Artist Feature: Paulette Cassidy

ARTIST FEATURE

PAULETTE CASSIDY

PRACTICE MAKES PROGRESS

BECOMING FRUSTRATED TRYING TO LEARN COREL PAINTER, PAULETTE FOUND A LINK FROM HEATHER THE PAINTER. IT SENT HER RUNNING INTO THE FAMILIAR ARMS OF PHOTOSHOP, AND THE REST IS HISTORY.

The saying, “Practice makes progress,” is exactly what motivates Paulette, but she made an excellent point discussing her original frustrations. It is difficult to overcome a barrier when you can’t wrap your head around the tool. Platforms, like Corel Painter and Photoshop, aren’t an overnight learning process, and the amount you have to learn to even begin painting can be overwhelming.

What made the difference for Paulette was the strength of her spirit. Instead of giving up, Paulette kept searching and trying! When she stumbled across the link to Beyond the Brushes, she was inspired and ecstatic to actually be familiar with Photoshop. Through the bite-size lessons and her consistent practice, Paulette rapidly learned and progressed, and this time, there was no temptation to quit because she never felt overwhelmed.

Her greatest asset ended up being her passion for practice. Paulette encourages others to not give up and practice until it becomes muscle memory. She firmly believes that every painting has an ugly stage you’ll have to work through, but when you feel like scrapping it, keep working. Even these sterling paintings had an ugly stage, but Paulette worked through it to create beautiful works of art.

Now, she won’t lie. The ugly stage was probably the hardest part. Trying to get the vision in her head realized on the screen took some work, but overall, she thoroughly enjoyed the process. Great satisfaction comes with those final brushstrokes and when you finally tell yourself, “that’s enough.” And her satisfaction was amplified by the emotion evoked. When selecting what to paint, the emotion conveyed in the original images captivated Paulette, acting as a springboard for her creativity. The Native American pieces portrayed the proud and beautiful people of long ago. The girl in the garden symbolized difficulties faced but also hope for the future. Last but definitely not least, Louis Armstrong brought soul to an exciting attempt to work with a new medium.

Working freehand allowed Paulette to express her own personality and vision. It also permitted the freedom to use the medium on offer while having the original lessons as a safety net. Though still developing her style through eclecticism, Paulette leans toward a romantic, old-fashioned feel in her color palette, especially with the influence of her favorite artist Johannes Vermeer. Brushy Goodness helped her incorporate exactly what she was looking for, and everything came full circle creating this series.

The wet lesson, the very thing Paulette couldn’t get her head around in Corel, became the lesson in Beyond the Brushes that she struggled with the most. But, it was integral in creating this series because she had to know how to adjust the brushes to get the right look. How she conquered it? Practice, practice, practice!

PAULETTE JOINED BEYOND THE BRUSHES IN OCTOBER 2020 WITH EXPERIENCE PAINTING IN OILS ABOUT 30 YEARS AGO. DETERMINED TO GO DIGITAL, HER STORY IS A WIN FOR THE HUMAN SPIRIT.

Artist: Paulette Cassidy