Here are some lessons I learned recently:
- Don’t necessarily fill up one big area with one color, even if it is one color. You can make it much more interesting by mixing different versions/value of one color – as long as they are all the correct value.
- While you are painting, remember to squint and step back often
- Compare values/colors/proportion/etc in one small area with everything in the whole painting
- Paint past the edges (past the lines you have drawn in the first place) then reshaping with the color from outside
- In still life where a form shadow meets a cast shadow, the edges tend to be soft or lost – two colors on either side of an edge are similar in value
- Painting from inside -> outside will keep your paint fresh and easier to control the edge
- Highlights, thin stems, thin rims of cups, small dots can be paint last
- Focus on the big picture, not details – only paint necessary details
