The Artists' Techniques

It’s always a pleasure for me to look at the artists while they work. None of them paints the same manner. Inspiration doesn’t come to them in an identical way. Some starts from a photograph, others from several photographs. Some does "plein air" painting, others creates from pure imagination. On canvas or on wood panel.  

What is also exciting is seing them as they start the painting. Some artist will draw few lines only with a pencil or a charcoal or a red chalk or will do a wash drawing; each one has his own method! Some paintings are almost completed before applying the colours. There are others that we discover as the artist paints them. And others again that the artist modifies as he works on them.

For the artists, the subjects are another way of expressing their personality, their emotions; and it’s what they give to us when we "connect" with their artworks. They can transfer their emotions to us, we  react to what we see.

Today Richard Vaskelis was painting portraits at the gallery. That brings me to talk about the mental state of the artist when he paints. Some artist are totally in an inner mode, they make abstraction of the outside world. Others like Vaskelis can paint a portrait while talking with their subject.