Patience and proclivity are Part of the Process

       One of the greatest skill one will ever learn in being an artist is patience.  Sure many of us have raw, pure talent while others have dedicated their learning practice to skill and technique.  However, the greatest skill is patience.  
         When I first began painting, I would whip out a painting in two hours (Bob Ross was my teacher), and I would be completely satisfied.  Then again, I was only thirteen years old at the time.  Yet 17 years later I realized that my greatest gift was not in photo realistic or expressive portraiture, but it was the fact that I became patient with my work.  The piece below is called Majeed and it has been in the works for about 3 weeks.  Although I could have finished it in about three days, the detail in the fabric is attributed to one part technicality and one part patience.

Johannes Vermeer
The Geographer
Dutch
Oil on Linen
1668-1669

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  While prepping for Majeed, I studied a good number of Northern Renaissance painters, specifically Johannes Vermeer.  Vermeer's uses of light and fluidity of oils created that very satin texture (I also believe the Prussian blue richness and opaqueness assisted as well).    The various textures created in the piece from the rough texture of paper to the softness of his robe all through manipulation of medium and patience.  My background is in art history, so I have a proclivity to research and studying techniques of various artist, periods, and/or styles.

     Another example of patience, researching and studying artists is a piece entitled From Dusk till Dawn.  For this piece I referenced was Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres' La Grande Odalisque oil on canvas from 1814.  

Jean August Dominique Ingres
La Grande Odalisque
French
Oil on Canvas
1814

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         Ingres inspirations comes from Italian artists in the later 16th century movement called Mannerism.  Mannerisms include classical figures-nude, elongated figures and use of dramatic life.  In La Grande Odalisque, Ingre reference of a Turskish concubine located in her bedroom quarters,  Her look is engaging and seductive; Ingres has also elongated her spine that leads to hear backside suggestively position for their viewer's glance.  The juxtaposition of the paleness of skin and the heavy, blue drapery create a balance and sharp contrast in the work.  inspired by Ingres' dramatic use of light and the sensuality of the subject matter, I was inspired to create a work that evoked a similar mood.  Referencing the photography of fellow artist Vincent Christie, I was able to create a sensual, yet subdue moment of intimacy.  Again, my proclivity to art history as well as patience (time and technique) have allowed me to create From Dusk till Dawn.

Like most young artists, I was constantly eager to produce quantity over quality.  Although I can still produce a substantial work of art is an hours time, I learned that being patient with both the work and with myself can make a painting evolved from mediocre to mesmerizing.  I will walk away from a work for several days; it gives me an opportunity to look at it with fresh eyes.  It also gives me time to reflect on what I have completed and research for new techniques, mixing palettes, etc.  Ultimately, it will be proclivity for you artistic style (art history research for me) and patience that will allow you and your work to evolve throughout your career, and certainly throughout the process.