TAKING CHANCES
By Armand Cabrera
“Nothing ventured, nothing gained”. How many
times have we heard this quote? We all have a level of
risk we are willing to assume in our lives. Some of us
are very conservative in our risk-taking, preferring the
sure and steady status quo. Then there are those who like
to jump off the cliff and knit the parachute on the way
down. These people are willing to risk losing what they
have in hopes of achieving something better. Most of us
fall somewhere between these two extremes.
Armand Cabrera
First Colors of Autumn
12 x 16 Watercolor
Taking chances in art increases your abilities and broadens
your scope as a fine artist. Taking chances translates
to painting out of your comfort zone. Rather than just
painting landscapes---try painting a still life…or
figure…or perhaps a portrait. But don’t just
try it once---paint these new subjects long enough to
get adept at them. Warning! When you do this, you take
time away from your habitual work---which may get worse
as you struggle to learn how to paint new subjects. However,
the payoff can be great. Tackling new subjects will bring
you a fresh sense of achievement and a new and exciting
skill set. The best artists know this and it shows in
the broad range of their work and the high quality they
consistently maintain.
William Merritt Chase was not only a highly regarded
portrait artist, but an award-winning, accomplished still
life and landscape painter. He was adept at both pastel
and oil. John Singer Sargent , another artist who worked
in many genres, was accomplished in both watercolor and
oils. Anders Zorn, Frank Benson and Winslow Homer not
only succeeded with oils and watercolor, but were master
etchers, too. You get the idea.
Art should give you immense satisfaction. If you feel
yourself getting stale, maybe a change of medium or motif
is the perfect solution!
