In the process of making a work of art, the artist deals with many questions and decisions. There is a constant evaluation of asking if the piece is on the right track and considering what is needed for the next move. What will best convey the artist’s ideas and intentions? Many of these decisions are quick and intuitive, but sometimes a more reflective and conscious process is called for.

You need a balance between intuition and more conscious analysis to produce consistently good work. Both are important—you don’t want to be constantly stopping and picking apart every move, that is paralyzing and over thinking. But without applying some objective evaluation of your work every so often, your work will be all over the place. Sometimes you hit on a good result, but it is harder to do that consistently without a deeper look.

A lot this is analysis is thoughtfully but quickly, with just a short amount of consideration. This process borders on intuition because it feels that you just know what to do, although that knowledge may need a moment of looking to see what to do. But there’s another level that takes more time. This is an actual step by step process you can go through to analyze your work either when you are close to being done, or deciding if it’s done, or at any time along the way that you feel stuck. It involves close observation of your work in several ways. The first is an objective, descriptive look at the form of the work, observations about what you see in the use of the visual elements and composition. Next is subjective interpretation based on your ideas and intentions, and finally, how do the form and content work together? It is helpful to do this in written form to help your focus.

This basic exercise is taught in art school as a way of observing the alignment of form and content. After a while the practice gets ingrained and a basis for making choices about how you use the visual elements and composition to express what you want to say.

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Also-- please visit https://www.espacioart.org to learn about Rebecca and Jerry's newest project, Espacio, dedicated to providing beautiful living and working spaces for artists and writers. Espacio's first offering is Casa Clavel, a modern, fully equipped house opening this September in the beautiful cultural city of San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. A few booking openings are still available in 2023, so please incquire if you are interested.

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