By: Camylle Fleming
Whether painting with oil, acrylic, or watercolor, it's worthwhile to brush up on the basics – especially how to avoid mixing muddy colors.
1. Know the Primary Colors
One of the first concepts artists learn about is the primary colors: Red, yellow, and blue, and how they work together.
If an artist mixes two primaries, a secondary color is created. For example, mixing red and yellow make orange. However, when a mixture contains all primaries, an unpleasant brown or black color is often created.
There’s little going back from a muddy combo. But, if one seeks to create mucky colors intentionally, combining the primaries can be a perfect recipe.
2. Understand Complementary Colors
Mixed primary colors aren’t the only risky combos. Blending complementary colors can also be problematic.
Complementary colors refer to the opposite colors on the color wheel: Red and green, yellow and purple, and blue and orange. When mixed, the colors cancel each other out and affect their intensity, which results in gray, black, or brown mixtures.
Limiting one’s color palette of complementary color combos can help prevent muddy blends and even muddier results.
3. Use Analogous Colors
Analogous colors can be a painter’s best friend when it comes to creating clean, vibrant hues. These are similar colors next to or near each other on the color wheel.
For example, if an artist wants to create a bright purple, using a blue and red hue that leans more towards purple on the wheel can help create a more saturated, vibrant purple. Conversely, if one wants to create a dark purple, using a blue and red hue that leans away from purple on the color wheel can help create a darker pigment.
As a rule of thumb, the more one leans away from a color on the color wheel, the more opposite pigments will be introduced and create less vibrant colors.
4. Keep Materials Clean
Never underestimate the power of a clean palette and brushes.
It’s surprising just how much impact a lack of palette control can have over color management in a painting. Cleaning or using a new palette before a painting session can help an artist remain in control of color outcomes. And before applying paint to canvas, separately trying out a few brushstrokes of mixed color combos can ensure a hue is spot on.
Last but not least, thoroughly cleaning brushes between strokes can help to prevent colors from mixing into dark or murky hues.
Every artist was first an amateur at one point – learning about color theory and how to mix paint. But no matter what level an artist may be at in one's career, these fundamental skills always make up the basis of a masterpiece.
]]>But with a sea of books out there, how does a reader pick and choose? From photoblogs to autobiographies, these iconic books are must-haves to add to your coffee table.
1. Humans of New York: Stories
What happens when New York-based photographer, Brandon Stanton, decides to not let life, or people, pass him by? He creates what he calls a "photographic census" of New York City’s community members known as “Humans of New York: Stories.”
A compilation of five years of photos paired with captivating stories, this book creates an intimate dialogue between readers and those featured – who if not for this book – may have never been introduced.
2. Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty
A retrospective narrative, “Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty” by Andrew Bolton delves deep into the career of the late designer, McQueen.
From humble beginnings starting his own label to building a world-renowned fashion house, this book reveals how McQueen challenged the fashion industry with his famous designs that touched on ideas about class, sexuality, race, religion, and the environment.
Putting fashion aside, this book holds valuable life lessons that many readers can learn from.
3. Infinity Net: The Autobiography of Yayoi Kusama
Sometimes, living life by the book can mean writing your own rules. “Infinity Net: The Autobiography of Yayoi Kusama” demonstrates just that.
The autobiography beautifully illustrates one woman’s journey to becoming an artist in New York City during the ‘60s and ‘70s with odds stacked against her: Learning how to cope with mental illness all while dealing with racism and sexism in the art world.
Despite it all, Kusama came out on top. As of 2018, she is one of the top-selling female artists in the world.
4. The Art of the Erotic
In the book “The Art of Erotic,” author Phaidon. Andrey V. celebrates sexuality in art rather than criticize it.
Providing insight into the evolution of human sexuality throughout history, it showcases intimate artworks by nearly 200 revolutionary artists such as Spanish painter, Pablo Picasso, and Italian sculptor and painter, Michelangelo.
Representing diversity, this book can boost anyone’s self-image.
5. Banksy: You Are an Acceptable Level of Threat
Indulge in some of England-based street artist Banksy’s most acclaimed imagery in “Banksy: You Are an Acceptable Level of Threat.” This book features some of the mysterious artist’s most exclusive works from the late ‘90s to present day.
Offering a glimpse into the political motives of the artist who seemingly always has something to say, the visually thought-provoking images that make up this book hold much relevance to the world’s trials of today.
You can tell a lot about a person by the books he or she reads: One’s passions, beliefs, and interests. Whatever the reason to read, one can never benefit enough from having a few books like these in arm’s reach.
]]>I was fortunate enough to keep my job and work from home. Like everyone else I was stuck at home. I was growing increasingly frustrated with everything (including my spouse).
Scrolling through social media only made it worse. I started to understand and actually feel the pain that others were experiencing. My friends were losing their jobs, businesses and life savings, while I was sitting comfortably by my pool or in my kitchen, complaining about my husband paying too much attention to me…. Seriously?? First world problems!
Something needed to change. In an effort to not drive myself insane, I started painting more often. If you want to get started, I found this color wheel article helpful. Start at the basics!
I’ve always been an artist but In this new world, I've taken the opportunity to stop smell the roses and become a master of my craft.
I started with painting simple, abstract pieces with all mediums. I mixed new colors, tried different techniques and watched videos on youtube learning from other artists.
Acrylics, watercolors, textures, & acrylic pouring… It was exhilarating! As I began to refine my new skills, I became emboldened continue developing as an artist.
The process of creating art is an outlet for me. I can express my emotions through a canvas and brush without ever speaking a word. The messages in my paintings during quarantine varied from complete turmoil to pure bliss. Somewhere in the midst of it all, I rediscovered myself. I began to remember who I was before jobs, bills & mortgages.
I spent my days working and my nights painting. My husband started asking questions showing interest in what I was doing.
For decades, research has been conducted on the healing power of art. The ability to express your emotions through painting has been shown to reduce anxiety and depression.
When your mind is able to focus on one thing it naturally lets go of the stressors and anxiety. When this happens, cortisol levels begin to decrease, allowing your body to relax.
Whether it’s a pandemic or just a bad day, always take the time to create. If that’s what feeds your soul, don’t let the distractions in life take it away.
At work, I always tell my clients that if something is important to them, they will make time for it. I guess I needed the time alone during the quarantine to realize to my own advice. <3
]]>Continuing on with our artist series, tonight I have the pleasure of editing the interview with 32 year old Gerardo Cuevas from Tijuana Baja, Mexico.
Lets dive in!
Gerardo says: My art is based off how distorted the mind is & how incredibly different mine works from yours. There are infinite ways of perceiving reality.
"Living as an artist is hard, especially because Mexico has very limited growth opportunities. Regardless of the hardships here in Mexico - I've decided to take the leap and make my hobby more serious. I will be happiest when I find stability and growth from what I know deep down is what i'm meant to do."
I’ve found it challenging to find a balance between focusing on art and making a good living.
I have to deal with:
I started this project called You Pay For Life a couple of years ago with the intent to share my creative experiments and process. I mixed all my different interests, mostly focused on visual arts, interior design and architecture.
After consistantly working on this project and experimenting i've become more confident and have solidified my own personal style which i'm happy about.
"Experiment with different styles and techniques, but most importantly, don’t stop working!
I think its extremely important not to compare your art with others, try to get inspiration instead of competing to be better.
Experiment with different mediums and you will surprise yourself with the finished result. When I feel stuck and my art looks repetitive - this does the trick.
"Art is infinite. The sooner you learn theres no right or wrong way of creating - you'll see your artwork become something special."
I think its safe to say after speaking with Gerardo: "Perfection is boring."
]]>For an artist, it’s how you decide on color schemes, the time of day you paint…it’s the angle with which your hand presses the brush against the page.
You cannot help but be style-ish. We’re here to help you unpack how you can tune into your painting style with intentionality.
Maya Angelou once said:
It’s the how that attracts people to you and the same goes for your works. In today’s ebook, we ask you to consider: How are you going to allow your creative genius to express itself and find its audience?
Below we will unpack some easy steps you can take to access your creative virtuoso & uncover the findings of your very own painting style!
Exercise 1: Digging Deep
Exercise 1: Answering questions about ourselves can help uncover unknowns about our artistic capabilities
Step 1: Answer me this: (get out a pen and paper)
I held an interview with a few favorite artists of mine. @pingreeart being one of them. This was his answer:
“Moving to NYC in 2001 definitely shaped me and my work. Hordes of figures in motion - the epitome of city life - has become my primary subject matter. I think there is real beauty in it.”
Jay gets his inspiration from the blurry images of people walking in the NYC subway station.
“From my own photographs of figures in motion. I have yet to tire of this subject matter. My photos inform my paintings and my paintings inform my photos. This has been a trend. I enjoy what happens when I leave the shutter open on my camera. I then enjoy trying to interpret that onto a canvas with paint. But then with ideas of how I want my figures to appear on the canvas I go back and alter my shooting to try to achieve that effect.”
Maybe you move to a big city where you could sketch people in the subway? Maybe deep down you don’t always feel as happy as you think you should be.
@expressionabbey developed a beautiful style by reaching deep inside her core. (look below)
“From nature and my feelings. Some of my favorite things to paint are sunsets, stars and mountains because, just the mere act of looking at them brings me happiness and wonder. I have suffered from slight depression on and off for years. You see, I kept this secret for most of my life. I rarely felt happy ever since I was a teenager. When I feel happy it is such a treat and I think therefore I choose to paint vibrant and whimsical pieces.”
Are you a stubborn artist? Maybe you’re like me, you don’t express or admit feeling any feelings and just want to splatter paint against a wall.
Are you surrounded by jaw dropping scenic landscapes like @expressionabbey?
“I think my pieces are Peaceful, Vibrant and a bit Whimsical. Whimsical because it depicts landscapes that are not as I see them but, as they make me feel.
For example: “When I paint mountains I am usually pulling from my memories of going to the nearby mountains (Mount Laguna and Julian). Those memories are some of my happiest memories and therefore, it only seems appropriate to use vibrant colors to depict them.”
As we plunge into this world of inspiration, it’s fair to consider anyone who is a creative.
I’m attracted to art that is bold and true like @youpayforlife. I enjoy art that is NOT supposed to be & makes me feel an uncomfortable feeling.
We have not yet finished the interview with @youpayforllife but, as you can observe:
A disturbing delight.
What’s always helped me is learning that my idols were/are still afraid…and they did their craft anyways.
Exercise 2: Get Involved
Getting involved in the painting community is a must if you’re serious about developing a style.
You don’t need to like everyone – if you do, wonderful. But our main goal here is to learn from them. You will develop as a person and this will help you further develop as an artist.
Step 1: Host a meetup. Learn and immerse yourself into the world to truly get what you want.
Step 2: Use Instagram, Eventbrite or Facebook as resources to identify and RSVP for upcoming events
Step 3: Attend an exhibition/event (goal: Start a conversation with at least 2 people.)
Exercise 3: Be A Producer, Not A Consumer
I remember reading a blog post that talked about the importance of working out your creativity as quickly as you can.
In the story that was told, there was a ceramics teacher who split up a class into two groups of students. One was told they’d be graded on quantity; the other would be graded on quality. At the end of class, it was the group that focused on quantity that had the highest quality output.
In the end, the group that went for quantity rather than quality not only created more, but finetuned their skillset with each attempt.
The lesson here being that too much time spent on any one thing may be counterproductive in your creation process.
In plain speak, perfection kills creativity.
Make A Commitment Calendar
I’ll use myself as an example:
On the days when I devoted myself to only painting, sketching, or writing, I procrastinated like crazy. The night before it would seem like such a brilliant idea. But come morning, I’d feel glued to my bed and terrified that my day of creation would not merit something utterly perfect.
Solution:
Step 1: Buy and create a calendar where you can see the month ahead.
Step 2: Two days out of each week, you will commit to painting, but for 20-30 minutes ONLY!
Tip! I find that choosing a day that’s already busy is ideal (plan to arrive early to at least one of your appointments and bring some artist materials with you to play around a bit with during that tiny window of time.)
Step 3: Do not skip the days/times you’ve allotted for creativity.
Be fully present during this time. Get rid of distractions; turn off your phone and close yourself off from anyone who might need your attention.
Find A Genuine Artistic Friend
I find that I’m more inclined to create something when I’m with other people who are also tasked with creating something.
Step 1: Call up a friend who is a fellow artist and invite them to a paint night with you
Step 2: You can host it in your home or in a park
Step 3: When you’re together, decide on an object to or paint something abstract.
Step 4: Mix it up! Try painting under a blind fold! As stated in the ceramics class example above, it’s not about quality, it’s about quantity. We just need you creating. And that’s that.
Friends are great for encouragement and filling that void you have with all your non artistic friends.
Great for expression too, they’ll actually know what you’re talking about.
Copy & Create
To the artists who’ve come to her with complaints about not finding any idea that hasn’t already been done before, she’s advised:
Guaranteed, it’s already been done, but it’s not been done by you... All we do as humans is respond to stuff that’s come before us. But you’re allowed to add to the pile.
In the beginning it’s good to copy from other artists, but add something from your imagination or a different style to the piece and soon enough you'll develop your own artistic style. - @expressionabbey
Fear Of Being Copied
In our interview with Karina she had a little to say about this issue:
If people repost your art on Instagram, take it as a compliment. "I remember someone decided to post one art piece of mine to their Instagram account without crediting me. It had happened a few times before and I was a bit annoyed. Then thought - If people are taking the time to use my art to try and get likes, then it must mean it's good.
Friendly Fear
“Creativity will always provoke fear”
The writer, Elizabeth Gilbert, authored a text called Big Magic, which is essentially a manifesto to living a fearless life as a creative.
And when it comes to the paralyzing anxiety her readers face before they start, she shares her own strategy:
Gilbert talks to her fear in a friendly way:
I don’t go to war against it; I acknowledge it’s importance, and I invite it along. You can come with me but I’m doing this thing.
After Developing Your Portfolio
Now that you’ve developed a bit of a portfolio (albeit haphazardly – good job!), set some time aside to see which ones you like.
Step 1: Line up every single item that you created, whether it feels finished or not.
Step 2: Try to observe your own works as if they were someone else’s that you were encountering at an exhibit or on the walls of a café.
Step 3: After some time has passed, answer the following questions and locate the art critic within you.
Guess what?
Everything we just covered above are questions of style. Your painting style…Success!
Exercise 6: Rinse and Repeat
Now that you’ve got the bare bones knowledge of what you are able to do, you can guess what’s next…
Additional Tips:
Below on the right is an image of an artist named Rachael Moyles.
Here is her advice to you:
“Ask yourself one simple question – what do you want to create? Don’t ask yourself things like “what will get me noticed?”, “how do I paint/draw/whatever just like person x, y, or z?”
“It’s okay to incorporate things you enjoy about other artists’ works, but in order to truly develop your own unique style you must be true to yourself and your desire to create.”
If you live in an area without too much light pollution, I’m sure you get to see the Milky Way on a fairly regular basis. Another source of inspiration, if you’re thinking about making one of the trending acrylic galaxy paintings, is NASA’s “astronomy picture of the day,” which can be found on the official NASA site.
Though it would be futile to try to accurately render ours or any other galaxy -painting a very realistic looking galaxy is actually pretty easy! So here’s a list of acrylic painting techniques you likely already know that will help you create a galactic masterpiece!
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Layering paint is a very basic technique and it’s vital for producing the most realistic galaxy paintings. The first layer is black, of course—or something very close—as it will be the background. Then onto the dust and gases using the dabbing technique we talk about below. Whatever colors you’d like. If you allow your acrylic paint to fully dry before moving on to another color, you can create a light veil over the previous color. If you move quickly from one color paint to the next while it’s still wet, you can subtly blend the colors directly on your canvas.
Retrieved from Instagram: painting_thestars
Dabbing is a technique that gives an image dimension. It is done by applying the paint to your canvas with a light “dabbing” motion, as the name implies. It is a great way to achieve the “milky” quality we see when we look at clusters of stars from a distance. Use a thick round brush for the best results. Many people prefer using a sponge to dab the paint for that milky effect, rather than a brush. The choice is yours.
Retrieved from Instagram: painting_thestars
Your next layer will be the stars, of which there are hundreds of billions in our galaxy alone—but no one will be counting. To create realistic stars, water down your white paint and use the splattering technique by tapping the handle of your brush to get those droplets over the painting. You can also use your finger to catapult the brush hairs and splatter the page - this method of "splattering" isn't the neatest option. Try concentrating most of the speckles in a line to create the illusion of a disc/spiral at an angle.
Finally, depending on the colors you have handy, mixing colors might be a good idea to get the desired purples, pinks, and blues of the various nebulae in your galaxy. You can achieve a lot with mixing. The Impressionist painters were masters at mixing colors, and their experimentations with color brought us tricks for achieving the colors we find in nature, while still working with a limited palette. It couldn’t hurt to brush up on your Color Theory and give it a shot.
That being said, this isn’t a water lily pond—and if mixing cosmic colors is intimidating to you, know that many of the colors you see in an image of space are added later by scientists. They do this either to map important details, or to attempt to render what the human eye can’t see. The colors aren’t real so you can’t go wrong!
By Rae Quinn
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The technique mostly results in a kind of marbling or similar abstract design, but it’s versatile and once you get the hang of it, you can mess around to create something that feels more intentional. It’s also extremely simple, so mastering the basics and moving on to the experimental phase doesn’t take long!
What you’ll need:
That’s it! Other than the shaving cream and maybe the toothpicks most of these items you’ll already have handy in your workspace. These are the materials that work best from my experience and research; however, feel free to substitute and get as creative as you want. Just be sure you know what the purpose of each material is, before you swap it for something else.
On your flat work surface, spray enough shaving cream so that you can spread it out into a smooth layer about a half-inch thick, with dimensions a little larger than your sheet of paper.
Next, after choosing a few colors, drip the acrylic paint onto the shaving cream layer, Jackson Pollock style. If your acrylic paint is too thick for drizzling, it’s totally fine to water it down beforehand. During this step, keep in mind the final product will be a mirror image of what you’re putting down.
Take your pointed utensil and, holding it vertically, swirl the colors around however you like––but don’t over-mix because you’ll end up losing all the detail in the design. A little tip: there’s no need to penetrate more than a millimeter or so. The final product will be neater if you stick to the surface.
Once you’re happy with the swirling, lay your piece of paper flat on top. Press down gently and evenly for the paper to pick up the paint. The reason it’s important to choose thick paper is because it needs to hold up against the wet shaving cream during this step. 30 seconds to a minute is plenty of time for the paint to be absorbed by the paper (any longer and the paper could become soggy).
Now you want to pull your paper away from the cream and paint mixture, and lay it flat on it’s dry side. Align your straight edged tool on one end of the paper and evenly––and in one motion if possible––drag it across the surface, scraping off the shaving cream. What you’re left with is the marble-like design from where the paint came in contact with the paper.
It’s up to you what you want to do with your designs! They are beautiful as is, or you could cut them up for collages, etcetera or marble some wooden letters. The choice is yours!
Retrieved from Instagram @syd.jane
Retrieved from Instagram @playhouseartla
P.S. Before you discard your shaving cream mixture, try throwing another piece of paper onto it. The results of this second round might be just as cool as the first! You could end up with something reminiscent of a Mary Abbott painting––and Mary Abbott > Jackson Pollock, IMO.
By: Rae Quinn
Referenced material:
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How It Started: Rachael started painting watercolor earnestly in November of 2018, but had attempted a galaxy painting a month prior. "I hated it. The paints didn’t do what I wanted and I had no idea of where to even start with watercolor paints. For whatever reason, I still kept that first galaxy painting and I’m glad I did."
"Improvement is subtle."
I was nervous about putting my work out there, especially if I was not happy with it. I am a self-proclaimed perfectionist, so I’m my own worst critic. Once I started getting into watercolor, I needed to let go of some of that control. Watercolor painting has helped me learn how to ‘go with the flow’ and incorporate that into my relaxation time.
Rachael, unlike most artists has a tribe of friends and family members who support her artwork. "My aunt and I have long shared a love of art, she used to give me fine art supplies and take me to different classes. I loved drawing animals, so I have many sketchbooks filled with attempted horses, cats, dogs, dragons & birds.
Life, however, got in the way and I pretty much dropped art as a hobby through high school and most of college. When I picked up art again last year, my family and friends were thrilled. My aunt and I even have ‘art dates’ again, including my best friend who rides horses and does art with us too!
"Additionally, my mom, dad, and brother have been extremely supportive – my mom rides with me, but never got into painting. Nonetheless, when I hosted my first watercolor workshop this past summer, guess who was there! My aunt, my best friend, and my mom! The loving support around me makes it possible for me to create."
I mostly get my inspiration from color palettes and photos – Pinterest is a great help! Other artists in the community also inspire me to do better, to take risks in my pieces, and expand my repertoire. My aunt is also my inspiration. Her and I both share a love for art and horseback riding. Two hobbies now I cannot live without! I have many joyful memories featuring my aunt and these things – art dates, horseback riding dates, sometimes combined art and horseback riding dates!
I sell my art on Etsy, through word-of-mouth on Facebook, at local craft sales, and my family and friends! I am looking to get a website soon, and am planning on having my art featured in some local galleries!
What Would You Tell Your Future Self?
Be patient & practice. When I first started, I approached a piece with exact intentions, wanting it to look exactly like the image I had in my head. The nature of watercolor is unpredictable. Sometimes the paints just do what they want. Now, I approach a piece with an idea in mind & let it develop naturally. Before i start a project I’ll have some colors picked out, a general idea (i.e. a galaxy with mountains up front), and then I’ll just paint. It’s difficult to let go of control, and I still find myself struggling with this occasionally. I’m a constant work in progress, as we all are. The sooner we can accept this, the better we’ll become!
It’s okay to incorporate things you enjoy about other artists’ works, but in order to truly develop your own unique style you must be true to yourself and your desire to create. Look inward, not outward.
"Be inspired by others, be honest with yourself."
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The movement was made popular by the visual arts and literature, but it extended across the arts and into social and political thought, as well. The Surrealists were officially a group in 1924 with the completion of the Manifeste du Surréalisme, written by poet Andre Breton. The manifesto was a proposal to free the mind and disrupt established ideals, something that felt urgent to the group at the close of World War I. Their thinking was that if the values and rationality of their European society lead them into war, maybe it was time to rethink these values. They felt it would be beneficial to embrace the irrational, rather than suppress it, and that perhaps valuing the unconscious was the key to a more balanced society.
The Big Picture
As serious as all that may be, a work of Surrealist art is meant to be fun, exciting, surprising, sometimes unsettling, strange, and often humorous. Most importantly, Surrealist works break free from conventions and challenge us to look at the world in a new way. But don’t feel intimidated! Anyone can create Surrealist art, no matter your skill level or artistic medium.
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Creating Your Own Surrealist Art
That being said, there are specific techniques you can use that the Surrealists used in their work to achieve such lofty, fantastical, or just surreal ideas.
Symbolism is big for Surrealist art, and that’s because it’s all about the unconscious, which interprets and communicates information through symbols. When creating your painting (drawing, collage, etc.), try incorporating some of the archetypal images that occur in your dreams.
Juxtaposition can create that element of surprise that is key to a Surrealist artwork. Juxtaposition is the placement of two objects together—when one brings out something in, or suggests something about, the other. An example could be putting a butterfly and a pair of scissors side by side. They don’t belong together… or do they?
In our dreams, often we will find ourselves in unfamiliar places but with people that we know, or vice versa. Dislocation is often found in Surrealist art, also, and it is basically when an object is in a place it wouldn’t normally be in—like a cow in a hammock.
Then there’s scale. Playing around with scale, the relative sizing of objects, in your artwork will create the effect that something is off, and therefore it will feel more like a dreamscape than reality. A good place to look for inspiration when playing with scale, is at René Magritte’s paintings—his Personal Values (1952), in particular.
Transformation can be utilized in your art, as well. To demonstrate the transformation of an object or person in your painting from one thing to another—such as a young man into an old man, or a woman into a mermaid—will collapse time for the viewer, creating an image that transcends the way we experience our lives in sequence.
The double image is similar to transformation in the way it can distill into one image, what in reality would be found in several. Not only sequential states, but multiple disparate objects or people can be combined in one image, such as in Dalí’s The Hallucinogenic Toreador (1960-70), where the light and shadows of the busts of women create a second image of a bullfighter.
Often, getting started is the hardest part. I like to imagine the Surrealist gathered around exchanging their dreams and playing games that tap into their unconscious thought for that spark of inspiration. In fact, many of the exact games and exercises they employed are known, and I will share a few below so you can get started making your own Surrealist art! Enjoy!
By: Rae Quinn
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“Art Term: Surrealism.” Tate.org.uk. https://www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/s/surrealism Date Accessed 6 Dec. 2019.
“Art Term: Dada.” Tate.org.uk. https://www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/d/dada Date Accessed 6 Dec. 2019.
[Excerpt from] Durozoi, Gérard. Trans. Alison Anderson. History of the Surrealist Movement. University of Chicago Press, 2002. https://www.press.uchicago.edu/Misc/Chicago/174115.html Date Accessed 6 Dec. 2019.
The links to The Surrealists’ Exercises:
https://www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/c/cadavre-exquis-exquisite-corpse
https://www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/a/automatism
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This has been a trend. I enjoy what happens when I leave the shutter open on my camera. I then enjoy trying to interpret that onto a canvas with paint.
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But then with ideas of how I want my figures to appear on the canvas I go back and alter my shooting to try to achieve that effect.
It's normal for artists who don't have a style of their own to feel threatened by other artists. The same goes for artists who have developed a style but haven't had it very long. Have you ever felt threatened by artists?
I Paint Abstract Realism: My figures are proportional and based in reality, just painted truncated, abbreviated, pushed and pulled.
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Use this article to assist in your endeavors to creating realistic paintings, read on for details on how to achieve this technique.
Before Blending
Importance Of Foreground, Middle Ground And Background
Close your eyes and imagine a blank vertical canvas. Now imagine that vertical canvas separated into 3 parts – top, middle and bottom.
If you’re painting realistically you will have a foreground, middle ground and background. (Imagine a stormy ocean in your mind for this canvas.)
The “background” is considered the top of the painting: here lets squeeze out the dark blue blobs. Blend each section separately (more on this later).
For the middle ground this will be the middle of your painting. Here we squeeze grey to distinguish a difference between the middle ground and background. Now we can see the fog or clouds are closer to our eyes than the sky.
On the bottom of the canvas we will squeeze dark blue once again to represent water. The water is the closest to our eyes and it is a stormy day so the water's dark.
Canvas Prep?
Some artists will use an acrylic glazing liquid (broken down into one part glaze and four parts acrylic) to prep their canvas; I personally find this to be an unnecessary step as the realistic look can be achieved without it.
Basic How-To:
You’ll first need some supplies. You already have your canvas and workspace so get yourself at least two soft flat bristle brushes; they will work best with your acrylic paints. Another supply that is a must is a jar or cup of water and having paper towels on hand are always helpful.
Bonus tip: a spray bottle with water. Next, follow these steps.
This will technique will help achieve that misty eerie view of the water. This step distinguishes how realistic and smooth your painting will look. No brush strokes.
Pro Tips
The figure 8 motion gets rid of paint strokes. This is what we want. Want people to feel like they’re looking through a window when viewing your work?
Once you are done with your blending, let your canvas fully dry but don’t let it dry during the blending process, doing so can make your paints nearly impossible to blend. This is why we suggest finishing one section of your painting at a time.
The amount of time your canvas will take to dry depends on how big your canvas is and how thick you laid your paint on. One hour should suffice, but don’t rush it. I see so many artists get excited, wanting to move onto the blending part that they don’t give their canvas enough time to dry, thus ruining it.
These tips should take out most of the heavy lifting but, if you find that your blending doesn't look realistic, keep practicing success doesn’t come without failure.
By: Marisa Sanfilippo
]]>They say paint pens are the bling of art. Okay, maybe nobody says that, but they really could.
Paint pens can produce really cool/beautiful/provocative art on their own, but what I love most about them is their ability to finish off paintings with a special touch.
Almost like the perfect piece of jewelry makes an outfit, or like that one recruited rookie that makes an unbeatable team.
I'm telling you, these guys need to be in your art arsenal.
Features:
Benefits:
Writes on: Paintings, Rocks, Surfboards, Pottery, Fabric, Paper, Canvas Photographs,Glass, Plastic, Stickers, Wood, Metal, Graffiti, DIY Signs, Cardboard, Classroom Designs, Holiday DIY, Date Polaroids, Scrapbook, Personalization Projects and so much more!
I wanted to start an interview series that would:
Here is the first of 5 interviews.
Meet Karina Gonzalez!
Karina is a 31 year old painter based out of San Diego, California.
Her paintings on instagram are truly one of a kind and captured my heart and mind.
I wanted to get to know her and her art a little better knowing readers would benefit from from the interview. Enjoy!
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From nature and my feelings. Some of my favorite things to paint are sunsets, stars and mountains because, just the mere act of looking at them brings me happiness and wonder. I have suffered from slight depression on and off for years. You see, I kept this secret for most of my life. I rarely felt happy ever since I was a teenager. When I feel happy it is such a treat and I think this is why I choose to paint vibrant and whimsical pieces.
@espressionabbey
"I mostly paint for myself and not to sell but, I have sold through direct messages on my Instagram. I also have a shop on my website ExpressionAbbey.com where I stock pieces periodically. My main source of revenue from my art is from my classes on Skillshare."
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I am a sucker for depth! And no... I am not talking about swimming with sharks - I am talking about the delicious layers and techniques that help you get lost in a painting. Grab a cup of something warm and settle down with a new method and invest in going deeper.
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Depth in watercolor can be achieved chiefly by two particular methods: atmospheric perspective and linear perspective. I want to focus a little more on atmospheric perspective, because it is a bit more intuitive than linear perspective, but I will give you a brief rundown for all my left-brained artists.
L I N E A R
P E R S P E C T I V E
@stefaniafabrizii
Linear perspective leans heavily on the establishment of a horizon line and point perspective. Perhaps you’ve heard of vanishing points? If not, it is exactly what it sounds like: it is the point (or points) in an image that the subjects seem to fade off into. One-point and two-point perspective are popular layouts for this particular method.
@momh_°°
B a s i c H o w - T o :
I’ll be honest, my lack of depth perception makes linear perspective extremely difficult for me. As such, I rely heavily on underdrawings made with tracing paper or a projector to make sure I get this right when I am painting.
A T M O S P H E R I C
P E R S P E C T I V E
@andreafaifeart
This method is all about layers and values! Atmospheric perspective mimics how the atmosphere impacts our vision as things move further into the distance - they become hazy, darker or lighter depending on the light source, and colors lose their intensity.
@zanari_art
When working with watercolor - a largely translucent medium - you are going to want to work from light to dark. You might want to start with monochromatic paintings at first to really make sure you get this method down packed.
B A S I C H O W - T O:
I N S P I R A T I O N
TL;DR Instructions:
Ideas:
@sushhegde
That view from your hike this morning
@rachysketches
That beautiful sunset from your trip this summer
@wandering.strokes.art
A relaxing beach-scape
@carri_c_art
A desert at dusk
@kristin.mckeever.art
A serene mountain-scape sunrise
---Mastering the art of creating depth in your paintings will go a long way in adding interest to your paintings. It might take some practice, but I promise it’s easier than finding a perfect conversational partner, or the ever elusive perfect pair of jeans.
By: Brittney Espinoza
One of my favorite aspects of watercolor is its open time. A mediums’s open time is the amount of time it takes to dry/cure. Watercolor’s moderate open time makes it possible to get effects that are difficult to get with acrylic or oils. A f u n t e c h n i q u e t h a t t a k e s a d v a n t a g e o f t h i s q u a l i t y i s t h e p l a s t i c w r a p m e t h o d . Yes. THAT plastic wrap. But in this instance, when it sticks together, it will actually be on purpose.
W a t e r c o l o r i s t h e G o l d i l o c k s of this technique; traditional acrylic paint’s open time is too short, and with traditional mediums, oil paint’s open time is too long.
We’re going to go over just how to use this painting method, but first, l e t ’ s g e t s o m e i n s p i r a t i o n . Side note: Plastic wrap art is appropriate and easy for all ages. You can incorporate it into a larger work while your little one(s) experiment next to you! The best part is that the clean up for watercolor is easy if they get a little too enthusiastic spreading the paint around. Cuties.
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In this example, Nina Allen Freeman uses the technique to create a root system for the water lilies. Dynamic Distraction is keen on advancing artwork by looking at what you've created with the basic techniques we teach you on this blog, then filling in the BIG picture. ie. Nina may have seen lilies after using the plastic wrap technique!
This painting by "Set Sail By Kristin" shows this technique also stands up all on its own and "doesn't take forever to dry". In the first color theory lesson, we talked about complimentary, secondary, and tertiary color combinations. This could be an interesting way to explore these concepts.
I N S T R U C T I O N S
Source material by Judith Stein and photos provided by Jay Lee Painting
1. Wet your paper in the shape of the tree, flower or shape you are texturing. The paper should be wet, not just damp. I recommend using a heavy weight watercolor paper to minimize warping. Drop different colors into the wash and let the paint merge to create natural hues.
2. Scrunch the plastic wrap (also known as Saran Wrap and cling wrap) into the natural texture of the object and place it over the wet area. Allow the area to dry completely dry before removing the plastic.
3. The plastic wrap leaves a texture that simulates the petals of a geranium. Detail will be added to accent the shapes.
Uses
Retrieved from Joe Cibere
Retrieved from Rita Squier
Retrieved from Joe Cibere
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So there you have it! A nontraditional and useful new tool to add to your art arsenal. You probably already have it in your kitchen! Pssst. Maybe you can use the money you saved to purchase a set of top notch brushes.
H a p p y w r a p p i n g , y o !
By: Brittney Espinoza
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The salt will absorb some of the pigment and leave interesting shapes and texture behind. The effects can be subtle or dramatic, depending which type of salt you use and how wet your paper is.
Read on to learn how it’s done.
What You’ll Need
The salt technique couldn’t be simpler. All you need are your watercolor paints, some good brushes, watercolor paper, and salt. Any kind of salt. In fact, the more types of salt you experiment with, the more creative your final piece will be.
Salts with crystals of different sizes and shapes will enhance your work in different ways. Experiment with ordinary table salt, kosher salt, “designer” salts, pickling salt, rock salt—whatever you can get your hands on (reference image below).
How It’s Done (option 1)
That’s all there is to it!
How To Take It A Step Further (advanced option 2)
Because there are so many types of salt available, start by experimenting. Make up some swatches and see how the different types of salt—from fine to coarse—will react with the paint. Some leave larger marks than others, and they all have different shapes.
Another variable to play with is the amount of moisture on your paper. You need at least a small amount of moisture for the salt to stick, but beyond that, anything goes—from slightly damp to pools of water or paint.
Pro tip: Try adding the salt when the paint is wet and then again when it’s partially dry.
You’ll find that, as a rule, working with very wet paint leaves larger marks with slightly blurry edges. On paper that's just damp, you can expect smaller, crisper marks.
Retrieved from youtube
When you have a good sense of the effects of your various combinations of salt and moisture, go ahead and put your colors down.
Pro tip: There are really two ways you can go with this. You can start out with a general idea of what you want to create. Or you can lay down some paint, see how it flows, and then use your imagination.
For example, in the image below, the artist saw mountains and a waterfall under a night sky.
You will want to have a clear vision of where you want texture before you start adding salt.
keep reading...
Retrieved from youtube
She used several sizes of salt to add texture to different areas of the painting. She accented the top with one type of salt to create the night sky. On both sides of the page, she used different salt types to represent foliage—heavier in the middle and lighter on the bottom. In all, she used 4 different salts.
Retrieved from youtube
To finish her piece, the artist used detail brushes to delineate the moon, the sky, and the mountains.
The watercolor salt technique has a lot of fascinating applications. You can use it to create sand, snow, stars, clouds, water, flowers, foliage!
We’ve rounded up some great examples of how salt can transform a basic piece of art. This is how you go from average to pro!
In the painting below, the artist used salt to create a galaxy and added shooting stars with a brush and dotted stars with either a white pen or using the flicking technique to get the splattered stars. Finished with a sprinkle of salted star dust.
Retrieved from micad97 via instagram
The next piece is a great example of how to use salt to create a snowy feel. The artist used it on the ground, on the trees, and could have even created footprints in the snow.
Retrieved from paper.and.pigment via instagram
In our final example, it looks like the painter used a salt with large crystals and added it when the paint was extremely wet.
Pro tip: the salt effect is most dramatic when there is lots of water on the page. Look below.
Retrieved from annea.art via instagram
The overall effect is a striking border that’s suggestive of looking through a frosted windshield.
No Excuses, Get Started:
The salt technique is an easy and versatile way to add interest to your watercolor pieces with minimal cost and effort.
Don’t be afraid to experiment! The limited control you have over the salt and the impreciseness of watercolor almost force you to be flexible with your vision and to try new things.
(And let us know how you do in the comments below!)
Written by Paula Clark
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This will be beneficial to you in that you wont feel like such an outsider, you'll hear words you've heard before. Subconsciously you'll connect the dots, boosting your confidence and faith to accomplish what you set out to do.
Though, vocabulary words may sound a bit middle school, in my opinion you should never stop learning.
So lets get started.
If you want to continue on to the vocabulary words below be my guest, but if you want them to stick make time for this project I created.
- Project -
Step 1. Get your hands on some watercolor paper cards, thicker cards if you're an acrylic painter or just some regular flash cards.
Step 2. Write the definition on one side.
Step 3. Here's the fun part. For the other side of the card, on the opposite side of the definition think about the definition.
Step 4: Based on the definition for that card determine what you can draw/ paint on the opposite side to stick the definition in your brain foreverrrrr.
For example: If one of my vocabulary words says "Gradated Washes". Write the definition on one side and on the other side make an actual gradated wash of color.
- Glossary of Common Watercolor Terms -
Analogous colors: colors that are closely related on the color wheel.
Casein: a fast-drying, water-soluble paint derived from milk protein, or casein.
Charging: technique that involves mixing two or more colors directly on the paper instead of premixing on a palette.
Cold-pressed paper: lightly textured paper that absorbs paint and water.
Complementary colors: colors directly across from each other on the color wheel.
Drybrush technique: brushwork done on the dry surface of the paper.
Flat Wash: brushing successive strokes of color on a wet or dry surface, with each stroke placed next to the other, to create an even layer of color.
Glazing: applying thin, transparent washes of one color over another color.
Gradated wash: a wash in which the value gradually changes from dark to light.
Granulation: speckled effect when coarse pigment settles into the paper indentations as the paint dries.
Gouache (or body color): an opaque watercolor that can be applied thick or thin.
Hard edge: the outer perimeter of a shape or series of shapes, sharply defined.
Hot-pressed paper: smooth, slick paper that doesn’t easily absorb paint and water.
Hue: a color’s common name (for example, cadmium red).
Intensity: a color’s saturation, brightness or strength.
Layering: applying premixed colors over another wash to change its value or intensity.
Lifting paint: a technique for removing paint from a surface with a brush, paper towel or tissue in order to correct mistakes, develop textures, create highlights or change values.
Lost and found edges: also called broken or inferred edges; used to create and suggest movement.
Masking fluid: liquid latex used to preserve the white of the paper and to create textures.
Palette: surface on which watercolors are mixed and/or stored.
Palette knife: small spatula-style knife used to apply or remove paint, or to add texture.
Pan Paint: small cakes of watercolor paint that come in half-pan or whole-pan sizes.
Pigment: dry coloring matter, usually an insoluble powder, that’s mixed with water and gum Arabic to create paint.
Rough paper: heavily textured paper.
Soft edge: fading or disappearing edge.
Scrubbing: a dry-brush technique used to lift paint from or add color to an area of the surface.
Staining Colors: colors that absorb into the paper before the water has had a chance to evaporate; they’re difficult to lift and will leave a stain on the paper.
Temperature: the warmness or coolness of a color, depending on where the color is situated on the color wheel.
Tint: created by adding water to the original color; the more water that’s added, the weaker the intensity.
Transparent paint: consists of pigment mixed with gum arabic, glycerin and a wetting agent.
Value: a color’s relative lightness or darkness.
Variegated wash: type of wet-into-wet wash that involves placing colors side by side and then mixing and blending them along their edges.
Wet-into-dry wash: also known as a glaze or layering wash; a wash that’s applied to a dry surface.
Wet-into-wet wash: painting on a wet surface and letting colors blend as they may; looks strong and vibrant while wet but loses intensity when the colors dry. Make sure your brushes hold lots of water for this technique.
YUPO: a “plastic” paper that doesn’t easily absorb paint and water.
- Glossary of Common Acrylic Terms -
Artist grade paint: Also known as professional grade paint. This is the best quality paint with the highest amount of pigment, and consequently the most expensive.
Binder: Paint is made up of pigment and binder and the binder is what holds the paint together.
Complementary colours: Complementary colours are opposite each other on the colour wheel (see the image below). Examples of pairs of complementary colours include red and green, orange and blue, and yellow and purple.
Craft paint: This is the cheapest kind of acrylic paint and contains the least pigment. It’s available in a huge range of colours.
Fluid paint: Also known as soft body paint. As the name suggests, this paint has a more fluid texture than heavy body. Fluid acrylics tend to level out on the painting surface, meaning they don’t hold brush strokes or texture.
Gesso: Gesso is a gritty substance that is painted onto canvases or other surfaces and helps the acrylic paint stick. White gesso is commonly used, but black and clear are also available.
Ground: Also known as the primer. The ground is used to prepare the surface for painting on. Gesso is a ground.
Heavy body paint: Heavy body paint has a thicker texture than fluid paint, and is spreadable like soft butter. It often comes in tubes (or in tubs in larger quantities).
Hue: A hue is a pure colour, like those you would find on a colour wheel. (See the colour wheel image above.)
Impasto: Impasto is a technique commonly associated with oil painting, and it involves applying paint thickly, often with a palette knife, so lots of texture remains.
Medium: This is something that is added to acrylic paint to achieve a certain outcome, such as making the paint dry more slowly or look glossier.
Opacity: If something is opaque, it isn’t see through. The higher the opacity of the paint, the less you will be able to see through it to what is behind (ie the canvas or another colour).
Open time: The open time is how long the paint remains wet on the canvas. This isn’t very long for acrylic paint. To blend colours together you need to either work quickly or use a medium to slow the drying time.
Palette: A flat surface used to hold your paint ready for painting. This might be plastic or treated wood, or even a piece of wax paper! Stay-wet palettes are really useful when working with acrylics, as they hold a piece of damp paper that stops the paint drying so quickly.
Permanence: This is how well the paint holds up over time in terms of fading and colour-shift. The higher the permanence rating, the better a paint should last.
Pigment: This is the substance in paint that gives it its colour. Some paints are more expensive because the pigment is an expensive material. Better quality paints also tend to be more expensive because they contain more pigment.
Primary colour: There are three primary colours from which all other colours can be mixed. These are red, yellow, and blue. You can’t mix pure red, yellow, or blue from other colours.
Primer: Also known as the ground. The primer is used to prepare the surface for painting on. Gesso is a primer.
Professional grade paint: Also known as professional grade paint. This is the best quality paint with the highest amount of pigment, and consequently the most expensive.
Secondary colours: These are made by mixing the primary colours. They are as follows:
Soft body paint: Also known as fluid paint. As the name suggests, this paint has a softer texture than heavy body. Soft body acrylics tend to level out on the surface, meaning they don’t hold brush strokes or texture.
Shade: To make a shade, you add black to a colour.
Student grade paint: These paints are ideal for experimenting with as a hobbyist. Although they have less pigment than artist grade paints, you can still achieve good colour mixes and make great paintings.
Tertiary colours: These 6 colours are made when you mix a primary colour and its nearest secondary colour. They are as follows:
Tint: To make a tint, you add white to a colour.
Tone: To make a tone, you add grey to a colour (so you’re adding black and white).
Tooth: This is the texture of the painting surface. If you look closely at a canvas, you can see it has quite a rough texture. This helps the paint stick to the surface. You can give a smooth surface some tooth (teeth?!) by painting it with gesso.
Transparency: If something is transparent, it’s see through. The higher the transparency of the paint, the more you will be able to see through it to what is behind (ie the canvas or another colour).
Underpainting: Acrylic paintings are generally made up of layers. The underpainting is an initial layer of paint that is intended to be painted over. (Like underwear on a person, you can’t see the underpainting but it’s important nonetheless!)
Wash: This is thinned-down paint used to cover a large surface.
Ref. Birchandbutton
- Glossary of Common Oil Terms -
Alkyd mediums – (Pronounced: al-kid) an alkyd is a synthetic resin that can be added to oil paint to speed up the drying time of the paints.
Alkyd Paints – these paints are commonly known as fast drying oil colour and can be handy if you work quickly or have a tight deadline for a client!
Pro tip: Alkyd oil paints have been developed more for the hobby market so the quality of the pigments used can often be less intense than standard artist quality paints. Gamblin have produced a lovely paint called ‘fast matte.’ It is both fast drying, artist quality and dries with a matte finish. This is very handy if you are going to paint on top with standard oils because the matte surface gives you a ‘grab’ for the paint to form a strong bond.
(nerd alert – the Alkyd is called a resin because it dries by solvent evaporation, rather than oxidation (exposure to air) like an oil.
Alla Prima – (Pronounced: ah-luh pree-ma) this is an Italian phrase that describes a painting created entirely in one sitting, it translates as ‘at the first’. Usually, there isn’t any underpainting to the piece and is created in one go.
Binder – the substance mixed with the dry pigment which holds together (binds) the pigment colour and helps the paint to stick to the support. For oil paint, the binder is usually cold-pressed Linseed oil. (For egg tempera painting, the binder is an egg, yes, egg!)
Bloom – a dull, progressively opaque, white effect that can appear on varnished surfaces if the paintings are kept in damp conditions.
Brushwork – this describes the characteristic way that each artist paints. It is like your personal signature to your painting.
Campitura – An even, opaque, flat tone applied to the canvas by mixing coloured pigment with white gesso primer layer to create a tinted coloured ground.
Chiaroscuro – (Pronounced: key-ARE-oh-SCURE-oh) an Italian word literally meaning “light dark”. Most usually used to describe a painting created with strong contrasts, such as Caravaggio.
Cold pressed linseed oil – oil often used in the grinding process of oil paints, the oil is extracted from Flaxseed, without the use of heat. The process takes longer than extracting using heat but is a purer oil.
Colour Field Painting – a style of painting prominent from the 1950’s through the 1970’s, featuring large “fields” or areas of oil colour, meant to evoke an aesthetic or emotional response through the colour alone.
Copal – this is a natural resin, used in making varnishes and painting mediums.
Couche – a thin layer of medium or oil that you can paint thin glazes into whilst the medium is still wet, commonly called ‘laying down a couche’
Craquelure – (Pronounced: krak-loo r) this is the term used to describe the tiny cracks and fine lines covering the surface of old oil paintings. They are caused by the shrinking and movement of the ground and the oil paint surface.
Crazing – very fine surface cracks or lines that appear on the surface of a varnish film due to unequal drying times.
Dammar – a natural resin, used in making mediums and varnishes. Dammar can also be spelt Damar.
Dead colouring – a term used to describe the under-painting of a painting, when using a lean oil paint mix. The mix is usually diluted with turpentine or OMS which evaporates quickly leaving a matte appearance. It allows you to quickly establish the tonal values using a thin application.
Drier – a material that speeds up the drying time of the oil paint. Traditionally, driers were cobalt driers, but now they are often Alkyd resin dryers.
Dry Brush – an effect when you have very little moisture on your brush to apply the paint. When you use a dry brush you need more of a scrubbing motion and it leaves a broken colour effect.
Drying time – how long the paints take to dry. Different oil paints contain different quantities of oil binder, depending on how easily the raw ingredients ‘mix in’ with the oil. So some paints are fast dryers (such as Burnt umber) and others are slow drying (Ivory black).
Drying oils: oils such as Linseed oil, Walnut oil and Poppy oil that have the chemical properties of creating a solid, elastic surface when exposed to air (oxidization). Non-drying oils – unsuitable for oil painting are Olive oil and Almond oil.
Egg tempera painting – egg (either whole, yolk or white) can be used as a pigment binder. Tempera painting was very popular until the late fifteenth century.
Fat – this describes the oil content in paints, for example, Burnt umber has a ‘low fat’ oil content, so it is a fast drying oil paint because there is less oil in the paint mixture to oxidise and dry. Ivory black has a ‘high fat’ oil content so takes longer to dry.
Fat over lean – means that each succeeding layer of paint should have more ‘fat – oil’ than the preceding layer. If you are painting in an indirect method (working in layers rather than all in one go – alla prima) you need to adhere to this rule to prevent cracking.
Film – a fine layer of paint or varnish that has hardened. Too little binder in the paint can cause a ‘weak paint film’.
Flat colour – paint applied in a solid, flat colour, like the paint on your wall at home.
Fugitive pigment – a phrase used to describe a pigment’s impermanence and tendency to fade or change colour under the influence of natural effects such as sunlight, heat, water, etc.
Reynolds famously has many portraits that have lost the skin tones because he used Alizarin crimson which was a fugitive pigment, however, modern Permanent Alizarin crimson has a permanence A.
AA – Extremely Permanent
A – Permanent
B – Moderately Durable
C – Fugitive
Note: this should not be confused with Lightfastness which is how the pigment is affected by light alone, although often they tend to cross over.
Gallery Tone – the yellowish colour of old paintings usually caused by the ageing of natural resins used in a painting or varnish.
Gesso – traditional oil gesso is a mixture of glue (usually rabbit skin) water, and chalk (calcium carbonate) used to create a flexible, yet absorbent surface for the oil paint to be applied onto.
Glass Muller – a glass muller is needed when grinding paint by hand and to coat the dry pigment in medium. The base of the muller has been sandblasted to form a slight roughness and is usually slightly curved. The surface you grind on to, usually glass, can often be slightly textured to help with the grinding process.
Gloss – the appearance in sheen of the paint or varnish. For example, Alizarin crimson has a glossy surface when dry.
Glazes – the term used for a thin, transparent layer of paint. Glazes are used on top of one another to build up depth and modify colours in a painting. A glaze must be completely dry before another is applied on top. Traditionally glazes were used on top of a black and white under-painting called a Grisaille, thin layers of colours were then applied once the initial form had been established. The best paints to use for glazes are pigments that have a translucent quality.
Grinding colours – a process of grinding dry pigment with a binder, usually mixed initially with a palette knife and then mulled down to a thinner, smoother consistency with a glass muller or marble slab.
Grisaille – (Pronounced: griz-zai) a monochromatic oil painting which is often used in underpaintings or as a black & white painting technique.
Ground – a thin layer of paint, applied to a support to make it ready for painting, can be white but I prefer to use a coloured ground.
Half paste – a semi-translucent coat of paint that allows the dry underpainting to appear as if through a mist. Sometimes called a Velatura.
Hue – labelling on a paint tube that denotes a combination of less expensive pigments that closely imitates the mass tone of a more expensive pigment, not to be confused with Hue when describing colours, as in the perceived colour of an object, the lemon has a yellow hue.
Impasto – the texture created in a painted surface by the movement of the brush. Impasto usually implies thick, heavy brushwork, but the term also refers to the crisp, delicate textures found in smoother paint surfaces.
Imprimatura – (Pronounced: im-pree-muh-tur-uh) an initial stain of oil colour painted on a white ground which provides you with a transparent toned ground. It is similar to a coloured ground but more transparent. It comes from the Italian for ‘first paint layer’. Often, the initial stain of colour painted on a ground is left visible in areas of the finished painting.
Inpainting – this is a painting technique commonly used by conservators to unify a painting that has suffered paint loss and refers to paint applied over damaged areas only.
Laying out – refers to either ‘laying out your colours’ on to palette (setting the paint out) or, laying out your composition, which was traditionally done with cut out drawings on paper.
Lean – a term used to describe the low oil content in paints and mediums. Thinning with solvent results in a lower oil content to the paint mix, therefore a leaner mix.
Lean paint – a paint layer or paint that has a reduced oil (fat) content.
Lightfastness – lightfastness is the chemical stability of the pigment under long exposure to light. Artist quality paints are often rated according to the Blue Wool Scale (U.K) or American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM)
LIGHTFASTNESS KEY:
I – Excellent lightfastness
II – Very good lightfastness
III – Fair lightfastness
Lining – a conservation term for placing a new canvas on the back of a deteriorating original oil painting.
Litharge – a powdered form of lead used in making black oil (used as a basis for various Old Master mediums)
Mahl stick – (Pronounced: mar-hl) a wooden stick used to lean on when painting fine details. It has a long handle with a pad at one end, you rest this end on a dry area of the canvas to help steady your painting arm when painting a detailed, controlled part. You can simply make your own by tightly wrapping a cotton wool in a ball around the end of a length of wooden dowel. Cover the cotton wool with a piece of fabric or chamois and you will be Old Master a go-go!
Mass Tone – the undiluted colour of a pigment or paint when it’s in a large blob. Also known as mass colour.
Medium – the mixture that you add to your paint to dilute it, or to change consistency, drying time & working properties.
Monochrome – a painting created in a range of tints and tones of a single colour.
Natural varnish: tree resins (Mastic and Dammar), fossil resins (Copal and Amber), and insect resin secretions (Shellac).
Oiling out – this is where you paint a very thin coat of medium over the painting to bring the colours back to how they looked when you first painted them.
Paint body – description of the consistency of the paint, a thicker paint is described as having “a lot of body”. Just the same as Golden paints describe their thicker acrylics as ‘heavy body’.
Painting Knives – similar to Palette knives, but used more for applying paint directly to the canvas rather than mixing colours.
Plein air – (Pronounced: plen-air) a painting created outside rather than in a studio. The term comes from the French ‘en plein air’ meaning ‘in the open air’.
Pigment – pigment is the substance or powder that makes up the colour of a paint. Pigments are either organic (carbon-based) or inorganic (mineral based).
Priming – the application of sizes and/or grounds to a support to prepare the painting’s surface, modify its absorbency, texture and colour before you start painting.
Refined Linseed Oil – made from the seeds of the flax plant. It adds gloss and transparency to paints and is available in several forms. It dries very thoroughly, making it ideal for underpainting and initial layers in a painting. Refined linseed oil is a popular, all-purpose, pale to light yellow oil which dries within three to five days.
Retouching – the work done by a restorer to replace areas of loss or damage in a painting.
Scumble – very thin layer of opaque or semi-opaque paint that partially hides the under-layer. Scumbling is the painting technique where a thin or broken layer of colour is brushed over another so that patches of the colour beneath show through. It can be done with a dry brush, or by removing bits of paint with a cloth. Curious about this technique? Click here
Sfumato – (Pronounced: sfoo-mah-toe) from the Italian word for “smoke.” Sfumato is a technique of painting in thin glazes to achieve a hazy, cloudy atmosphere, often to represent objects or landscape meant to be perceived as distant from the picture plane.
Sight-size – a painting technique where the key idea is that your eye needs to be able to see both the canvas and the subject in one glance, so they both appear the same size. This makes it easier to flick your eyes between the subject and your painting for judging shape, proportions and colours. The artists viewing position is roughly 6 – 12 feet away from the setup, so you step forward to make a mark and then step back to observe your painting again. This results in a more painterly, naturalistic finish.
Sinking in – this happens when the paint medium is absorbed by the underlying layer of paint, this could be due to a too absorbent or unevenly applied absorbent ground. The resulting appearance is a visually inconsistent surface, some parts shiny, some parts matte.
Size – a glue applied to fabric (canvas) or paper before priming to seal and protect it from the corrosive oil in the ground and paint. It’s also used to seal wood panels before painting.
Acrylic Size is available which is water-based, odourless, archival and comes premixed. Animal lovers avert your eyes!!! Traditionally artists used rabbit skin glue, be warned if you want to give this a go as we did at art college, it is very, very, smelly, as to apply it you have to warm it up.
Turpentine (spirits) – the traditional solvent or thinner for a drying oil (such as Linseed oil) distilled from the resin from certain trees, e.g the European larch, white fir, and American longleaf pine. It is used to ‘cut through’ the oil in oil paints, however, due to this ability, it has a strong solvent smell so is best used in a well-ventilated area. Alternatively, I would suggest using an Odorless Mineral Spirit such as Gamsol, a safe solvent that allows oil painters to use most traditional painting techniques without compromising on the vapours.
Underpainting – the initial stage or first layer of an oil painting commonly executed using a monochrome or dead colour as a base for the composition.
Value – the lightness or darkness of a colour, rather than the actual colour.
Varnish – a final layer that can be applied to a finished painting. A varnish protects a painting from environmental dirt and dust and is removable for cleaning and conservation purposes.
Velatura – (Pronounced: vella-tora) essentially glazing with an opaque paint. A method of adjusting colours by applying semi-opaque or opaque layers of paint over an area of dry paint. It’s a bit like a mix between a scumble and a glaze.
Verdaccio – (Pronounced: ver-dar-cheo) an Italian name used to describe a muted earth green used for creating a complete monochromatic underpainting. Often used as a nice base to apply warm, pinker tones on top of portraits.
Yellowing – this effect on oil paintings is usually caused by one of three reasons: excessive use of linseed oil medium; applying any of the varnishes that are prone to yellow with age; or most often – an accumulation of dirt embedded into the varnish.
Ref: willkempartschool
- Until next time -
]]>As a native El Pasoan, m y h e a r t i s b r e a k i n g this weekend. On Saturday, an angry person opened fire in a busy Walmart in my hometown. There was then a mass shooting in Dayton, Ohio thirteen hours later. People were injured, people are missing, and people died.
I am not going to talk about politics (don’t @ me). This is an art blog. I am going to talk about art.
As first responders rush to help victims and businesses open their doors to those in need, I want to remind you all that the artists also have a critical role in the healing of a community in the face of tragedy. I am not just talking about personal therapy either; I’m talking about tangible make-the-world-better-we-need-your-talent help.
I want to talk about some ways I have seen artists step up this weekend. I am proud to be an El Pasoan, and I have also found that I a m s o p r o u d to be a part of the creative community.
C A T H A R T I C E M P A T H Y
I was so moved when I saw this image circulating social media. It is a depiction of our beloved city’s mascots (Amigo Man - City of El Paso; Chico the Chihuahua - El Paso Chihuahuas; and Paydirt Pete - The University of Texas at El Paso) mourning. This image represents a broken people mourning their lost in a way that I believe is much more profound than anything that could be articulated in words. I can guarantee you this illustration will have its place in El Paso canon for decades to come.
T H E R E I S S T R E N G T H I N N U M B E R S
El Paso and Dayton are large cities at populations of 840,758 and 140,371, respectively. But when disaster strikes, the largest world becomes small. It is no small debt that we owe the artists that spring into action to provide a way for us to immediately show solidarity - yes, I am talking solidarity in the form of social media image templates. We live in a brave new world, and this is our culture’s flag in the yard and colored ribbon wearing (please do not misinterpret this as me saying there isn’t room for those expressions of solidarity as well). It is a small way for everyone to know who is crying with us and whom we can also be praying for.
D O N A T I O N S
Within hours I saw funeral homes and other professionals offering their services for free. Blood donation centers had so many donors they had to turn people away or ask them to book appointments for giving. Across the country people were ready to lend a hand and a shoulder to cry on. Local creatives at Viva La Mocha designed and sold these shirts with 100% of the proceeds going to help the victims. In the process, they also raised awareness for a local nonprofit where monetary donations can be made directly. As of the writing of this article, less than 24 hours later, the shirt is no longer live on their website. The speed with which this shirt sold out is a testament to the magnitude of support abounding. I don’t work in a directly applicable industry, and I have a medical condition that prevents me from donating blood, but I can buy a t-shirt. I am grateful for the opportunity to be able to donate monetarily, and I will wear this shirt with the intention of sparking a conversation with anyone who will listen to me talk about the issues impacting the border region.
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Never say you are “just an artist”. Art matters, and art can heal. Has a piece of art ever helped you cope with a hard season? I want to hear about it; please share in the comments. I could use with some heartwarming stories.
I am with you, Dayton.
I love you, El Paso.
B Y : B R I T T N E Y E S P I N O Z A
]]>Imposter syndrome is real. I can guarantee that you’ve felt it at some point in your life – even if you ended up here by accident and don’t dabble in the arts (stick around anyway).
W h a t i s i m p o s t e r s y n d r o m e ? It’s what you feel every time you get a compliment you don’t think you deserve. It’s the reason you think twice about putting that accomplishment on Facebook, because you are convinced no one who knew you when you were starting out will believe it is legitimate. It’s being bummed that your favorite sweater is stretched out or shrunken because there is no way you lost or gained that much weight, no matter how hard you worked.
Imposter syndrome is the psychological phenomenon that makes someone who has achieved something noteworthy feel like it’s either not a big deal or that others will think they are a fraud.
When it comes to art, I t h i n k t h e r e a r e t w o m a i n r e a s o n s we can feel this way: either we see others who are so much better than us (newsflash - there will ALWAYS be someone better than you) no matter how much we try, and/or because we will always be our own harshest critics (pro tip - once your work is 80 percent done, the lay person will never know it’s not done unless you tell them). Want to know a secret? I reread that last sentence and thought, “There is no way anyone will take me seriously as a writer with crazy long sentences like that.” The struggle is real.
What I’ve found is that sometimes the best encouragement comes from o u t s i d e o f y o u r f i e l d . If your encourager is also an artist and they are “better” than you, you feel like they are just humoring you with their kind words. If they are a “weaker” artist, you feel like they have no authority to say one way or the other anyway. Why are we so cruel to ourselves?
I am a studio art major, and the temptation to feel like a fraud can be so easy to give into. I have brilliant classmates, and I have seen the superior work my professors did when they were my age. In order to keep the Smoke Monster (Lost, anyone?) in my brain from getting me, there are a few quotes I constantly refer to that have made all the difference. None of them are from artists, art blogs, or even about art – and I think that is precisely why they are so helpful.
I’m going to share them with you below and then leave you to your thoughts. I hope they bring you as much peace as they have brought me. I encourage you to find your own. Share them in the comments! Write them down somewhere you will see them often, maybe the sketchbook you put your color swatches in. Putting these in places you’re certain to run across when you’re creating can mean getting the right encouragement when you most need it, even if you don’t realize you should be looking for it. Y o u a r e n o t a n i m p o s t e r . I promise.
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“Boredom is the enemy, not failure.”
– The 4-Hour Workweek by Timothy Farris
The opposite of success is not failure, it’s boredom. A lack of inspiration or initiative is far worse than a failed piece of art.
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“Talent isn’t enough, she had told us. Writing is work. Anyone can do this, anyone can learn to do this. It’s not rocket science; it's habits of mind and habits of work. I started with people much more talented than me, she said, and they’re dead or in jail or not writing. The difference between me and them is that I’m writing.”
I am going to stay in my lane and keep on creating.
B Y : B R I T T N E Y E S P I N O Z A
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From the b l a c k panther who lives in the dense tropical forests of Southeast Asia, to the Brazilian pumpkin toads with florescent bones in the Amazon, the color of an animal is very much affected by it's environment.
Colors have an important clue to each animals place in their ecosystem. The hues, shades and brightness of the animal kingdom help nurture, protect, and prey on it's food.
Colors also display good health to other possible mates.
S T R U C T U R A L COLORS
The color of skin, scales, fur and feathers come from two different sources; pigments and structur
P R O T I P - If you are painting an animal that has structural color, it would be helpful to enlarge scientific photos to analyze how many colors you can see and strategize your technique, so that it is accurate of the animals true colors.
PIGMENTS AND STRUCTURAL COLORS
Few animals have b o t h pigments and structural colors with the exception the hummingbird.
P R O T I P - Keep in mind when painting feathers where the light source is coming from on the paper, in relation to the movement and angle of the feathers to the perceiver.
P I G M E N T S
As with plants, the pigments contained in the animals skin, fur feathers cause certain wavelengths of light to be absorbed and others reflected. Melanin is responsible for the darker pigments such as black, brown, beige and auburns, but it's not responsible for the bright colors.
Brighter pigments can be affected by what the animal eats such as berries. The pigments in berries are stored in a cardinals feather follicles to keep them bright red.
If you held a cardinal in captivity and only fed it seeds, you would see their color in their feathers fade away.
In contrast why do you think a parakeet can keep it's colors even when eating seeds and in captivity...hmmmm.
And who knew, that flamingos feathers get their pink feathers from the shrimp that they eat. Stomach acids in the flamingo turn the shrimp bright pink in their stomach and create their pigment similar to the cardinal.
D I D Y O U K N O W - The poison dart frog secretes it's poison through it's brightly colored skin. The intensity of the poison correlates to how bright it's color is and and how poisonous it is. Can you guess which color frog can kill 10 grown men? The one that is a bright golden yellow.
Researching your animal before painting or drawing, can give you some important clues on their color and surroundings and may make it more interesting and fun, if you know why they have certain colors in the first place.
K e y T a k e a w a y s:
1. Limited Palette - for those of you with a limited palette consider this a gift! Now you have the colors that you need to finish your piece.
2. Know Your Subjects
3. The Devil Is In The Detail - understanding the subject automatically elevates the caliber of your outcome. You're not just drawing a beautiful vibrant cardinal anymore, the plot thickens. He's a cardinal held in captivity and all of a sudden you find yourself dipping your brush in grey. This is next level stuff. Your artwork now has a story.
4. Don't Pick Up Any Bright Yellow Frogs.
5. Research If Your Subject Has Structural Colors, Pigmented Colors or Both
By: Christiaan Torrez Korsgaard
References:
Eckstut, J. (2013). The Secret Language of Color. Science, Nature, History. Publishedby Black Dog Leventhal Publishers, Inc.
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I h a v e a c o n f e s s i o n t o m a k e : I can be a punk. What I mean by that is, I have been known to ignore good advice because I think I know better. Deep down, I hope that’s something we all need to confess from time to time - but who knows, it may just be my status as a mere mortal.
Now, I can’t make a confession and then not provide an example, but we’ll get there. As you’ve already gathered from the title of this post, I am going to be talking some more about color theory. If you missed the first part of the series, you can read it here.
I was excited when Hannah, the owner, included a link to a video by Lisa Clough, the artist behind Lachri Fine Art, in her newsletter this week. If you don’t already receive the newsletter, you’re missing out on all Dynamic Distractions behind-the-scenes content; I recommend you sign up here at the bottom of the page.
I have been a fan of Lisa’s for a while, and I credit her with improving my painting technique almost over night. You would think I would defer to her advice on almost everything, right? But alas, I am a punk...
That brings me to today’s topic: Using black and white paint to enhance color mixing.
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T H E M Y T H S W E A L L B E L I E V E A T
S O M E P O I N T :
A D D B L A C K P A I N T T O M A K E
A C O L O R D A R K E R
B e l i e v i n g t h i s m y t h is why my friends and I were led to believe that the colors green and purple were evil in high school. When we added black paint to create a darker green, we got an ugly muddy mess; when we added white, it produced a miserable cloudy pastel.
Now there are going to be some exceptions to what I am about to tell you, but I promise this will work better than your reliance on good ol’ black paint. For those of you shouting at the screen saying that black paint out of the tube shouldn’t exist all - your point of view will be recognized in due time.
Remember our friends, the color wheel and complementary colors? While complementary colors provide a good guide for aesthetically pleasing companions, they serve - what may be - a more important function: adding a color’s complementary color creates a harmonious darker hue of the color. For example - instead of adding black to our shade of green, we should have added red.
For some colors, black will be the right answer - or at least not the wrong one - but that will be the exception and not the rule.
I practice what I preach and below are some swatches I created for a painting I am working on. They aren’t pretty (yours don’t need to be either), but the swatches are made to make your life easier, not to create more work. I created scales using black and white with my base colors (pyrrole red and phthalo green) and a swatch scale that combines the complementary colors in different ratios. If you’d like me to discuss my ratio notations, let me know in the comments below. You’ll notice I struggled with the opacity of the green a bit; I will discuss how I overcame that problem in a future post.
Protip: Like my (mostly) crisp lines? I used an angled brush like the (⅜) angled brush in the Dynamic Distraction Artist Acrylic Brush Set. This brush allows me to get precise lines and sharp corners, while still having the surface area to quickly fill in the square.
A L L B L A C K A N D W H I T E P A I N T
I S C R E A T E D E Q U A L
W H I T E S
Now we are getting to the center of my confession. I thought white paint, was white paint, was white paint. Watch Lisa Clough’s YouTube videos for long enough and you will hear her say multiple times that she almost never uses titanium white and almost always uses transparent mixing white. I was a titanium white purist, did I really need multiple whites? Then, there was dancing in the Lachri Art Community when Liquitex released Transparent Mixing White in Liquitex Basics.
I had to know what the fuss was about. I finally gave in and purchased a tube for myself. My life was forever shook. I was no longer prisoner to milky pastels; transparent mixing white created a lighter value without a desaturation of the color.
B L A C K S
There is a popular belief that there is no reason to ever own a tube or pan of black paint. Yes, you can mix convincing blacks, but honestly, I keep it around for convenience. What I will almost never do is apply the black straight from the tube to my paper or canvas. I like to add purple, blue, or red when using black. While this value shift is barely perceptible, it adds dimension to the color and mitigates the optical illusion that the black is dusty or not dark enough.
O O P S! T O O D A R K.
L E T M E A D D S O M E W H I T E . . .
This will be short and sweet. If you add black or white to a color, DO NOT add the other with the expectation that it will reverse the darkening or lightening. If you add black or white after you have added the other, it is the equivalent of adding gray to your color. The result will be a desaturated color, which is usually not what you are going for. If you add too much black or white, you will need to start over with fresh paint. To prevent this from happening, be very conservative with the increments in which you add the black/white.
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I am happy to report that I am now a recovering punk - a recovering punk that has a lot less headaches due to color value issues. I spoke briefly about different options for white paint, but next I want to break down the exact differences between your white and black options and what their ideal uses are.
B Y : B R I T T N E Y E S P I N O Z A
In high school, my friends and I created this running list of rules to live by, including:
As an adult, I can tell you our rules were right - green IS evil - but it didn’t have to be if we had known our color theory. We were working on a mural, and the green paint never seemed to be opaque, dark, light, or anything else for that matter, enough.
It wasn’t until six years later when I took my first design class that I learned why. You don’t need to have formal training to be a great artist or pick up the hobby of painting, so I want to share some color tips you might not know to help lessen the number of times you need to say “why isn’t this working?” After all, at Dynamic Distractions, we believe art should be soothing, restorative, and fun!
T H E B A S I C B A S I C S:
What We Need To Know Before the Application Tips
T h i s i s t h e c o l o r w h e e l. You might recognize it, but maybe you’ve never learned how to use it. Katelyn already wrote a great article about how colors are a great way to process emotions, now let’s talk about how to get those different colors.
P R I M A R Y C O L O R S
Depending on whom you ask, the primary colors are:
A h y e s, a r i v a l r y a s o l d a s t i m e. Want to start a bar fight? Walk into an art gallery mixer and announce with authority that you are team RBY or team CYM. I won’t get into the science here, but it has to do with light versus pigment. Let me know in the comments if that’s something you want to know more about and maybe I can cover the science in a future post.
Technically, these are the colors you can’t get mixing any other colors together - think prime numbers in math. I say technically because when talking about paint, made from pigments, you can get red and blue from CYM...I think you can guess which team I’m on.
S E C O N D A R Y a n d T E R T I A R Y C O L O R S
Secondary colors are the colors you get when you mix two primary colors together:
Tertiary colors are the colors you get when you mix a primary and secondary color together.
C O M P L I M E N T A R Y C O L O R S
Complimentary colors are colors opposite each other on the color wheel:
And so on…
Notice how pleasing those colors look when paired with their compliment.
I ’ m g o i n g t o e n c o u r a g e y o u t o p r a c t i c e some of these mixing tips, and a great place to do that is in a sketchbook. If you keep your swatches/guides in the same place, you can reference them whenever you are painting. Trust me. It saves a lot of time in the future. I've been painting for years and still pull out my swatches from time to time.
I s u g g e s t u s i n g t h e Spiral Bound Watercolor Pad for Wet, Dry, and Mixed Media! This sketchbook is great because the 140lb paper can handle all your mediums, and it has both smooth and textured surfaces in the same book. This means you can try mixing all your usual supplies in the same place on different surface types to reference. I like that it’s spiral bound because it takes up less space on my workstation when turned on itself.
T r y p a i n t i n g t h e c o l o r w h e e l o n y o u r o w n by mixing primary, secondary, and tertiary colors. Nail this down and you are well on your way to having all the colors at a much smaller cost! Use whichever medium(s) you like best.
Pro tip: I suggest cadmium red deep, cadmium yellow, and ultramarine blue in whichever brand and medium. These are the closest pigments to primary red, yellow, and blue.
Next, I’ll be writing about black and white paint options along with color shades.
By: Brittney Espinoza
]]>As the saying goes, hindsight is 20/20. A quick review of some of the prose put forward by this collection of master artists yields some invaluable reminders. Why fumble through your artist’s journey alone when plenty have come before you? You are a part of a much larger tribe of creative folks and thus a long tradition of wisdom to call upon.
But don’t take my advice. Forage below from these quotes said by the master artists themselves:
Painting is just another way of keeping a diary.
(Image: Seated Bather (1930), Pablo Picasso)
Ugh… as an artist, writing is something I wish I did more. I used to journal quite a bit as a pre-teen, to a maddening degree, actually and often unintelligibly. But all the same, many a hot-pink satin diaries have been filled and filed away under tiny lockets and keys. I don’t know exactly how I maintained such a textbook-therapeutic routine for so long but these days, it seems impossible to find the time and motivation to get back to this basic. Now, when I do make the time, I’m often so out of practice that what comes out is a professionalistic legalese of sorts. I’m so used to crafting correspondence for my day job that I’m finding it hard to locate words big enough to embody how I’m feeling on a deeper level.
Needless to say, coming across this quote by Pablo Picasso was quite encouraging. What it reminds me is that there is, of course, more than one way to express one’s self. Let’s choose to track time passing, creatively.
Consider the current craze of adult coloring books. I totally get what the hype is all about. I was and still am the one who asks the restaurant waiter for another box of crayons so I can lean over my younger cousins and color in their pre-stenciled kids’ menus. It has always soothed me and felt low-risk: like I didn’t have much to prove and I didn’t need to have a finished product at the end of it. Borrowing this, I challenge you to craft your own pre-outlined activity pages.
Here we go!
Do you see how low-stakes it all can be? Allow these in-between moments (while waiting in a doctor’s office, for your food at a restaurant, or for your kid to finished breakfast in the morning) to be building blocks in your artist journey. Suddenly workplace to-do or household grocery lists can continue to serve you in your creative space. Use these scribbled lists as the first layer of a painting that will immediately take on incredible dimensionality each time you return to it.
Don’t worry about making something interpretable. In fact, painting as a form of journaling might even prove safer and more fulfilling when left encrypted. So much can be lost when we try to be straight forward in a fantastically roundabout world.
I've been absolutely terrified every moment of my life - and I've never let it keep me from doing a single thing I wanted to do.
(Image: Deer’s Skull with Pedernal (1936), Georgia O’Keefe)
This is so important to hear from someone classified as a great. For me, terror is very much a frequent flier that sits at the front plane of my mind, especially at times when I’m trying to be creative. I’ve always thought that part of the key to successfully reaching the next level of my artistry was to do away with terror/fear/imposter-syndrome entirely. Here Georgia reassures me to do otherwise: be afraid and do it anyhow.
In fact, this guidance reminds me of another artist that I’ve looked to for advice: a contemporary writer named Elizabeth Gilbert, who is best known for her travel memoir Eat, Pray, Love. In her manifesto on being a creative, Big Magic, she discusses her relationship to Fear, personified. And I paraphrase from memory: Fear is someone who comes with you on a road trip. But fear sits in the back seat. It can’t touch the radio, comment on your driving and surely has no control over navigating to where you are going.
Essentially, if fear must be present - because apparently, it is here to stay! - then let us, at least, come into a mutual arrangement with it.
We’ve all done this with difficult colleagues, friends, or family members, right? And we’ve learned, even from childhood that what you focus on is what you get. So, when cantankerous colleagues of ours are being obnoxious, one must be careful in how we approach them. Flat out ignoring them might encourage them, just as focusing on them might rev up their flailing need for negative attention. But occasionally, with some strategy in your approach and some thought behind how you address them, there’s comes an opportunity to neutralize the effect that they have on you. My WebMD/self-therapist would say, we are talking about boundaries here.
So, following the inspiration of Master O’Keefe, and in line with the self-help section of any library, I challenge you to outline what your boundaries will be with our new friend/colleague/family member in-law, Terror. I’m going to call Terror, “Tee”. Here are some questions to get you started:
It may sound silly, but I promise that managing this “problem child” is better than letting it continue to wreak havoc on your creative genius. Let’s utilize the same approach that we use with our human bullies and redirect it internally, to our internal critics, with kindness at the core of our being. Set up some boundaries (a confined play pin of sorts) to allow Terror “Tee” to have its space such that your creative mind can run wild, on the rest of the plain unapologetically.
Those who do not want to imitate anything, produce nothing.
(Image: Untitled (1932) Salvador Dalí)
(Image: The Key (1946) - Jackson Pollack)
Easy for this guy to say as his work, to me, is some of the most original stuff I’ve seen! With that said, I’m completely in agreement, that you cannot allow other people’s successes to keep you from trying your hand at their strategy or technique.
We are snowflakes, right? With unique fingerprints and teeth. We can’t help but be original and provide a fresh take on what we are seeing.
Perhaps it was the implanted fear of being charged with plagiarism by high school English and History teachers that left me with a squeamish feeling about borrowing styles from others.
But what one ultimately learns, of course, is of the great paradox: that all thoughts have already been thought before. There is no such thing as a new idea. Just as my science teacher read aloud from our text books: matter can be neither created nor destroyed. We are always and have always only been working with what we’ve got. And that includes the master artists in question here.
Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso were inspired by masks from the Dan people of Africa. Jackson Pollack took after his art teacher, Thomas Hart Benton, and later, showed influences to Native American symbolism. Or take Jean-Michel Basquiat who, after a bad car accident led to the removal of his spleen, his mother gifted him a Greys Anatomy textbook which he subsequently memorized. Surveying any pieces of his art shows you the degree to which those lessons penetrated his creative works.
I think what Dali is reminding us is that we should want to engage with the work that comes before and is among us. Consuming various genres of other people’s art will only add further body to what comes out of yours. This April, identify who will be your artist(s) to study over the spring. Flood yourselves with their work and read up to see how they might have re-interpreted what it is they created. Challenge yourself to recreate what you most like about their work and be mindful of how the process allows and rejects your creative expression. Stick with the techniques that offer you a deeper window into your lived experience. Then try again with a new batch of artists next season.
I want to make paintings that look as if they were made by a child.
(Image: Back of the Neck (1983) Jean-Michel Basquiat)
As we all have likely realized, growing up can be overrated. Once children become adults the stakes seem to quadruple in measure. Mistakes made as a child can be laughed about but for grownups, can be chopped up to irrefutable character flaws.
I love the way Basquiat encourages us to choose the lower stakes. For me, it is when I’m trying to create something good, advanced or even relatable to others that I get stuck.
Basquiat is heartening me to adjust my intentions. And what I’m hearing is this: Don’t set out to build something substantive. What you create doesn’t have to be good, pretty to look at or even complete. Just put something on a page. That alone is all you need.
Here's an exercise:
Remember, we are going for kids’ stuff. Think macaroni necklace level. That will boost your ego and disorient your internal critic into silence for a bit :)
My paintings are titled after they are finished. I paint from remembered landscapes that I carry with me - and remembered feelings of them, which of course become transformed. I could certainly never mirror nature. I would more like to paint what it leaves with me.
(Image: Parasol (1977), Joan Mitchell)
We end on a more expanded quote that I feel captures the whole sentiment of this blog post.
We don’t, and we can’t know where we are going, what we are doing, what we are creating when we paint (and most definitely in life). We cannot know the title, the core themes, what the reaction to our paintings will be, even once we’ve completed them. And that’s more than alright.
Let that part go. The need to control for beauty, accuracy, accessibility in your creating. Think of the many first-time writers who often say that they did not know that they were writing a book (or what it was principally about) until it was done and received by readers. Don’t mistake any brush stroke as one done in vain. Each is a tally, a blade of grass, a grain of sand that colors the landscapes around us.
I know as an artist operating in a largely logically-oriented society, we can be pushed to make our work interpretable to a mainstream audience. Often, we reward the individuals/professions that immediately make sense (and cents!) as opposed to those that require more time and attention. But we must remember that as creatives, that’s not our purpose. It is the artists in society that are meant to experiment; they are meant to think ahead, backwards, and in every other direction.
What Joan discusses is the lived, human experience. Our bodies are full of memories. Unlike autobiographies, particularly in this age of constant fact-checking, the memories that we translate onto a page are not, cannot, and will not ever be exact replicas of the real thing. As we know, many people can be present for the real thing and walk away with varied interpretations of what took place. Don’t set yourself up with the impossible (and boring) task of trying to craft something to mathematically perfect proportions. I would more like to paint what it leaves with me, Mitchell says in closing. How about you do the same? Give us, your audience, the reward of seeing what it is in this sensational life that has impressed itself most firmly upon you.
By: Camylle Fleming
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You know how we know this?
Because in order to achieve success you need to have these characteristics.
If you've got all this down. Stop reading. This isn't for you.
But for those of you who want to take a step forward today. Listen up!
Before you're able to master those skills you need to master yourself and start developing yourself as an artist.
There is no way an artist is able to develop, progress or create anything worthy without digging deep into the depths of their soul.
The only thing that makes you different are the stories hidden deep within you. The ones that hurt, the ones you push away and the ones that make you, you!
Bring them to life and relive them through your artwork.
Allow them to heal you.
Change their outcomes on paper.
Scream at someone who hurt you.
Cry and rip your paper (we call this abstract).
There is a method to the madness, trust me! By painting and drawing, you can manifest anything you want onto paper.
Do you know what that means?
Everything you've been keeping inside...
Everything you've been holding in...
The job frustrations...
The time that you don't have...
The chores you don't want to do!
Your baby weight...
All the pressures of becoming the next watercolor or acrylic artist with 90k followers will start to come effortlessly.
It all slips away while you start to paint. But also allows you to discover something pretty awesome that recognized and developed artists have already tapped into...
Their own artistic style.
Step 2. Practice.
Got it?
Perfffect.
Choose a day thats good for you. When the kids are in school. When you get home from your time sucking job.
^ these are all excuses by the way.
We don't do this. A recognized artist doesn't make excuses.
They get it done. I don't care what excuses you have.
Step 3. Before you start I need you to dig. DEEP.
Like me for example.
I used to get anxiety attacks. To cope with them I started drawing little figures. These little monsters that expressed how I was feeling.
Here are some of my drawings, how nuts do these look!
Written by: Hannah Teicher
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Reverse Utensils
One of the best ways to get artistically inspired again is to indulge in a new creative mechanism by which you produce your artwork. Working on paper or canvas can often trick you into thinking you need to create a perfect finished result, where as working in a sketchbook is the perfect generator for exploration and creativity. Try a sketchbook. Find a size that works for.
Size Matters!
If you are used to creating average size pieces of artwork, try to use a big sketchbook. If you are used to creating big designs, try to use a teeny-tiny sketchbook. This will push you outside of your comfort zone and eventually allow you to create new ideas.
Flipping Mediums
Next, you will need one medium you have never worked with before or have only worked with a few times.
Find An Artist Whose Style Is Different From Yours
Try to limit yourself to only one whose style interests you.
Don't Reinvent The Wheel
Next, it’s time to begin one page where you will put:
Yes, you read that right: copy their work!
We recommend beginning the project by copying their work exactly. After that, you can keep creating versions that are more so your own style. This will help give you a flow of ideas and feel relaxed when experimenting.
There's Beauty In Something Unfinished
As you progress in your sketchbook, keep altering each version you make as you add in your new medium of choice.
Probably the best part of this project, though is that once you have re-spun your own creative wheel, you can put it away and then pull it out at a later time to start wherever you finished off.
It’s a project that doesn’t have a finish-line or a due date, so it never has to be perfect — just creative.
By: Amaya Oswald
]]>Occasionally, artists fall into a “realism rut.” This is when we become used to creating realistic paintings and drawings and forget how to add an abstract spin to our work. In this article, we’re going to teach you how to get back in the groove of abstract artwork, so whether you are a realistic painter who is looking to expand your horizons, a beginner in abstract painting, or an artist simply stuck in “the rut,” read on.
When You’re Starting Out, Don’t Be Afraid To Get Abstract After Getting Realistic
It will likely take a while to figure out what styles of abstract painting work best for you, so you might as well start an easy transition into the abstract world. The best way to do this is to add abstract elements on top of a more realistic drawing. This way, you can still have the satisfaction of creating more visually accurate artwork, but also practice feeling the satisfaction of caring less about accuracy.
Color Is Your Friend
A lot of artists who paint realistically, rarely add bold colors to their work out of fear that it will ruin their painting. However, color is great for creating emotion in your pieces, so if you’re looking to step outside your comfort zone, it’s important to use color to your advantage. Don’t forget to make sure your placement of colors stand out by using different application methods and tools.
Be Experimental (Especially with Portraits) And Use Other Artists As Your Guide
This is your chance to get a little impulsive and reckless when painting! Adding color is a great way to begin abstract painting, but there are other ways, too. For example, you can turn a realistic portrait more abstract or conceptual simply with sea sponges, textiles, or layered mono printing.
Abstract drawings and realistic drawings are not always mutually exclusive; creating portraits is a great way to get more experimental because you can begin painting realistically and slowly start making your brush strokes thicker and less realistic. You don’t need to be creating Picasso portraits overnight, but by slightly altering the typical ways in which you paint and draw, you can begin creating your own masterpieces. Remember that it’s okay to study other artists like Debra Hurd, Davide Cambria, and Pablo Picasso, too, and their methods; Picasso himself once remarked, “Good artists copy; great artists steal.”
Loosen Your Control
In Julia Konya’s Abstract Art Tutorial For Beginners video, Konya uses a lighter, quicker hand when abstract painting and is a lot less preoccupied with how the painting might look in its final form. This nonchalance is key to abstract painting, and though gaining it will take practice, eventually, it will become second nature.
Abstract Art Is More Conceptual, So Get Your Ideas Flowing
Abstract art is well known for being emotional, ideological, a mixture of both, or everything in between — so as you step foot into the abstract world for the first time, you may want to prepare ideas that can be embedded within your painting or drawings.
By: Amaya Oswald
]]>Trying to capture natural skin texture and tone through painting may be the most daunting quest of them all — but we’ve broken down your path to success.
1. Use Oil Paint
Oil paint is the best option for creating the appearance of skin; its slick base seems to be able to excellently capture skin’s oily texture. It is also the best paint for layering, allowing you to adjust the tones of your painting and alter the subtlety of your colors as you go, which is a little more difficult to achieve when using watercolor and acrylic paint. As oil paint dries very slowly, you’ll never have to worry about your paper absorbing the paint too quickly before you can adjust what you’ve just put on paper - meaning you can blend colors to create the most natural, skin-like appearance.
2. Color Guide
Whether you’re creating a hyperrealistic hand painting, a full-body nude, or very light to very dark skin tones, you’ll need all of the following colors of Oil Paint (of course, if you can’t find the exact shade names, something similar will still work).
3. Unleash The Pigment Within'
Prepare to be a little taken a back by the colors you’ll need to use while painting skin, and don’t underestimate the amount of pinks and grays you’ll find yourself placing on paper! Many artists who begin creating realistic skin tones start with a lot of yellows and whites, forgetting that most of us have a lot of red and pink in our skin.
Plus, the shadows on our faces are typically some mixture of dark pink and grey. And while Ultramarine Blue is not always necessary for every painting, you’ll be pleasantly surprised by the how a little of that bold pigment actually helps to create a natural skin-like appearance.
For example, Daria Callie in her Youtube video “Color-Mixing for Portrait Painting” explains that she uses a little bit of Burnt Umber, Cadmium Red and yellow, Ultramarine Blue and Titanium White for her “base”. Make sure you have a reference to compare your designated skin color to... she uses her hand in this case.
Note: to make lighter shades she mixes more white and red to her base. Darker shades she went a little heavier on the yellow, Blue, Red and Burnt Umber.
3. Necessary Tools
There are a lot of great tools specific to oil painting, but some cult favorites are palette knife, oil, and of course, already-primed oil paper.
You can opt to prime your oil paper yourself, which will require you to buy an extra tub of primer and prepare your paper a little while before you start painting on it.
However, already primed paper tends to be easier and smoother, allowing you to start with an even surface, so this is great for beginners.
4. Practice - a lot.
The first time you use oil paint, you will might be disappointed by your creation. You’ve used too much linseed oil, your paint has become thin and won’t layer, and you’ve not payed enough attention to the actual colors present in the photo — but don’t get discouraged too easily. Every time you paint something new, you’re improving dramatically!
5. Work From High Quality Photographs or Realistic Tones.
The only way you learn to paint realistically is by observing high quality portraits. However, there’s a catch: oil painting doesn’t require you to look for the details in a photograph. In fact, while doing your first experiments as a beginner, you should try to ignore the minuscule details of a photograph that you might normally pay attention to while drawing/watercolor painting and instead focus on color placement and making sure that each color is as close as possible to how it is portrayed in your photo.
Remember that getting texture right doesn’t always mean focusing on the porous details of the face, either. Repeat after me: if you can get color placement right, you’re half way there to painting skin tones that could be mistaken for real life complexions.
By: Amaya Oswald
]]>In real life, what’s broken tears us up inside. We struggle to handle things not appearing whole or fully composed.
But on the canvas, inconsistent spacing and unbalanced layering emanates an honest beauty and vitality formerly unimaginable, in our everyday.
The Scumble technique values not the clever perfectionist, but the one who dares to play with uncertainty and is brave enough to unpack the incredible range of pigmentation that exists within everything.
Use the Scumble technique to capture various elements of nature: the clouds, trees or a fallen feather from the wing of a bird overhead. It’s breathy, texturizing abilities will add immediate dimension, body and integrity to your paintings.
How to Scumble:
Step 1: Gather together your painting materials: whatever surface you are working with, brushes, paints (watercolor/oil/acrylic), a bowl for clean water and a bowl of water for washing brushes between strokes.
Step 2: Wet your brush in a color/color blend of your choosing. Next, bring your brush to an angle such that the tip of it is never pointed perpendicular to your blank canvas. You almost want to let it lay, or splay its sides out onto the surface. Press down while moving in various directions and allow the paint to meet the friction of its surface. Then raise your brush and continue to drag it, with varying pressure, until you reach your desired effect.
Tip: This technique can appear as harsh or pliant as you like. More paint or less paint changes the tone of the painting. What’s important is that you are always working off of a dry surface, be it an unpainted canvas or one already coated with a layer/layers that are no longer wet. Then begin, you can begin again.
Scumbling - Art Vocab Definition. Retrieved from Youtube
Step 3: Don’t worry about water. This Dry Brushing technique often goes without it. See the clip below where the artist/instructor created a horizon-scape without a drop of H20.
Tip: You don’t need anymore! You got this :)
Scumbling Painting Technique Using Acrylic. Retrieved from Youtube
Suggestions for Application:
Strategy A: Scumble first, underneath. Start with a blank (dry) canvas. Notice how those first scumbling brush strokes will immediately stand out against a white/plain backdrop. Feel free to continue to scumble or implement other painting techniques in conjunction with or contrast to what you’re placing onto the page.
Strategy B: Scumble after, overtop. Paint a section or the full background of your surface, allow it to dry, then carry out your scumbling technique over the dried paint.
Now, Scumble away…
Ephemeral Veil” Retrieved from EvAntArt
By: Camylle Fleming
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Sgraffito is an Italian word meaning “to scratch”.
It shares an etymological root with the word graffiti and it reminds me, a former exchange student, of the Italian phrase for “I am mistaken”: ho sbagliato.
In short, it invites you to be playful. This technique is more than fun to say; it makes innovating your next painting as close as your fingertips.
The Sgraffito strategy emboldens artists to use the other end of the paint brush, a safety pin, a fork or even one’s own fingernails.
You can scratch your surface before or after you first put your brush to the page.
This technique allows for flexibility.
Painting Materials: Bring out your acrylics or watercolor paints, brushes, a pale for clean water and one for water tinted over time through wetting your brush, and whatever surface you are painting on.
Tools for the Scratching Technique: The real value in this strategy is that you can utilize just about any household item; essentially anything with an edge will do. For sharp objects: perhaps a razor blade, toothpick, knife, or safety pin. For blunt devices: an eraser, the other side of your paint brush or your finger nails or tips will suffice.
The application of the Sgraffito technique can involve two practices:
1. On a dry surface: Before you take your first stroke, use a sharp tool to scratch into your surface. Consider a patterned or a spontaneously arbitrary design. You might also dip your instrument into your paint so that your markings become immediately visible. Otherwise, when complete, you can begin to paint over it to reveal your etchings.
It seems fitting; primitive; memorizing.
The Sgraffito effect can be commonly found in much of our natural world. The vertical lines that run up a blade of grass, the winding ridges of a tree stump, or the teensy groves on the petals of a flower.
Scratchings. Markings. On a wall, on the floor of a formerly occupied cell, on the door of the pantry to mark one’s growth over time, or communicate what we’ve learned about life through hieroglyphic script or our lettered alphabet...
Sgraffito is a forgiving technique that allows us to more accurately re-present our etched and inscribed world on to paper, panels or canvas.
By: Camylle Fleming
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