On 29 May, 2010 With
Having spent several years painting – and making just about every mistake possible – I wanted to compile a list of tips and tricks to help others enjoy painting as much as I do. So here it is! Most of these tips come from my own direct experience or from students I have worked with in the past. Certainly, there are enough tips out there to fill an entire book, but I wanted to focus on just those that are helpful for the real beginner. 1. Be Yourself What kind of an artist do you want to be? I encourage all my students to explore different techniques and various styles on their journey into art, but usually there are one…
Read More
On 28 May, 2010 With
Weve all been there, and others will be. Its truly frustrating to sit down to do the thing you love most, but nothings coming out or the flow is just not there. I used to try and steam roller ahead when that happened, and the result was that I painted crap.My solution is to have many paintings going on at once, and I mean a lot of them. I usually have about 20 paintings going at once, but 6-10 should also work. All of these paintings need to be different from each other in their planned look and even different sizes. The more different they are from each other the better.Its really simple. When youre stuck with one, take it…
Read More
On 28 May, 2010 With
When an artist comes to drawing a human figure the challenge they comes across is to try and see the whole figure as it’s own shape. This is because our experience from looking at our bodies in the past tells us that the human figure is made up of various parts, we need to scrap this thinking and start looking at the whole body as one form.For example we might enjoy taking the time to draw the eyes of a subject, but we might not be so interested in drawing the hair of the subject. If we choose to draw in this fashion the end result will not look congruent because parts of the picture will be delivered with less…
Read More
On 28 May, 2010 With
Possibly one of the best places to meet renowned artists is the art gallery. Many exclusive works of both unsung and celebrated artists are displayed to the public in these art galleries. Various forms of art are displayed in an art gallery such as sculpture, handloom, photographs, illustrations etc. Besides these art forms it also hosts poetry and music. People from far and near are attracted to this venue to share their interest regarding art. Usually, art gallery is interpreted as a space where artists can display their work. The art gallery significantly acts as a platform for artists where they can showcase their work along with promoting art. The art galleries can be distinguished as public and private. The…
Read More
On 28 May, 2010 With
From time to time, most artists have experienced a creative block. Is there a key to overcoming this block to restore our creativity? Let’s look creatively at what artists experience, what it feels like when a block occurs, and how to overcome the artists block. When it strikes, we never see it coming. The feeling is something like this: You’re strolling through a serene forest, the cool breeze caressing your hair and whispering from the treetops above you. The filtered sunlight is fluttering like a nature-made strobe, lulling you to sleep. You see the ocean in the distance and can almost feel the salt spray on your cheeks as you make your way down the needle-laden path toward the shore….
Read More
On 27 May, 2010 With
When it comes to multiple subjects in one pencil portrait drawing, there are two possibilities: (1) all subjects appear in one photograph; (2) the subjects appear in different photographs. We will be concerned with the second possibility. It will not take long before you will get a request to make one portrait out of several photographs. This often happen when grandma wants to have a portrait made of all her grandchildren. This can be done but you need to be aware of a number of difficulties. Here are a few guidelines to follow when combining photographs: * Lighting – Check the light source in each of the photographs. Your portrait drawing needs a unified light source. Hopefully the light source…
Read More
On 27 May, 2010 With
What is it like to be a freelance artist, and what exactly do you study to become one? I will tell you what courses I took in college that were useful to me later as a professional, and what I needed to know beyond my college education. There are many facets to being a successful artist, many of which aren’t taught in art school. First of all, become well skilled in color theory, or, how to use color effectively. Using color is important especially to painters, interior designers and anyone who needs to choose colors for clients. There are many books on the subject, but make sure to learn about the Color Wheel, and buy the expensive colored paper packs…
Read More
On 26 May, 2010 With
Champollion, the famous explorer of Egyptian antiquities, holds the following language at the end of his fifteenth letter, dated at Thebes. “It is evident to me, as it must be to all who have thoroughly examined Egypt or have an accurate knowledge of the Egyptian monuments existing in Europe, that the arts commenced in Greece by a servile imitation of the arts in Egypt, much more advanced than is vulgarly believed, at the period when the Egyptian colonies came in contact with the savage inhabitants of Attica or the Peloponnesus. Without Egypt, Greece would probably never have become the classical land of the fine arts. Such is my entire belief on this great problem. I write these lines almost in…
Read More
On 26 May, 2010 With
You see, all good pencil sketch tutorials should contain two very important criteria. The first criteria that a good drawing tutorial should fulfill is that it has to be written by an artist. If it’s a pencil sketch tutorial, it’s best that a pencil artist writes the tutorial. That’s because only the artists themselves have a true understanding of the problems and challenges of pencil sketching. And those are exactly the same problems that you’re facing, and now you’re hoping that someone has found the solutions to those problems and can help you with them. The second criteria of a good drawing tutorial is that the tutorial should be written by someone who knows how to communicate and train effectively….
Read More
On 26 May, 2010 With
Eyesight Realism Not Camera Realism Don’t take a single photo and turn it into a painting. Not because it’s “cheating” but because your eye doesn’t see the same as a camera. Your eye sees more detailed color, your eye doesn’t frame the scene in standard proportions, your eye doesn’t have a depth of field that’s dependent on a setting. A realistic landscape will be “in focus” all the way to the horizon, not blur out of focus as a photo with a narrow depth of field will. Color is Relative Color isn’t a set thing. It’s relative to what’s next to it, what kind of light is shining on it, whether the surface if reflective or matte. Depending on the…
Read More
