Every art class I’ve taken throughout my formal education would meet to discuss our work two separate times—once midway through a piece to give direction, and then a second time to reflect on the outcome after it was completed. As a large group, we each had a turn to display our artwork in front of the class for discussion. At first I was extremely shy and insecure about my artistic abilities and classroom critiques terrified me. However, as I listened to other students express their unique viewpoints, I was able to see both my artwork and the artwork of my peers from a new perspective. I experienced a huge leap of growth as these critiques taught me how to step back and look at my composition objectively. As you may have guessed, being able to access my composition is a topic that has become a very important piece of my art practice. This leads me to some big news…
Ever since I wrapped up my online class last November, I’ve been busy working on an exciting project. I’ve been writing a book! It’s called An Artist’s Guide to Evaluating Composition.
This book breaks down a bunch of different design concepts that play a part in composition and is full of possible questions to ask yourself when you are critiquing your own artwork. Although we may not all have access to a community of artists for feedback, my hope is that this book can help to guide artists as they assess their own artwork’s composition.
*update: the book An Artist’s Guide to Evaluating Composition is now available.
I’ll be releasing my book at the end of July. I’m so excited!!! I’ll be sure to keep you posted here on Substack. You can also learn more about my new book on my website.
Michelle! Congratulations! This is such amazing news. Can’t wait to get my hands on a copy. 😊🎉👏
This is so exciting. I am in several online groups and always looking for honest and thoughtful feedback. I’m finding more and more that many are too nervous to offer anything constructive. It only helps us all grow into better artists. I can’t wait to read your book! 🎨