When we go out to paint, sometimes the scenes we look for are not that inspiring. Here’s a few things to do when things just aren’t clicking. Apply different imaginative filters to your eyes and see what you can identify.

Filters: Use various principles of design as filters over your eyes to highlight what’s before you. This edition, we’ll use Patterns as an example.

Look at the scene for Patterns, common colors that are somehow connected throughout the scene.

Look for and see common values, common textures, common anything.

Does this pattern create any emotions within you? Is there a story? Are these patterns connected in any way? Does this story create any emotions within you? Can you find the energy within you for the need to share this story with others? When you do, your eye’s start to shine for the possibilities.

Patterns will do this for you and your art.

Here’s a recent Facebook post from me On Seeing. I hope this helps you see deeper, better, and with those shiny eyes.

See.

See the art before laying down your paint.

See the impact good design and the overall composition has on creating a successful painting. See the connections that can or could be made.

See the big shapes and how the values add depth and intrigue.

See the patterns of color, value, and texture dance throughout your scene.

See how you can simplify, knowing it’s not the details that give forms their strength, but it’s how you unify the sameness and make things simple.

See the harmony of colors, forms, and edges.

See the areas of high, middle, and low contrasts, and see how this adds energy to your story. See past the literal aspects of your scene and use your God-given gift of imagination to see this scene in a way only you can.

See your scene as your story to tell and see with emotion, pain, joy, ecstasy…to tell your story.

See the future transaction of your confident and courageous brushstrokes, laid down with certainty, and see how it will gift your viewers with the same confidence and courage to live their life.

See the relationships your lines, shapes, forms, patterns, and colors have with each other.

See and use your bolt cutter to cut free the chain that binds you to painting reality as you think others may see it.

See your license to simplify and embellish areas to tell a more compelling story.

See the value of building your seeing skills to create the art you were created to make in the first place. And to always and forever…

See your art as something worthy to be seen.

This is the mindset of an artist.

Now paint this story in the hope others see your story and shine themselves.

Now create paintings with these Patterns as the dominant style. Use all your former insights of the other design elements and principles and include Pattern as the dominant principle. See what you get. Dive in with your “New Eyes” and create paintings that exude joy, love, hope, or any other emotion you may have. It’s this type of painting our soul needs to create. It’s this type of painting that our broken world needs to heal. Paint on, dear Plein Air Painters – but see it first.

Here’s a recent painting by one of our members, Kuhn Hong.

What looks like a cloudy day, Kuhn used patterns as the main design principle. There are several things in this scene that are creating different patterns throughout the piece. Tent fabric, tent poles and zigzag supports. Baskets, boxes, fruits, veggies, flowers, people, plastic bags that hang, trees, buildings, and the ground plane, all contribute a very pleasing harmony to this subtle moment during the “Farmers Market”, oil on 11 x 14 canvas board.

Excellent job, Kuhn!!!