Fat Over Lean: What It Really Means
If you’ve spent any time around oil painting, you’ve heard it: fat over lean. It gets repeated so often it starts to sound like a slogan rather than something useful. But it matters alot.
Tagged: Monet
The 80/20 Rule in Painting: How Artists Can Get Better Results with Less Effort
Many painters spend hours polishing details that viewers barely notice. Meanwhile, the things that actually make the painting work often get less attention. This is where the 80/20 rule becomes useful.
The idea comes from the Pareto Principle. It suggests that roughly 80 percent of results come from 20 percent of the effort. In painting, that small percentage usually comes down to a few critical decisions: composition, value structure, and color relationships.
If those three elements are working, the painting will feel strong even before the details appear.
How to Overcome the Struggle with Artistic Originality
The pursuit of originality is a challenge many artists face at various points in their careers. With the wealth of art history and modern influences around us, it’s easy to feel that everything has already been done. Yet, originality doesn’t always mean reinventing the wheel—often, it’s about how you interpret and remix existing ideas in your unique voice.
How to Overcome the Fear of Failure as an Artist
Fear of failure is a common hurdle for many artists, stifling creativity and impeding growth. However, overcoming this fear is essential to unleashing your true potential.
Claude Monet, one of the founders of French Impressionist painting, experienced significant fear of failure throughout his career. Monet’s early works were often rejected by the Paris Salon, the leading art exhibition of the time.