The other I was struck by an idea.
It's one of those ideas that a lot of you will probably read and think, "Uh, yeah. That's obvious."
But maybe, just maybe, this particular thought will revolutionize your artistic process.
In every activity there are some very basic, fundamental principles -- First Principles, as I will refer to them.
I was struck by the revelation that I don't consciously follow the First Principles of art.
What I mean is that I create art on a sort of auto-pilot. I can look at an image and know that something irks me, but I usually don't verbalize the specific problem.
And that's a big problem itself.
I realized that unless I name the problem specifically I can't solve it efficiently. Often, to name a problem is to know how to solve it.
My current goal is to make every artistic decision justifiable. That means if you asked me why I made any particular artistic decision I would be able to explain it to you and my argument wouldn't fall apart once it was verbalized. ( I don't know about you, but I sometimes find that the opinions I half-consciously hold to sound much less compelling when I speak them to someone else.)
The takeaway is this: Name your issues. What bothers you about your piece? Is it too busy? Does it lack contrast? Are the strokes messy?
Also, if you're having trouble determining what to do next on a piece, perhaps you should go back to the basic questions. Is this piece balanced? Is there enough contrast (contrast of tone, size, texture,etc.) to make it interesting? Does it lack variety or rhythm? Is the composition weak?
It all comes down to sound thinking and decision making -- i.e. good judgment.
