Painting Things That Move
Why would we do that Felicia?!
To test yourself.
Learn to observe more and act/react less.
To learn to prioritize and organize your efforts, thus building reliable process.
If you can paint a landscape on a sunny day (shadow shapes moving steadily the whole time), the constant undulation of waves at the sea’s shore, or a vase of sweet peas (You have no idea how alive a flower is until you try to paint it!) you’ll really have mastery. Your problem solving skills, ability to innovate will make you powerful in your creativity.
Most people can eventually wrestle a painting copied from a photo into something passable. But you rarely know how you did it. You paint what should have been twenty visible paintings showing progress or failure to be analyzed… on top of each other. Thus losing the opportunity to hone process and technique. If you do end up inventing a process it is often extremely limited. You cannot use it in a variety of situations or subjects.
Painting from life, and what more, painting things that move will aid you in developing an expertise you can use in any situation or with any subject.
