Meditation with a Brush with Diana Bullock - September 9th, 2023
Working on a small scale is a way for artists to see their development quickly as they look at work completed in short bursts. Each work is a type of momentary meditation. Diana Bullock began her workshop by reminding artists to start with simple subjects.
Use small sheets of paper to keep your focus on a limited subject.
Subjects often end up in notebooks, a recommendation from Diana Bullock for artists who want to see their ideas in progress.
Use acid-free glue to add an image to a notebook.
Begin with simple brush strokes that might become a cluster of leaves.
Instead of painting a tree, consider a vine with some flowers.
Diana Bullock created an array of petals followed by the vine connecting them.
A fine brush can be useful to add details and life to your work.
The result is a focused and memorable image that stands on its own.
Birds began in a similar way with a medium-size brush creating the bird bodies.
The fine brush added the beak, the legs and twigs.
The result is a look into a small, vital scene.
More abstract works are also possible. Play with expressive ideas.
A meditative mood fell over artists as they experimented with their own ideas.
Diana Bullock provided the artists with some images to encourage them to express themselves.
Flowers appealed to many artists.
Everyone had a chance to show their work.
Diana Bullock found many lively, expressive ideas.
Sessions where artists share their work lead to mutual development.
What to do with these small-scale images? Cards are one practical application.
Etegami, which mixes an image and text, is another application.
Putting images in notebooks was emphasized by Diana Bullock. A notebook becomes a journal of your development.
Diana Bullock suggested that artists should hang on to their work as these little pieces of art from various sources become critical insights.
Artists took home their work to begin playing with more small-scale efforts.
Experimenting with small works can lead to larger scale works perhaps because of the confidence an artist gains.
You can learn more about Diana Bullock in the links section.