Art Tip #131

Conveying Emotion

I've been giving a lot of thought on the direction of my art.  I constantly fight with wanting to be technically good but wanting more than just a nice piece of artwork.  I think most artists reach this point at some time in their career.  I found some notes that I jotted down from an interview I read several years ago of an artist (didn't think to write her name down) who was at the same stage. She said it became a spiritual experience & it felt like she was an orchestra conductor of movement & energy.  Here are some of the questions that she posed.  

1. What emotion do you want your painting to convey visually? Somber, joy, anger,

passion, etc?  Do you want to describe a time of day or night?

2.  What colors to use?  Does a predominantly blue painting convey sadness or restfulness?

3.  What tonal value?  Does a high key painting speak softness or joy?

4.  What type of movement?  Do you want to speak of a bustling street scene or a person 

deep in thought?

5.  What type of marks should I make?  Should you have energetic brushwork for a waterfall 

or quiet strokes for a calm day on the water?

A favorite artist of mine is Ron Hicks. Each of his paintings have a definitive story.  In "The Conductor" his energetic brushwork allows the audience to experience the maestro's movement. You can almost hear the orchestra.

Before starting a painting, do you ask yourself what emotion you want to convey? Something to think about. 

Art Tip #129

Familiarity

   

A few years ago I did a 10 Minute challenge for class.  As many times as I've painted an apple, I still learned & improved with each painting. Becoming familiar with my subject allowed color temperature, edge quality & brushwork to improve. Confidence in the understanding of the subject builds stronger paintings. Set a timer, chose a subject, paint at least 6 versions and focus for 10 minutes on each one. You'll be surprised a what you learn.

Art Tip #125

Stepping Back

I've been working on an art tutorial for a download lesson. In the process of painting the demo, I hit a snag. I really felt my sketch was good and was ready to proceed. I quickly moved through the painting but it wasn't until I was almost done that I didn't like the foreground. To many similar shapes and a lot of foreground that didn't quiet work. Time to step back.  So I took a day off from this piece & reevaluated it this morning.  A few simple strokes at the end & problem solved.  I added a bit of bush/shrubbery shape to the bottom left side and a few strokes in the lane.  None of this was in the original reference photo but you have to do what makes the painting work not be married to your reference material.   See you on Tuesday with the complete lesson.

Art Tip #119

Set for Success

 I see students struggle because they set themselves up for failure rather than success.  This might seem trivial and/or obvious but here's my advise.

• Don't bite off more than you can chew.  Many painters pick incredibly complicated subject matter, work from horrible photos, try to create/change a subject without the necessary knowledge or ability.
• HAVE A PLAN for your painting, do composition & value sketches, determine focal point
• Don't include the entire value scale in a painting
• Just because something is in a photo or you see it (when painting from life) doesn't mean that it should be included.  Ask yourself, does it serve a purpose for making the best painting?
• Palette - spend time getting to know your palette (By now you know I'm a limited palette kinda gal) but no matter the # tubes of paint on your palette, learn how they interact with each other.  
• Don't use a color just because it's pretty...pretty is overrated.
• Brushes - once again, get to know what your brushes can do.  Some artists have the worst looking brushes & create masterpieces.  
• Best tools - buy the best you can afford is trumped by knowing what tools you have & how to use them to their best ability
• Consistency in paint - I consistently use the same brand of paint, I know what to expect. Not all hues are the same (there can be huge differences of the same hue across brands)
• Get comfortable with your subject.  Don't just dive right in.  I spend time with my subject & I'm always amazed at what I see after just a few minutes of observation.
• Painting is not a speed contest.  If you've only got an hour to do a painting, don't try to complete a 16x20.  Perhaps a quick 6x8 study would benefit your understanding for a larger piece.  
• Don't let your only goal be to complete a painting.  So many students just want to have a finished piece but if you're flying through to just reach the end, then you've undoubtedly lost a lot along the way.  

Composition, value, color, information,shapes, variety & application are pieces of the puzzle.  They come together to form a work of art.  Jumping straight to the easel rarely guarantees a successful painting.

Remember...HOW TO EAT AN ELEPHANT?  

ONE BITE AT A TIME!

Art Tip #115

Do you think while you mix color?

The next few posts are going to hopefully get you to think & evaluate more about how you approach color mixing.  Here are a few questions to ask yourself.  I will be breaking these questions down into individual posts as we go along.  Just the tip of the iceberg.

1. Do you premix the majority of your palette?  Premixing helps you harmonize your painting.  Having the entire color scheme mixed next to each other allows you to see the spectrum of values, hues & saturation.   It also weeds out any "Screaming Mimi" colors that don't work before they hit the canvas.  This will help keep your painting "fresh" because you aren't constantly scrapping & remixing colors.                                                                                                      

2.  Do you have temperature variety in your palette.  Ex. If you are painting a pomegranate, did you just mix a range of light, halftone & dark reds or did you think about shifting the temperature & saturation of the reds as well?      

3.  Do you think about the saturation of colors?  Putting the purest of color in your focal point will work but if what's around it is just as saturated doesn't that dilute the focal point?            

4.  Do you mix colors that will be next to each other on the canvas?  I tend to mix color from my focal point out.  Mix colors that lie next to each other in order to judge value, temperature & saturation.

5.  Do you mix with a color in mind?  A student recently asked me how to mix Cerulean Blue.  I said I didn't have a clue.  I don't mix to a particular "color name".  My goal to mix the correct color for a specific spot in a painting.  I never think "Oh, I need Cerulean Blue" there.  Instead, I'm thinking that the color needs to be more warm or cool or more saturated or less or needs to shift in value.  Keep tube colors out of your head, let what's next to the color dictate what direction you go.

If you were to watch me mix color or paint, you'd think I was just letting the paint flow without a care in the world.  Reality is that my brain is going full speed.  I constantly have a running list of questions.  Not thinking is the worst thing for me.  It gets me in trouble every time.  While some of it is intuitive that comes from years of building my fundamentals but it doesn't allow me to turn my brain off.  So grab your palette knife & start mixing but bring your brain along for the ride.

Art Tip #114

Unfinished?

Today's post doesn't exactly fall into the category of  an Art Tip.  But it's on my mind.  A fellow artist & I started a conversation a few months ago about "unfinished" work.   Personally, I love stopping short of defining everything.  I think that my "unfinished" works sometimes say more about me as an artist than the finished pieces.  It feels like a fresher approach but does that matter to the buyers & should I care?  My friend felt that there was a market (albeit, an educated market) for this type of work.  Or does it once again come down to the right collector for the right piece?

 I always know the point when I have crossed the line.  It's exactly 1 minute too late.  Then I kick myself for going past the point of no return.  

  

Now that I've starting painting abstracts it's possible that's where I'll satisfy my soul.  Maybe the art tip today is to keep searching & stretching yourself artistically.

Happy Painting!

Art Tip #111

Favorite Art Sites

With social media what it is, there is an abundance of information at our fingertips.  I thought I'd share just a few of my favorite sites.  

Painters:

John Singer Sargent - I found one of his paintings in an art book at age 9. He got my

artistic juices flowing & they haven't stopped.  This site has his complete works. 

   

Sergei Bongart -  One of just many Russian impressionists that inspire me.

Tibor Nagy - When I grow up, I want my art to bring the depth & language that his work 

does.  If you don't know him, you should.

Drawing:

Sketchaway - A sketchbook traveler.  When I visit other artists' it's their sketchbooks that I'm most interested in.  It tells a lot about the artist.  

Urban Sketchers - A blog that features more than 100 artists from around the world. 

It's just fun to visit.

   

Misc. Sites

Underpaintings - Matthew Innis' blog that as he says...celebrates excellence

in Representational Art. A cornucopia of fabulous art & exhibits are highlighted.

Painting Perceptions - A blog that invites discussion & ideas on exploring painting done from life.  It includes interviews & information written from an artist's point of view. It takes time to explore but well worth it.  A large variety of styles.  

Painting Resource

Gamblin - I use Gamblin paint, their site is full of great information.  If you have question, 

I've always gotten a timely & useful response. 

Art Tip #109

In the Green

                

          

One of the most common areas of difficulty for beginning & intermediate students is mixing believable greens.  Greens that will harmonize & not look like you squeezed the color "straight out of the tube".  Last week I talked about making my own dark/black.  That dark is the basis for all my greens which I add...can you guess?  My favorite Indian Yellow.  This gives me a dark, fairly transparent mossy green that is the "mother color" of all my greens.

I then add Viridian or more Ultramarine Blue for a "cooler" version of the mossy (warmer) green.  I will occasionally add Phthalo Blue if I really need to push the color.   I try to lighten my colors with different tints of yellows, purples, greys...just about any color but rarely do I add pure white.  While white will lighten & cool, it also makes colors chalky.  

You can see from above that while I start with a desaturated green, I'm able to make beautiful saturated colors with a variety of temperature shifts.  Harmonizing my greens happens because they all have a little bit of that mother color mixture in them.  

It is but a very small sampling of green mixes.  This way of mixing greens & having a limited palette gave me the confidence to mix any color.  What better way to start your day at the easel already knowing that your palette will be harmony each & every time.

Art Tip #106

The Tools 

I have a few jars of brushes but tend to stay with the assortment above.  I use Winsor Newton's Monarch series.  They are synthetic mongoose brushes and brights & filberts are my favorite.  The brights give me such a strong stroke & the filbert provides a wonderfully, fluid line.  While they can be a little pricey, they last forever.  I've been painting with 4 brushes for more than 3 years and they just keep getting better.  Without my brushes, I'd be lost.  Buy the best you can, treat them well & they can serve you for a long time.  

What's your favorite brush?

Art Tip #103

UGLY DOG

Despite the name, I think it's the best brush cleaner around.  I've revived 6 year old, dried out paint brushes (the kind that could kill someone) back to almost new.   For my really bad brushes, I coat the bristles & let them sit for a day or two (occasionally massaging the soap into the bristles).  You'll know when it's done it's job, the bristles will be pliable.  Just rinse really well, pat dry & then add a little oil back to the brush.  I've saved so many brushes.   It's been harder to find in the art stores but here's a link to purchase.  

 Don't you have a container of old, paint laden brushes sitting around your studio that you would love to use again?