Fifty Steps up - It's all about the view

Here we go again, aiming high for those very best walls we artists crave for!

Fifty Stairs Up is a great title for a new painting by SIP artist, Joan Layne - could you imagine  walking up 50 steps to the entrance of your home? It would have to have a great view! 

Once a painting is completed, what to paint next is the question.... and the search begins. If you paint one at a time as Joan, I and some other SIP artist do it's nice to have another fresh subject to fall back on. If you will, a change of pace. Joan can pretty much paint anything. She also has a signature style, a consistency which shows up regardless of what she decides to paint. 

She decided on Lilies shortly after signing off on Fifty Steps UP Saturday. She quickly started a new almost square vertical linen canvas below. It looks to be a 44x40, an SIP standard size. At the end of Sunday, Joan was well on her way to a new Best Wall Painting.

What if you really are just starting out on your journey as an artist? You have some references you might like to paint. Never has a lesson, just decided one day to dive in. Sunday, we had a new recruit, Leslie, who brought in a few canvases for show-and-tell plus a fresh canvas...all 36x48, a good size to paint on. This one caught my attention at 30-feet - straight up.  One of the things I look for is originality.... a diamond in the rough? 

It gives the coach a clue where their heart is, and most important a place to start. Not to make a clone but expand her natural talent, instincts, life experiences, whatever you want to call it. The thing that makes a person buy paint, canvas and pick up a brush.  

Leslie wants 2 paintings over 2 sofas in a room in her home. People need art in their lives, they either buy it or DIY it! Love it! 

After a bit of discussion, Leslie started her new 36x48 best wall painting. At days end I introduced her to the Apple IOS Smartist Pro app. A room mockup app that runs about $80 a year. A tool for testing and marketing your art to scale in actual room settings. The app confirms visually if  your canvas proportions will work, small or large.

Shown 36x48 (actual size) with 3.5 inch wide frame with white linen

Shown 48x60 with white floater 

SIP Summer Boot camp attracted a whole spectrum of skill levels. One or two recruits are ready for the big show, just never felt they were. Others need to work on their brushwork, subject selection, and streamline how they make wall art. They have enough experience but need a bit of outside direction. The summer recruits brought a new excitement to the SIP table that is immeasurable in value to the whole team.  It's contagious! 

Looking forward to seeing everyone’s homework!

Follow us and join the journey. This summer, it’s all about creating "The Best Wall Painting."