Lesson: work from life. With photography so prevalent these days, it’s increasingly important to remember that working from life is better than working from photos. It is easy to work from photos, and often the only option we have. But the preference and first choice should always be to work from life. Why is working from life better than a photo? That’s a topic for another blog entry.
Lesson: use a limited palette. According to Dustin, Odd Nerdrum uses just a few pigments: a red, a yellow, white and black. This is also the “Zorn Palette” of which many of us have used. I have used in the past Ivory Black, Titanium White, Yellow Ochre, Cad Red. Dustin points out that the more pigments an artist uses, the more difficult it is to achieve overall harmony. A complex palette leads to complexity in our work. It’s better to keep things simple. Dustin’s palette: Cobalt Green, Quinacridone Red, Cobalt Blue, Permanent Yellow Light, Cad. Yellow Deep, Black and White. Keep in mind that different manufacturers produce different pigments, so you have to experiment and find the pigment manufacturer you like. Dustin likes Michael Harding Naphthol Red, for example. He buys his pigments from Kremer Pigments in New York. (http://shop.kremerpigments.com/en/)
Lesson: open approach vs. closed approach. An “open” approach to the painting process means you don't know exactly how you will get to where you are going. You have a goal in mind, a kind of painting you want to make, but you don't have a set of steps that you will take. You want to keep all the possibilities and techniques at your disposal as you work. You don't have a concrete plan in place.
A “closed” approach means you have a way to work and you don't vary your method. You have a certain way of doing what you do and so you do it. Everything is planned out and predetermined ahead of time. It is a “linear” approach to work.
Dustin suggests, if you want to paint like Nerdrum and him, you want to keep your painting “open” as long as possible. Experiment, play, try new things out as you work. If something doesn't work, scrape it off and start over. Feel free to fail. Look for the “happy accidents” that occur when you work without a net. It is a “non-linear” approach to work. Sure, it involves risk. Yes, it takes time. But the rewards of working this way are enormous.
Lesson: tear down, then build up. This is the “destructive method” that brings a lot of expression and feeling to the work. Using your hands, sand paper, palette knife, whatever, destroy your work, then come back and rework it over and over again until you achieve what you like. You tear down, scrape off, dismantle a layer of work then apply another layer of work on top of it. Slowly the layers begin to build up. Amazing effects begin to appear as you work layer after layer after layer of tearing down and building up. It’s a great deal of fun to work this way, too. You have the freedom to explore and fail and make mistakes because you know you can destroy it and move on to another layer. Destroy to create. Work in a mental state of “not-knowing” what is coming next.
