The Secret Is In the Details

Painting by Michael J. Smith. 

Michael James Smith.com 

I've been studying art videos on how to paint photo-realistic paintings. The key is in the details. The more color and brush strokes I apply, the more realistic the painting. At the same time, I don’t want my work to look exactly like a photograph. Otherwise, why paint? Just frame a photo. 

The videos have shown me different techniques, things I can try to render the images I want to create. As with writing, after some trial and error, I find what works for me, the color choices and brush strokes that give my art its uniqueness, similar to my voice in my writings. No two artists, or writers, will produce the same painting or book.

The other key to good painting, and writing, is observation. No photograph can replace in person observation of sky, trees, grass, and earth. Cameras distort color and shape, foreshortening objects, and should only be used as a reference.

It is much the same with life, isn’t it? Our lives consist of many small moments, details, when added together they form a picture, a collection of memories. Some are momentous, life altering, but most are small moments, details, which build our masterpiece. Our choices and attitude add tone, much like an artist chooses warm or cool tones for a painting depending on time of day or mood. Same as how an author’s attitude and perceptions set the tone for their writing. 

Will our masterpiece be bright and happy or dark and gloomy? Will it be sparked with excitement or dull and boring? If we add in a dash of faith, even a dismal life will brighten in tone.

Lord, help me fill the details of my life with things of your choosing. If I can’t trust The Master Artist, who can I trust?