How to start and paint a masterpiece...

...or if not a "masterpiece," at least a painting that you won't want to throw in the garbage. Now, for those people who know me well, you realize I haven't had formal art training for at least a solid decade. So my advice is purely that, advice. And actually, my first piece of advice for creating a work of art you are proud of is to find out what works for you and you alone. Look to other artists for inspiration and hints, but ultimately, I believe the best artwork is produced by people who trust their own instincts and are not afraid to take a risk and be different...in some cases really different! The main reason I am writing this post is that I recently needed to take this own advice in a painting I started (pictured here - not yet titled - big hug to anyone who comes up with something clever for a title!). I started with a photograph as one source of inspiration for the actual subject of the painting and another local artist as inspiration for the general style of painting (she too uses photos as references). The result was awful. Disappointed, I decided to begin again with a different stylist approach. Having recently rediscovered the painting "The Kiss" by one of my favority artists, Gustav Klimt, I tried to incorporate Klimt's seductive swirls and smudges into my subject matter. The outcome? Another mess. Finally, I looked to some of my own work from the past - pieces of which I had been proud - and I tried to regain confidence in my own styles and techniques. Here is the new "in-progress" work, and so far, it is a keeper.