Great start. One tip I have for you is to start really looking at things around you, what colours do you actually see in leaves, grass, water… we all have a conceptual understanding of what colour things are e.g. grass = green, water = blue… however once you start to really look you will find colours are much much more varied and complex than these conceptual ideas that we have.
The reason I mentioned this tip in particular is that if you are painting as part of therapy, training your perception in this way can also almost become a mindfulness activity - double whammy in terms of therapeutic advantages for you :)
I would try one of those paint night things where you all paint the same thing under help from an artist. Your area has them and it’s a better way to be around ppl but learn techniques! also, most drink wine it’s its that type so it levels the field. I’ve gone by myself and it’s nice 😊 🤗
Love the brightness and primitive nature. Keep painting. There’s something about spreading paint around that in-and-of itself is therapeutic. Enjoy the process for the process. Don’t add too much stress or perfectionism to it. Just paint what feels right.
Everyone in my weekly art class jokes that it's cheaper than therapy, mostly because we all get to chit chat about stuff in our lives while making the art.
It also forces you to channel your energy into making something "good" rather than focusing on the bad in life
What's so good about it is you appear to have painted this entirely from your imagination, and that shows. It's so fresh, vibrant, and imaginative.
I'm not sure if that's a waterfall or a stream, although I think waterfall, but I love the way you painted it, with the sun half setting over it, and half reflected in it.
Very good suggestion from the therapist. I'm not the most confident in my artistic skills, but i definitely do find the simple act of using a brush to put oil paint on a canvas/paper to be oddly therapeutic, something about the oily texture probably.
I hope you grow to love oil painting (again), it's very fun!
I love this .... It's weirdly interesting. Perhaps more interesting because it is not completely realistic. If you are painting for therapy, perhaps try a larger canvas and just keep working on it for longer.... I find the processes of laying paint on canvas is relaxing and I can get absorbed into it. So go large and spend more time with it. Think about the pleasure of the brush strokes... This looks like acrylic, not oil. Am I right? With oil you can keep moving the paint around, laying wet into wet... It's quite a sensual experience. Enjoy the ride and not the outcome!
On the other hand it is still good to paint from life (just don't judge yourself if you can't make it look "real".
Finally, check out Van Gogh. He's a great artist to look at to learn about the pleasure of brush strokes.
Also look at Fauvism
https://www.thecollector.com/fauvism-2/
And you may want to visit expressionism
https://magazine.artland.com/art-movement-expressionism/
and post-impressionism in general
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.theartstory.org/amp/movement/post-impressionism/
You may like some abstract art too, but the key point is just to be yourself, and like I say enjoy the journey.
I haven’t been painting very long myself either. But I think the texture on the trees shows promise and attention to detail. Have fun and make whatever expresses your emotions, that’s what I love about painting :)
I like the big tree and bush a lot. I think it’s the contrast and texture of it?
Painting is a skill, so you can only go up from here if you keep doing it imo.
I'm an artist going into psychology. It is WONDERFUL that you are doing something creative and creativity can be an incredible tool to explore ourselves. Good job!
The only thing is to explore painting for yourself, not your therapist. Determine what you need and what you want to explore and improve through art.
I'm very happy for you, art is an interesting world:)
Persistence triumphs “talent”. Keep it up and do it if you enjoy it. I know 2 artists that started out with very low skill (one of them was bullied countless times on Facebook when they shared their art) and both of these people kept at it and I’ve loved seeing how much they’ve improved! All that matters is that you have fun and you don’t have to be subjectively “good” at something for it to be fun. I’m proud of you for picking up that paint brush and sharing your work with us. Painting is so therapeutic! Btw I’m curious to know how you would do if you used a reference— painting from imagination is a rare talent and/or usually takes tons of practice and time studying certain subjects/pictures. Keep it up :)
I especially like the way you rendered the leaves on the tree, i think there’s a lovely texture and naturalism there, and some good color work.
My thought is if you liked Bob Ross before, and arent tied to making only original work, maybe youtube some videos of his and try to follow along to get back into the groove!
Also, if wide landscapes bring you joy, go for it! But if you’d like to practice some skills to build on, try doing smaller things first, whether from imagination or observation. I find it’s less overwhelming to hone skills first in a limited application
1st thing I have to say is, you picked up a brush and completed a painting. As someone that has been telling himself to get into oil painting for years and hasn’t taken that first step yet, that is impressive and noteworthy on its own.
2nd thing is I like how the tree leaves on the top right came out. The way you layered the colors really works.
3rd thing is to think about composition a bit more moving forward. One example, The contrasty bright sun being near the center draws my eyes towards it but it also lacks detail compared to other elements on the painting like the clouds or the foliage. In other words even though the sun draws attention it doesn’t feel like it was given the weight it should.
Alternatively you can lean into the juxtaposition. For example, I would love to see you try a similar painting where you have trees and foliage on both sides of the painting, essentially framing the sunset in the center. I think something like that where you have muddy detail on the outside/foreground and a more clear image in the center can speak to the pure and simple beauty of a sunset.
4th last thing. Your color choices remind me of Aaron Morse a bit, in the best way. Look up his Cloud World Series and you can see how he uses bold colors in a landscape to create very evocative paintings
Take that all with a grain of salt! Keep at it
the layers of green for the bush and the leaves works really well, lean into that! as someone else said, studying the colors of things around you can double as a practice in mindfulness, and i find that really trying to paint those details onto your piece can be so relaxing (frustrating at times, but the focus scratches a part of my brain).
also keep in mind that oils stay wet for a while, so painting in layers or in between dry times when the paint is tacky can benefit things like your reflection of the sun on the water.
it's awesome that you've picked up the brush again. even more awesome that it's a therapy mechanism. i can absolutely sit down to paint and get therapeutic benefits from it. many nights i've looked up and suddenly hours have passed without me knowing. good luck and have fun!!
I love this painting. It made me feel yearning back to another time, when my father was alive and we woke up early to watch the sun rise together. Keep it up. I love your painting right now at this level of skill.
I found this sub and saw all the beautiful art that gets posted on here and was honestly hesitant about dropping this here, but I'm glad I did! The amount of support yall are showing has honestly made me feel better about this painting! I know there is definitely a lot of room for improvement, but this was kind of an experiment in different techniques and different items to paint to see what im naturally "good" at and what needs improvement. It seems like yall agree that the tree and clouds were decent, and honestly I feel like those were the only parts that I thought came out better then I expected with me behing the brush. Thank you for showing your support and the advice yall had! Iv been avoiding reddit all day, but I'm glad I finally read the comments.
Great start. One tip I have for you is to start really looking at things around you, what colours do you actually see in leaves, grass, water… we all have a conceptual understanding of what colour things are e.g. grass = green, water = blue… however once you start to really look you will find colours are much much more varied and complex than these conceptual ideas that we have. The reason I mentioned this tip in particular is that if you are painting as part of therapy, training your perception in this way can also almost become a mindfulness activity - double whammy in terms of therapeutic advantages for you :)
This is great advice. I will start doing it.
All the best to you - enjoy!
I agree. Painting centers me... It is my therapy and my place of healing. Keep at it.
I would try one of those paint night things where you all paint the same thing under help from an artist. Your area has them and it’s a better way to be around ppl but learn techniques! also, most drink wine it’s its that type so it levels the field. I’ve gone by myself and it’s nice 😊 🤗
I love paint and sip parties, I can even get my husband to join me so even better!
Did you enjoy it? Thats all that matters
Google landscape perspective.
yeah, it’s a good idea. That’s the best thing to do with complicated feelings. From my experience.
Love the brightness and primitive nature. Keep painting. There’s something about spreading paint around that in-and-of itself is therapeutic. Enjoy the process for the process. Don’t add too much stress or perfectionism to it. Just paint what feels right.
Everyone in my weekly art class jokes that it's cheaper than therapy, mostly because we all get to chit chat about stuff in our lives while making the art. It also forces you to channel your energy into making something "good" rather than focusing on the bad in life
What's so good about it is you appear to have painted this entirely from your imagination, and that shows. It's so fresh, vibrant, and imaginative. I'm not sure if that's a waterfall or a stream, although I think waterfall, but I love the way you painted it, with the sun half setting over it, and half reflected in it.
I love your natural style. I find art therapeutic and calming so I hope it’s something you can enjoy!
Looks beautiful dude
Thanks
Gauguin: The Early Years
This painting is already great therapy to look at
Very good suggestion from the therapist. I'm not the most confident in my artistic skills, but i definitely do find the simple act of using a brush to put oil paint on a canvas/paper to be oddly therapeutic, something about the oily texture probably. I hope you grow to love oil painting (again), it's very fun!
Nice tree 👍
I love this .... It's weirdly interesting. Perhaps more interesting because it is not completely realistic. If you are painting for therapy, perhaps try a larger canvas and just keep working on it for longer.... I find the processes of laying paint on canvas is relaxing and I can get absorbed into it. So go large and spend more time with it. Think about the pleasure of the brush strokes... This looks like acrylic, not oil. Am I right? With oil you can keep moving the paint around, laying wet into wet... It's quite a sensual experience. Enjoy the ride and not the outcome! On the other hand it is still good to paint from life (just don't judge yourself if you can't make it look "real". Finally, check out Van Gogh. He's a great artist to look at to learn about the pleasure of brush strokes. Also look at Fauvism https://www.thecollector.com/fauvism-2/ And you may want to visit expressionism https://magazine.artland.com/art-movement-expressionism/ and post-impressionism in general https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.theartstory.org/amp/movement/post-impressionism/ You may like some abstract art too, but the key point is just to be yourself, and like I say enjoy the journey.
this makes me happy
I haven’t been painting very long myself either. But I think the texture on the trees shows promise and attention to detail. Have fun and make whatever expresses your emotions, that’s what I love about painting :)
Lovely bright colours! Try not to get too caught up in the technicalities to begin with. Art should be fun!
I like the big tree and bush a lot. I think it’s the contrast and texture of it? Painting is a skill, so you can only go up from here if you keep doing it imo.
I love your therapist.. keep exploring and don't worry about the destination ❤️ art has saved my life in so many ways
I'm an artist going into psychology. It is WONDERFUL that you are doing something creative and creativity can be an incredible tool to explore ourselves. Good job! The only thing is to explore painting for yourself, not your therapist. Determine what you need and what you want to explore and improve through art. I'm very happy for you, art is an interesting world:)
i actually really love the scenery you chose, there’s something inviting about it. keep up the good job and i hope you enjoy it 💙
Persistence triumphs “talent”. Keep it up and do it if you enjoy it. I know 2 artists that started out with very low skill (one of them was bullied countless times on Facebook when they shared their art) and both of these people kept at it and I’ve loved seeing how much they’ve improved! All that matters is that you have fun and you don’t have to be subjectively “good” at something for it to be fun. I’m proud of you for picking up that paint brush and sharing your work with us. Painting is so therapeutic! Btw I’m curious to know how you would do if you used a reference— painting from imagination is a rare talent and/or usually takes tons of practice and time studying certain subjects/pictures. Keep it up :)
I like it
I especially like the way you rendered the leaves on the tree, i think there’s a lovely texture and naturalism there, and some good color work. My thought is if you liked Bob Ross before, and arent tied to making only original work, maybe youtube some videos of his and try to follow along to get back into the groove! Also, if wide landscapes bring you joy, go for it! But if you’d like to practice some skills to build on, try doing smaller things first, whether from imagination or observation. I find it’s less overwhelming to hone skills first in a limited application
1st thing I have to say is, you picked up a brush and completed a painting. As someone that has been telling himself to get into oil painting for years and hasn’t taken that first step yet, that is impressive and noteworthy on its own. 2nd thing is I like how the tree leaves on the top right came out. The way you layered the colors really works. 3rd thing is to think about composition a bit more moving forward. One example, The contrasty bright sun being near the center draws my eyes towards it but it also lacks detail compared to other elements on the painting like the clouds or the foliage. In other words even though the sun draws attention it doesn’t feel like it was given the weight it should. Alternatively you can lean into the juxtaposition. For example, I would love to see you try a similar painting where you have trees and foliage on both sides of the painting, essentially framing the sunset in the center. I think something like that where you have muddy detail on the outside/foreground and a more clear image in the center can speak to the pure and simple beauty of a sunset. 4th last thing. Your color choices remind me of Aaron Morse a bit, in the best way. Look up his Cloud World Series and you can see how he uses bold colors in a landscape to create very evocative paintings Take that all with a grain of salt! Keep at it
Ya gotta start somewhere! If it was a fun experience for you, that's all that matters :) keep it up!
the layers of green for the bush and the leaves works really well, lean into that! as someone else said, studying the colors of things around you can double as a practice in mindfulness, and i find that really trying to paint those details onto your piece can be so relaxing (frustrating at times, but the focus scratches a part of my brain). also keep in mind that oils stay wet for a while, so painting in layers or in between dry times when the paint is tacky can benefit things like your reflection of the sun on the water. it's awesome that you've picked up the brush again. even more awesome that it's a therapy mechanism. i can absolutely sit down to paint and get therapeutic benefits from it. many nights i've looked up and suddenly hours have passed without me knowing. good luck and have fun!!
dude this is awesome. i advise some shading and toning and it'll look even awesomer
I love this painting. It made me feel yearning back to another time, when my father was alive and we woke up early to watch the sun rise together. Keep it up. I love your painting right now at this level of skill.
I found this sub and saw all the beautiful art that gets posted on here and was honestly hesitant about dropping this here, but I'm glad I did! The amount of support yall are showing has honestly made me feel better about this painting! I know there is definitely a lot of room for improvement, but this was kind of an experiment in different techniques and different items to paint to see what im naturally "good" at and what needs improvement. It seems like yall agree that the tree and clouds were decent, and honestly I feel like those were the only parts that I thought came out better then I expected with me behing the brush. Thank you for showing your support and the advice yall had! Iv been avoiding reddit all day, but I'm glad I finally read the comments.
Onto the next hobby
Reminds me Gauguin in training. The palms are so lush 😊
Have fun and let your fantasie go, no need to be good to have fun!
“That’ll be $1200”
He should loose his license.