Creative Prompts #8
Master studies beyond creating copies
Learning from other artists is as old as art practice itself I suppose, so I decided to devote April’s creative prompts to the ways we can study other artists beyond merely creating so called “master copies” (which is totally fine, but I think there are many more ways to engage with the work of others).
The idea came to me when I created several collage landscapes for my 100 day project inspired by this book with the collection of Van Gogh’s art. I wasn’t trying to fully recreate his landscapes, but I was studying specific aspects of them - colour scheme, composition, value structure - and then creating pieces inspired by his work. Some of the resulting pieces look more like inspired by Van Gogh’s originals, some less, but the main goal was to learn more about how he created successful compositions.
I’m going to elaborate on my process in a post later this month, so stay tuned!
How can you incorporate master studies into your practice? Here are some ideas:
Learn about the life and process of your favorite artists. Pay attention to what and why they created and experiment with a similar idea, but focus on your own experiences.
Create studies from specific artworks, but “deconstruct” them to focus on singular aspects: study & mix the colours, focus on composition and create compositional thumbnails, study the shapes, textures, etc.
Create a similar piece (not an exact copy), but use other media, e.g. choose an oil painting and create a study using coloured pencils.
Focus on those aspects of an artist’s work you’d like to include in your own art (it can be a technical skill, but also a feeling evoked by looking at the work). Study closely some of your favorite paintings, make notes. Create your own pieces based on the notes, not on the artworks.
Obviously, a master study isn’t limited to famous artists you see in the museum, feel free to study any artist that you personally love and resonate with. The most important aspect is being open to a challenge. Take your time to study the artist and their work, and, well, have fun in the process, there is no pressure, it’s just an exercise! You’ll be surprised how much you can learn like this.
I hope these prompts inspire you to study some of your favorite artists, feel free to approach my ideas in your own way!
Thank you for reading and being here! Feel free to share these prompts with a creative friend. I’ll be happy to hear from you in the comments!
Until next time!
Lisa
I appreciate the specificity of the prompts you've given. And your examples are both beautiful and inspiring!
These studies are such a brilliant concept ! Thanks for sharing !