Give Your Art a Heart – Look For Life in Your Painting and Drawing

In a recent article I suggested…

“When you paint a portrait the key to success is to capture everything that the eyes tell”

Not all artists seem to understand that this is perfectly true of any art subject. It doesn’t matter if you are drawing mechanical objects or painting wild flower pictures. As an artist, when you are going to draw and paint you should be looking for…

• The character of the subject
• The sense of movement
• The color that shows it is living
• The source of life that grows inside

What you are looking for is a feature that allows your subject to leap from your canvas…”You are searching for the HEART“

Great cartoon makers, like Walt Disney and Hannah Barbara, could make any animal, building or machine come to life…

• You can see them living and breathing
• You can hear them as they think and talk

Your painting should have a life of its own. When you look at a rose what do you see…

• The roots?
• The seed?
• The woody stem?
• The sharp thorns?
• The leaves?

What gives life and meaning to any shrub or plant is the way the flower head displays…

• Bright colored petals to attract the butterflies and bees
• The delicate stamen covered with pollen
• The sweet smell of nectar to promise reward

It is the flower that shows life… it is the way the petals of the flower zone in to the heart of the plant.

With drawing and painting it is so easy to get a good likeness. The true art is to capture the heart and soul of the subject matter and bring your pictures to life. Give your technical machine drawings a sense of movement. Give your landscape paintings trees with the feel of the wind in their branches….

“Your picture can only show its quality of life when you discover the heart of your subject… Discover what makes your Art dance and sing”