Reading & Writing
Learning to Paint
Notes drawn from reading, practice and reflection.
Articles
10 articles
The Model at Home: Sanmu’s Memoir 008
Having a cat also gave me a model at home. From a challenging silver tabby coat to Mucha-inspired portraits surrounded by flowers, Sanmu has accompanied many painting experiments and helped me begin portraits of other pets. Includes a watercolor process video of painting Sanmu.
Does Painting the Same Subject Several Times Get Boring?
I don’t particularly enjoy copying the same painting repeatedly, but when preparing a demonstration class, I do paint and explain it again and again. When I return to a subject, am I trying to solve a problem or find a different way to express it?
You Can Understand a Painting and Still Not Like It
After collecting paintings for around seven or eight hundred days, I still begin with images I like. From choosing works to copy to seeing originals in Italy, I have gradually found that understanding a painting, liking it, and being able to paint it myself can be considered separately.
Go Outside to See What Lies Beyond the Photograph
A photograph preserves one angle. Being there lets you see the life beyond its frame. From art study trips to sketching in Shanghai, this is a reflection on how going out changes what we notice and how we judge it.
What Are We Looking at When We Step Back from a Painting?
When you step away from a painting, what should you look for? Starting with experiences of details stealing the focus, I discuss composition, value relationships, overall color, and visual priorities, including when to strengthen the subject and when to quieten the details.
Before Critiquing a Painting, I Want to Ask a Few Questions
Before offering advice on a painting, understand its purpose, the painter’s practice, and the response they need this time. Drawing on teaching experience and work on Ask Tee Sang, I consider when to offer advice and when to hold off on a conclusion.
If you cannot draw without a photograph, imagination may not be the problem
Why does copying a photograph feel easy, while taking the reference away leaves you unsure what to draw? Imagination may not be the problem. The photograph has already made decisions about composition, proportion, light, and what to leave out.
Painting Does Not Mean Painting Everything
Facing a complex photograph, what should you paint and what can you leave out? Starting with a one-hour sketch in Fuxing Park, Tee Sang considers subjects and supporting elements, copying and original work, and how simplifying a picture begins before the first brushstroke.
What you really need before a watercolor outing is more than a bag of supplies
Preparing to paint outdoors takes more than a materials checklist. It means being ready to observe, frame a scene, and make choices as the wind, light, passersby, and your own state change. Drawing on my experiences at Shanghai's Paotaiwan Wetland Park, I suggest a lighter way to begin outdoor watercolor.
Why is it still hard to keep painting after taking a watercolor class?
Many people can follow along and finish a painting in class, then gradually stop once the course ends. The problem may be less about discipline or talent than about losing a setting that makes it easy to begin, timely feedback, and a reason to paint that truly connects with life.
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