Who is the artist? MS du Toit

This is actually very interesting and something artists do not think about. The number 1 question any viewer of art will ask when they stand in front of a painting is: Who is the artist?

Even though they would not know anything about the person, they still want to know the name. Many people will buy a piece of art because they like it and it will look nice in their house. But many people will buy a piece of art because of the name - they might not even really like the art but they value the name.

The trick for any artist is therefore to increase the value of their name and thus increasing the value of their art. And that is no easy task. Some artists do it by creating a painting of a naked public figure and their names are immediately all over the news and on everybody's lips, but they might soon be forgotten again.

Others do it by creating one painting after the other, all looking the same, almost creating a fashion. But fashions come and go and you begin to wonder whether those artists can do anything else.

I do not know the answer, or whether there is a right or wrong, all I know is that I would like my own work to stand the test of time like that of names like Van Gogh and Renoir. And then maybe, one day, my name will also be known.

This painting is from a photo I took when visiting some family. I was so caught up with sun coming in though the window and brightening up the room and the beautiful colours that I knew that I just had paint it.

Remember to visit my website for more paintings to view: Painted Canvas

Atmosphere in Paintings

It is difficult, maybe impossible, to say what the most important aspect of a painting is. What is it that makes a good painting?
Here is a list of some of the most important aspects:

1. The Notan or abstract design
2. The composition
3. The drawing
4. The colour harmony
5. The brush work
6. Atmosphere

A painting with excellent brush work but lack of good composition will not be appealing, a painting with good colour harmony but poor drawing, will once again not be appealing. A painting should really have to have all the aspects working together to really be a good painting. One of the most difficult things is to create atmosphere. Personally I think it helps to leave out some detail; to leave it to the viewer's own imagination to fill in the gaps. It is good to have some dark areas in a painting, where the viewer has to decide what is happening there. Atmosphere can also be created with certain lighting conditions like early morning fog in a landscape, the yellow-orange light in the late afternoon.

I still have to learn so much, but I think that with this painting I have managed to create atmosphere. You can be the judge. I would like to here from you!