LC Neill

Artist: LC Neill
Title: “Orange Twist – I”
Medium: Oil on Panel
Dimensions: 6″x6″

Back to my 2D-3D-2D series. This one was a challenge. I started off with a yellow paper sculpture on a grayish background and it just wasn’t doing it for me. You can see it below. It was washed out, muddy and the sculpture seemed to float around awkwardly.

Sometimes I’ll put a painting aside and come back to it later with a fresh eye as I did here. Thankfully I have a secret weapon…..it’s called “artistic license”.  I wanted to achieve a stronger connection between the subject and the shadow, add a sense of place, and push/pull the contrasts so the paper sculpture seemed to jump off the painting.

I don’t often publish a major change such as this, but that’s part of being an artist so I thought I would share.  Many people hold an idea that art just happens.  Either you are born with it or your not.  Like singing, either you have a voice or you don’t.  There is some underlying truth to basic human instincts, however the biggest misconception is that it “just happens”.  The reality is…you can’t be really good unless you really work at it by learning, self discovery and practice.  An artist is constantly solving problems – composition, color, contrast, perspective, texture, and so on.  Recognizing when something is off and making necessary adjustments is an artists never ending journey to mastery.

Thanks for looking at my work!

I’m sorry “Orange Twist” (above) is already sold.

Here is the painting before I made a few changes to it.