Overcoming Struggles with my Artwork | Pivot

This is a story about overcoming struggles with my artwork and pivoting when I wanted more.

I wanted to be an artist so I went to college to study fine art. I found this artist that I loved and he taught at a university, so that’s where I went so I could study under him. I learned so much from my university… but not really how to draw or paint. It turns out this professor wasn’t so keen on sharing his secrets of the trade… but that is a story for another time.

I wanted to be able to paint like the old masters. I wanted to be taught how to paint like the old masters. I found The Ravenswood Atelier in Chicago for classical painting and drawing. This place was it! It was all about classical technique. And the two teachers there, the master painters, were incredible artists and teachers. Still till this day I haven’t met two people that were so generous with their knowledge. It was a very strict art school, actually more like a very strict apprenticeship. There were steps and there was a method for properly developing a very good drawing and painting. And I loved it… until I didn’t.

Don’t get me wrong, that way of making art is great for learning and even great for those that love that specific type of process. In short, the process starts with your set up whether that be a still life or a model for a figure painting, You set it up under natural light, get it to look exactly how you want your painting to look, then you paint it by working from general to specific with line, color, and value. But after awhile I started feeling tied down by the process. I felt this loss of freedom in making a painting and perhaps most importantly I had lost the mystery, the hidden secrets, the ability to let that elusive inspiration change things on the spot.

So again I pivoted. But this time I pivoted on my own. I couldn’t rely on teachers this time. I had to explore what it is that I love about painting. Because I wanted to love the whole process: from the idea, to making the painting, to the finished artwork. I didn’t want to feel like I was laboring over making a perfect representation of a specific person or landscape… so instead I found and am still finding ways to paint with emotion rather than just the visual translation. I also wanted to have an idea of a painting and keep that idea fluid, not have everything strictly planned out so when making it, the artwork can change. Have it feel more like a living evolving thing so it keeps that intoxicating mystery of what the end result will be.

And right now I’m really happy with my artwork in its entirety. From the idea stage, through its evolving creation, to the finished artwork. At least for now. I will keep paying attention and notice if something starts to feel stale. Change is hard but I also really like it. I like to keep evolving.

Your artist friend,
Jennifer Marie Keller