Jessica Masters – Friday Night Guest – March 11, 2022
( Submitted by Chris Luna)
Jessica Master is a master pastel artist and oil painter living in Guelph Ontario. Her work is held in private and corporate collections throughout Canada, the United States, Australia, and New Zealand and has received several awards for her work. She teaches in person workshops in her studio in Guelph and now teaches online sessions and tutorials.
Jessica began the presentation with these wise words on the process of creating art:
“ IT’S NOT LUCK, IT’S SKILL” Artist are creators – people think you sit down and it just happens. Not true. There’s a process to creativity, and every successful artist has a process (as do organizations) so that they can consistently deliver a quality outcome.”.
She then elaborated on this by explaining and using examples from her own work on this artistic process that includes:
Developing the right mindset by giving yourself 30 minutes to transition from everyday tasks, setting up a designated art space, give yourself time to think and assess your work, and develop a routine to how you begin to paint.
Familiarity with your subject by painting from experience and taking lots of your own photos.
Selecting the right photo by using good light to create clear shapes that are easier to paint and see colour more clearly
Identifying your focal point. Figure out why you want to paint your subject so you have a clear message for your viewer. Write it down!
Cropping and editing by leaving things out, adding things in, changing the size or ratio, and choosing your colour palette that all aim to bring out your focal point.
Strategies in contrast. Put contrast around your focal point by applying contrast in hue, value, colour temperature, saturation, and details such as small shapes that grab your eye
She wrapped up the presentation with a slide show of some of her favorite artists with her reasons for admiring their work. Of mention was artist Peggi Kroll Robarts.
Thank you, Jessica, for such an informative and enjoyable evening.
More about Jessica at: