It seems so much easier to copy than to create. So think about creating as SELECTIVE FOCUS. We don't need to re-invent anything. We just need to focus on what we see and feel is important.
If you are in the rendering stage of painting, try and render selectively. Make decisions based on whether or not you need all the information in front of you. Try and figure out what you need to define form and create shapes. Ask yourself what defines the form, is there an edge, what kind of edge, what is the value, the color temperature, and what is the shape. And the easiest way to do this is to compare one area of your painting to another. We are dealing with relative values, not absolutes. Whether it is value, color temperature, edges, or shapes, all this information should be evaluated based on "as compared to." This is the way your brain figures out what you are seeing. The painter part of you should do the same.
Above all, avoid TMI - too much information, Remember - this is all smoke and mirrors. A painting is not real. It is an illusion of three dimensions on a two-dimensional surface.
Myths and Realities of Creating a Painting with Linda Fisler and Carolyn Anderson
