Big, Challenging Projects - Draw Paint Academy

(First, a brief reminder that the price of my Reference photo Library goes back up tomorrow. Thanks!)

Most of the paintings I do are within my comfort zone—impressionist landscapes in oil. I find these to be a pleasant blend of relaxing and challenging.

But every now and then, I’ll take on a particularly difficult subject for my skill level at the time. Something that will put my skills to the test and show me where I really stand. The Elora painting I’m working on now is one of them. Some previous ones are:

Jasper – a pet portrait I did for a friend when I picked up painting again in my early 20s. I don’t have a photo of this one, but I remember it being well out of my comfort zone.
Kobe – a painting of our golden retriever that I gifted to my wife for her 30th birthday. She had Kobe when I first met her, and he is still going strong at 13 years old.
New Zealand Reflections – a tricky landscape from the Routeburn Track that I did with my brother and father.
Elora With Christmas Lights – Another Elora painting at night with colored lights.
Still life with different colored lights – one of the exercises I did for the Color Masterclass.

I find these big, challenging projects to be incredibly rewarding in terms of my progression and fulfilment as an artist. They require a deep and prolonged level of focus. They push my existing skills to the limit, and they often force me to learn new skills along the way. And they promptly reveal where my weaknesses and shortcomings are. With each one, I have come out as a noticeably more confident and experienced artist.

But they aren’t sustainable. They demand an enormous sacrifice of time and energy. Where my usual paintings might take one or two sessions, these challenging ones might take weeks or even months as I tinker and solve problems.

You may be tempted to avoid them altogether, as they are hard and uncomfortable by nature, and they often don’t work out. But I warn against this, as you’ll miss out on many of the substantial leaps in your progression. You’ll also miss out on the deep sense of fulfilment and enjoyment you get from setting yourself a challenge and coming out on top.

When was your last big, challenging project? Maybe it’s time for a new one? The key is to pick a subject that feels just outside of your comfort zone. Something that you think you might be able to paint, but with a healthy level of uncertainty in the mix. You don’t want it to be too easy or too hard, given your skill level.

Happy painting!