Observation

[dennis]

It stands to reason that without our eyesight we would not be able to see anything. Not being able to see we would not be able to paint what we see. Unfortunately it is also a known fact that more than often we look at things around us, yet we do not SEE! Let me explain with a practical example: You ride the same road to work every day; for months; for years. Then one day a sign alongside the road catches your attention and you say to the passenger in the car, "That must be a new sign. I've not seen it before. I wonder when they put it up?" You are shaken when your passenger tells you that it was erected about 8 months previously. Let me give you another example: Let's say you have just bought a new car. Isn't it amazing that all of a sudden you see plenty other cars exactly like yours on the road that you NEVER saw before!

So it is with everything else about us. As you progress in your art studies you will find that you begin to observe things about you more closely. You will begin to SEE things that you unconsciously passed over in the past. When you start painting clouds, for instance, you begin to notice all the shades of colour, all the shadows, all the various shapes and types of clouds. As you are driving along you find that you are starting to work out, in your mind, all the paint colours you can use to achieve the effects you are observing.

Observation is one of the most important things you need to cultivate in order to be able to paint beautiful paintings. Without it you will only draw or paint mediocre paintings. Strengthen your powers of observation. It is a valuable asset.