With last weeks assignment I decided to go in a direction that I wouldn’t have normally gone. I realized I have a tendency of achieving visual appeal in my paintings by using high tonal contrast and the results lend to being heavy handed. I want to be versatile and have complete control of the visual tools to make a good picture. I submitted an assignment that I struggled with for a number of reasons and didn’t get a great score. I am however glad that I did try it out and asked some questions because I feel I received some valuable nuggets of information that will be instrumental in my career. I also came to the conclusion of why my work is so heavy handed, sloppy and dramatic. It’s because “I’m” heavy handed and dramatic as a person and I’m also very impatient. I hadn’t really thought about that before but I’m realizing that improving in my artwork ultimately means improving in my personal life as well. To give my art and myself some contrast I’ll be doing a series of soft paintings with a gentle touch that take more time. Here is my first and I’m withholding my class submission….

Greg Mitchell, Gotta pay the cost to be the boss