3 Easy Steps To Painting

Acrylic paint red pyrrole dab (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

3 Easy Steps to Painting

Taken from Artist’s Network Online Magazine 5th April 2013
By Courtney Jordan, Online Editor of Artist’s Daily

Painting for beginners and painting for more advanced artists do not involve totally different processes. Only the familiarity with basic painting
instruction and the ease of executing those technical steps is what separates a beginner painter from an advanced one.

To learn how to paint–right here and right now–start with three easy steps that will allow you to grow in confidence and skill as an artist.

1. Learn What Your Materials Are All About
All oil painting lessons start with the fundamentals of materials because knowing how your paints respond allows you to fully understand how to exploit them to their fullest potential, and how to avoid any big mistakes.

Traditional oil paints consist of ground pigments combined with a drying oil, such as linseed, walnut, or poppyseed oil. A “drying oil” is one that absorbs oxygen from the air, which causes it to dry and harden over time, forming a flexible and resistant surface. Each pigment requires a different amount of oil to reach the consistency needed for painting. The amount of oil absorbed by a pigment directly affects its
drying time, which can be useful for an artist to know as he or she works in the studio to learn painting.

2. The Basics of Color
You can learn how to paint nearly every color with just three pigments. Exact hues vary from one manufacturer to the next, but you could go far with any company’s Indian yellow, naphthol red, and ultramarine blue.

Secondary colors, such as orange, green and purple, are made by mixing primary colors. Tertiary colors are those made by mixing a secondary color with a primary color. Other colors are made by adding a bit of white pigment (a process called tinting) or
adding a bit of black (a process called shading).

3. Learn to Paint
with Dimension: Layering with Acrylics
Acrylic painting lessons will usually include the basic techniques of manipulating washes to develop detailed paintings of landscapes, figures, still lifes and the like. This process sounds
more complicated than it truly is, as there are just three essential steps to learning how to use acrylic paint to give objects depth and dimension.

First, Apply a Thin Wash: Use either a wash or glaze of red oxide combined with a small amount of titanium white and diarylide yellow. Apply one thin wash to your surface to create a few shapes.
Second, Apply a Second Coat: Using the same color as in step one, mix a wash or glaze using slightly less water or gel. This value will be darker because there is more pigment. When the first coat is dry, apply a second coat to the areas to give the initial shapes more dimension. For example, the second coat could be applied to the front and side of a cube.

Third, Apply Shadows: After the second coat is dry, apply a third one of the same color to the areas where shadows from other objects could be. You may need another coat after this one dries to further delineate shadowed areas. All of this was done with the same color and shows how successive layers of a single color can easily add dimension to a basic painting sketch. –Hugh Greer

Amazing Speed Artist

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

This is just amazing. I couldn’t figure out what he was painting until the end. How clever is he?

Oh! to be able to paint, let alone paint as well as that. He paints the whole thing in 1 min 30 secs

 

http://www.wimp.com/waitlive/

Rules For Being A Professional Artist

I happened to come across this article and thought that the ‘rules’ could apply equally to writers or any other artistic pursuit. Mark Gould is an artist, graphic designer, writer and photographer living in San Francisco, California. You can check out his beautiful paintings on http://www.markgould.net

If you didn’t happen to get a copy (digital issues of Acrylic Artist are still available in NorthLightShop.com), then you may have missed the work of Mark Gould. I was browsing through an issue recently, and his acrylic landscapes once again caught my eye, such as his painting My Neighbor’s House 816 (above; acrylic on panel, 24×36). In this feature article, Mark shares his philosophy for professional creatives that I thought was worth passing along here

Mark Gould’s 10 Rules for Being a Professional Artist
1. Creative efforts take priority over other activities whenever possible.
2. Simplify all aspects of life in order to think and act creatively.
3. Ensure the creative process is always challenging and enjoyable; always balance a risk of failure with the potential for success in
order to keep efforts honest and engaging.
4. Be the eternal student, always willing to learn.
5. Welcome other opinions-good, bad or indifferent-but never relinquish final judgment to another.
6. Seek out people who are positive in their approach to the creative process and welcome their
constructive critique. Avoid negative people and their attitudes, even when
personal sacrifice is required.
7. Think before committing time, money or other resources to any future aspect of the creative endeavor. Be certain that both feeling and logic regarding the decision are sound.
8. Release to the public only those works that are fully “competent and satisfactory,” those that
are properly executed with a high degree of creativity.
9. Never become problematic for any gallery or collector. Be sincere and forthright in all
gallery dealings. Require absolute honesty in return.
10. Be truthful and self-aware in regard to your creative efforts. Only then can artistic vision be
trusted and improved.

Magic of Computers

Painted by Chinese Artists, Dai Dudu, Li Tiezi and Zhang An, oil on canvas, 2006.

This painting is truly remarkable. Even more amazing though, is that the canvas has been computerized. When you click on the link below, a much bigger version of the computerized painting appears.

Run your cursor over the people. The program tells you who they are – every single one of them. BUT click on a person and you obtain the individual’s life history.
This is fascinating… Can keep you busy for hours!

http://cliptank.com/PeopleofInfluencePainting.htm

50 Shades of Grey for Men

50 Shades of Grey for Men

OOPS! Sorry but I just couldn’t resist this one.

To be quite honest, I think it’s better written than the books of the same name.  I was appalled at how bad the writing was in the trilogy, 50 Shades of Grey, by E.L. James. They could have been written by a teenager, though in saying that I feel I am being unkind to the teenagers who have written some wonderful books. Jame’s trilogy was incredibly repetitive, and boring,  I have already commented on it in my book review – 50 Shades of Boring so I won’t do another rant here.

 

Portrait of Spain

Today my friend, Penny, and I went to see, The Portrait of Spain Exhibition, at the Queensland Art Gallery. It was absolutely magnificent, over 100 paintings that we both looked at in awe. The Prado art gallery in Spain is being renovated, and these  wonderful paintings are on loan. It is the largest and most important loan from The Prado ever. There are many artists from 16th,17th, and 18th century. There were paintings by El Greco,Ribera, Rubens and Goya, Melendez, Rizi, and many others. The paintings show the power and influence of the Roman Catholic Church, and the Royal family, then they move on to the Enlightenment period. There were many portraits, landscapes, and still lifes. One of my favorites was Alonso Coello’s painting of the infanta Isabella Clara Eugenia painted in 1588. Coello was a court painter to Philip II. The jewels, the headdress, and her dress,(or should I call it a costume?), she was wearing showed how rich and powerful the aristocracy was at that time. They had absolute power over the country,and it’s colonies.  This photo I found doesn’t show the color and texture of the painting when you see it in the flesh, so to speak. You feel like you could reach out and touch the material it looks so real. Coello uses the light to make the dress come alive. I just loved it. It’s hard to see in the photo but she is holding a cameo of her father in her hand to show her ancestry. Her headdress is tall to show she is powerful, and head and shoulders above everyone else.  The jewels and the magnificence of the dress show how wealthy the family was. Isabella was the oldest daughter of  Philip II  and she went on to become a very powerful figure in her own right. She was born in 1566 and died in 1633. Isabella became sovereign of the Spanish Netherlands in the Low Countries and the north of modern France, together with her husband Albert. What a wonderful experience to be able to see such great art.

Alonso Sanchez Coello | La infanta Isabel Clara Eugenia Magdalena Ruiz (The Infanta Isabel Clara Eugenia and Magdalena Ruiz) 1585-88 | Collection: Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid | © Photographic Archive, Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid

 

Book Review : The Swan Thieves

Cover of The Swan Thieves: A Novel

 

The Swan Thieves by Elizabeth Kostova is a remarkable book. It’s one of those books where you want to curl up before the fire, with your favorite dog or cat on your knee, and just immerse yourself in someone else’s world.  It is 561 pages long, and I begrudged the time I had to spend away from it. The writing is amazing, the way she describes the scenes so vividly. You feel you are actually there. The love and understanding of painting comes through strongly, as you move from America to France, and go through some of the world’s most famous galleries. The book flashes backwards and forwards from the present time to the late 1800′s. The romance between two Impressionist artists, Beatrice and Oliver (1800′s) and their letters to each other form part of the story. In the present-day, the charismatic and hugely talented artist, Robert Oliver, is sent to a psychiatric unit for trying to stab a famous painting. His psychiatrist, Andrew Marlow, also a painter, tries to communicate with Robert, who refuses to speak. Robert paints the same woman over and over.  This obsession caused the breakdown of his marriage. Marlow gives him an easel,brushes, and paints, as a way of getting through to him, but he continues to paint this mystery woman.Marlow then tries to reconstruct Robert’s life before the incident, and he is drawn into one of the most endearing love stories he has ever come across. Marlow himself finds romance through his investigation of Robert, and learns to understand himself more deeply. Part romance, part mystery, part detective novel, I loved it and couldn’t put it down. What a wonderful writer! There is not a lot of action, the story progresses slowly building up the characters, and their interweaving lives. It’s a rich, sumptuous novel which may not appeal to everyone. However, I am interested in art and mystery, and other people’s reactions to both so this book held me in it’s sway the whole time.

Under The Pandanus – Painting by Gauguin

Under The Pandanus by Gauguin

This short story  is inspired by Gauguin’s painting called, ‘Under The Pandanus’. I wrote the story and published it I thought, with this photo and when it came out the story was gone. So I have had to do it all again. UGH! Any feedback is most welcome, thanks.

PERFECTION

Waiting is the worst, seconds seem like minutes, and minutes seem like hours. My easel, paints, and my new sable brushes are ready. I set them up in the shade  such as it is, under the prickly grey-green leaves of the Pandanus. The large tubular roots propping up the tree look like a pleated skirt. The gently waving fronds with the light shining through, are perfect as the backdrop of the painting I have envisioned. Pacing back and forth I watch the beach for my model. I haven’t seen her before but the village elders tell me she is the most beautiful of their young women. I take a leap of faith and trust their judgement.

The sweat drips off my forehead and runs down my nose. My soft cloth hat is soaked, and I can smell my own rather earthy sweat. I look at my watch which is futile as time is a very elastic concept here. She will turn up when she thinks it is right and not before. I scan the beach, unsure if she is already watching me.

Then an apparition arises from the crystal blue lagoon, and I wonder no more. Her lithe, smooth, coffee-coloured skin gleams as the salt water relinquishes its grasp, and water streams from her long black hair.Tiny rivers run down her shoulders, her breasts, and her thighs. My belly does a slow rolling turn, and I lick my dry lips as she emerges like a fabled sea-creature. So sleek, so at one with the ocean that surrounds her. Watery fingers caress her strong legs as she strides out of the surf towards me, waiting on the beach.

My breath comes in long, jerky gasps. I am afraid to speak, afraid to break the mesmerizing spell of this girl, who is not yet a woman. Her shell earrings bounce in time with her breasts as the comes closer, and the tiny shells on her bracelet tinkle as she walks. As she passes me, I smell her clean, salty skin, and underneath a promise of things yet to come. She stops ahead of me and turns, the sand squealing in protest. She smiles, her white teeth a startling contrast to her brown skin.

“Mr Googan?” she says with a charming accent. I nod, unable to do anything else.

“Where do you want me to sit?” Her high, girlish voice is at odds with her voluptuous woman’s body. I point my shaking brush towards the large, grey, lichen covered rock which dwarfs its neighbors under the Pandanus.

“Sit there” I croak. I turn away and busy myself with brushes, and paints. My eyes sting with unexpected tears, and my hands tremble with excitement or lust, I am not sure which as I fumble with my easel. I take a deep breath and listen to the soothing crash of the waves. I adjust my breathing to the hypnotic rhythm of the sea, and restore my equilibrium, as I inhale the slightly fishy tang, and watch the clouds drift like cotton balls tinged with pink across the brilliant blue sky.

The sound of children‘s laughter further down the beach is another welcome distraction. A large black dog, with a white zigzag on his forehead like a lightening bolt, chases the children in and out of the foaming crests. I watch as the dog swims out and waits for the children to catch up. Then he turns and swims to the beach. He runs up the sand barking, then he shakes, sending a spray of water over the people sitting there. He flops onto the beach his pink tongue flopping out to the side. When the children run up the beach towards him, he jumps up and runs back to the water. The children follow screaming with joy. He reminds me of a hairy pied-piper.

A large pineapple-like fruit, falls from the Pandanus with a clang, clattering over the rocks beneath, and then drops with a thud. I realize with a jolt that I have let my attention wander. The girl sits there undisturbed by it or me. She is relaxed and serene undisturbed by my inability to put brush to canvas. I am afraid I will never be able to capture her innocence, her vitality, and unconscious wantonness. I can easily capture her external beauty and the beauty of the surroundings, but not the inner light that shines through like a beacon. My rainbow-hued palette, prepared only a short while ago is as nothing to the radiance sitting before me. My talent is not equal to the task this day. I stare at her for what seems like hours, but is in fact, only minutes. Rather abruptly, I avert my gaze.

“I’m sor, sor, sorry, but the light is not right. I could paint you some other day.”

She rises from her rock like a queen from her throne, as I hastily throw my equipment into my knapsack, and fold up my easel. I turn to watch her swaying up the beach, her long hair and her hips in perfect symmetry, as she walks away from my folly without a backward glance.