How to Stop Overworking Your Painting
Ever wondered how to stop overworking your painting? Does you painting have muddy looking colours and you just can’t seem to finish it? Here are 5 tips for how to stop overworking your painting. Read more to learn how to stop overworking your painting.
How to Stop Overworking Your Painting
If you prefer to watch the information instead of reading it you can click on the YouTube video below!
How to Stop Overworking Your Painting
Tip 1- Step back from your painting
You can stop overworking your painting by taking a step back to notice your painting and how it looks as a whole. When you are painting you are naturally sitting very close to your painting and you are seeing your painting from an up close, detailed, and zoomed in view. This perspective is not how other people tend to view art. They tend to see art from a distance. For example, they will notice art hanging on the wall from across the room. People often view art from at least a couple of feet away. When you take a step back you can appreciate the art as a whole.You can notice how the colours, lines and composition works together and not just notice tiny details that might have bothered you as you were painting.
Bonus tip: it is important to consistently take steps back as you paint to notice what to add or what to fix.
Tip 2- Make sure there is a focal point
Every painting needs a focal point. This is the part of the painting where the eye is drawn to. This part of the painting should stand out from other parts.
Tip 3- Work from a photo for inspiration
It is good to work from a photo for inspiration to have a plan for what you want to paint. If you don’t have a plan this could cause you to just continue to overwork and add to your painting.
Tip 4- Wait for the paint to dry
You want to wait for the paint to dry so that you can see how the colours look. Usually the paint dries differently than how it looks as you are painting. By waiting for the paint to dry you can also paint in layers. This will prevent your colours from looking “muddy” or brown. Colours look “muddy” when you overmix your paint and when the paint isn’t able to mix properly. When you let the paint dry you will be able to notice if you need more of one colour in a certain area.
Tip 5- Work on your artist mindset
Keep working on your artist mindset to help you determine when a painting is done. It takes time to build your confidence as an artist and to know when a painting is finished. You need to be able to trust your intuition and listen to when a painting feels complete. That is your time to step away and move on to the next painting!
I hope you learned how to stop overworking your painting. If you have any questions please feel free to comment below or to comment on this youTube video here! I would love fo you to subscribe to my YouTube channel where I share tips and tutorials for beginner acrylic painters. Just click the button below!
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