Howard Friedland OPAM AIS
24″x 36″ Oil
Well, that’s my point! You can, and should be different, folks! No one wants to see a second rate Sargent or Sorolla. People want to see who YOU are in YOUR work. I’d be willing to bet that your favorite painters have their own strong unique way of painting and that is one reason you love their work so much. I tell my students, “you bought the paint, you bought the canvas, you get to use them the way you want”! There isn’t a “right way” to paint”!
Yes, we all have favorite painters that inspire us. However, you can’t crawl into their skin any more than they can into yours. For every glorious canvas that they have produced, there are hundreds if not thousands that didn’t make the cut. The old trope is true, it does take miles of canvas before producing anything worthwhile. Each person has his or her own level of motivation and ambition to achieve higher technical ability and skill. It’s a personal journey of growth and fulfillment and every person has different goals and different ways of getting there.
Howard Friedland OPAM AIS
16″ x 20″ Oil
If you are striving to improve your traditional painting chops, there are great workshop teachers that can point you in the right direction but beware of those who want you to paint exactly like them. It’s fine to pick up tips on materials, work habits and learning techniques from them but, again, developing your own vision is key to fulfillment as an artist. Picasso didn’t even want to copy his own style. That’s why he kept changing it! I guess he was easily bored.
Howard Friedland OPAM AIS
18″ x 24″ Oil
At times, I, myself, have taken a workshop from an artist whose work I admire when I needed a jumpstart or felt they had a skill set that I needed to get a better handle on. However, when all is said and done, it is still up to me to put in the time with the brush in my hand that matters most. After all, it is best to have the brush in your hand when genius strikes! The old saying that “practice makes perfect” is only half true! “Perfect practice makes Perfect”!
So, take a deep breath of “I can do this” and “DO YOUR OWN THING”!
Howard Friedland OPA AIS
14×18 Oil
Howard Friedland OPAM AIS
24″ x 30″ Oil
Please check out my brand new FASO website at www.howardfriedland.com for more images and information about my paintings.
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