brushes and that's it.

I don't even use my pallet for the rear, I just put it on paper plate.

you know... I'll do like 4 or 5 canvases at a time painted in red so they are ready to go.

and also I paint a couple of paintings at the same time so that I don't fall in love [with one of them] and I don't dwell on them when I am painting and over work it.

a lot of people want to loosen up because they keep on over working [the painting].

if you are going to over work something, let it dry for a couple of days and look at it for a couple of days before you go and make changes.

keep just deeping into all those colours [that's when brush-stroking the background].

It's just kind of simple because it's just these big brushstrokes... something like this has way more power to it than if I were to make an accurate study of the technical display... [you know what I mean] there's more power sometimes in simplistic strokes.

artists, we are all the same, no matter where we live; we think alike, we all look at things the same, hopefully...

I really think being an artist is not so much your skill with a brush in your hand; it's your skill in how you see things, and how you see the light, and how you see beauty in the most simplistic thing.

Hats off to you, Jane Slivka (Jane's Website).

"I really think being an artist is not so much your skill with a brush in your hand; it's your skill in how you see things, and how you see the light, and how you see beauty in the most simplistic thing."

— Jane Slivka.

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