Acrylic Painting Demonstration & Tips By Lesly Finn

About Lesly Finn

I am English and emigrated to New Zealand with my husband in 1999, since when I have been able to pursue a long held dream of expressing myself with paint. Ideas for my work come from a variety of sources, including images from the natural world, dreams, emotions and memories. These are portrayed through a mix of colour, texture and contrast that evolve during the act of painting.

I enjoy drawing and pastel work, and paint with acrylic on canvas, often incorporating collage and textured elements. For me one of the many joys of painting is the continuous exploration and development of ideas, and my hope is that the resulting work will give pleasure and invite quiet contemplation.

- Lesly Finn

Visit Lesly’s Site: http://www.leslyfinnsart.com/

Painting With Acrylics Some Tips!

Acrylic paints are not that easy to get used to … at least that’s what I found when I started with them. They dry very quickly so paint often gets wasted, they can ruin your brushes and the ‘covering power’ of different colours varies quite enormously. So I thought that I would post a few general tips for using acrylics …. things that I have read and tried out that worked, and other things that I have found out through trial and error!

I use every sort of brush with my paints, both synthetic and non-synthetic. This is because I don’t have that many brushes that I really like. I have found that the main thing to worry about for your brushes is not to let paint, medium or varnish dry on them. Absolutely fatal … I recently totally wrecked my only 3″ brush by putting it down after varnishing and forgetting all about it. Sadly, repeated soaking and washing was to no avail.

TIP for BRUSHES

Always keep a jar of water to hand to place your brush in when you have finished with it, whether temporarily or completely. The bristles will stay undamaged until such time as you can wash the brush thoroughly in warm water and liquid detergent.

I have tried several different styles of palette with varying degrees of success. The large plastic ones with lots of small paint-wells and 3 or 4 mixing areas are really only any good for very small paintings when working with acrylics. I think that these are best kept for oils or watercolours. Similarly the small round ones with deeper wells, although capable of holding a little more colour, are not suitable when you need to mix many shades or larger amounts of paint.

TIPS for PALETTE USE

White plastic picnic plates and bowls are great for mixing up larger amounts of acrylic paint. Kitchen cling wrap can be used to seal them between sessions to help keep them workable. When finished with I soak them in hot soapy water for a few minutes and all the dried-on paint films can then be washed off really easily. However, it is safest not to let these ‘leftovers’ drain into the ‘grey’ waste-water system for ecological reasons.

I have a large white heavy duty plastic tray similar to those used to display meats in butchery departments. This also makes a great palette but of course the paint is at greater risk of drying up before you have finished your session. I get around this by putting a couple of thicknesses of kitchen paper-towel on the base and then wetting it thoroughly. Next I place a layer of baking paper (silicon coated or greaseproof) on top. The kitchen towel stays wet for quite a while (and you can re-wet as required) keeping the baking paper moist so the paint does not dry out. This ‘damp palette’ can also be sealed in a plastic bag overnight for use the next day.

One of the frustrating things I have found when using acrylics is coverage … by this I mean the ability of the paint mix to cover over what is underneath. While I am often happy for the underlayer to show through there are equally as many times when I don’t want it to!

TIPS for PAINT COVERAGE

Some manufacturers of acrylic paints give information on the tubes as to whether the pigment inside is Opaque, Semi-Opaque or Transparent which is very helpful. Where this information is not available one just has to find out what the pigment is going to do by trial and error.

I have found it useful to build up a collection of Opaque and Transparent versions of the main primary colours that I like to use, e.g. Pyrole Crimson (Opaque), Alizarin Crimson (Transparent), Cobalt Blue (Opaque), Ultramarine (Transparent), etc. So that I can mix an opaque with a transparent to get a more opaque primary or secondary when I need one.

To increase the opacity and covering ability of any pigment I often mix it with a small amount of White or Naples Yellow. And there are some lovely new neutral tones becoming available these days which can be mixed with other colours to make beautifully greyed tones, e.g. Toning Grey Yellowish manufactured by Atelier, and Unbleached Titanium by Matisse.

Sometimes a passage does not turn out how you want it to but, when working on canvas or board, this can often be rectified as long as the area is tackled the same day. And sometimes these remedial efforts result in unplanned and pleasing effects!

TIPS for RECTIFYING MISTAKES

I always keep a clean wet cloth and a roll of paper towel to hand while painting so that I can ‘wipe out’ colours as soon as possible when I feel they are not right, and for lifting runs or splashes. Sometimes it requires a little bit more effort to remove the offending area and for this I scrub gently with a toothbrush and soapy water. But this can only be attempted before the paint has truly set (under 24 hours) and I only try these methods where I am satisfied with the underlying area and want it to remain in situ. Where an area or painting has completely gone to custard I just paint over the whole thing with gesso and start again!

How did I paint that? – A Demonstration Using Acrylics

MATERIALS Canvas size: 100 x 80 cms Palette:Titanium whiteNaples Yellow HueYellow OxideJaune Brilliant Raw Sienna Burnt Sienna Light Red Oxide Pthalo Blue Cobalt Blue Brushes: 1 1/2″, ! “, 5/8 ” Synthetic bristle (medium soft) Mediums: Clear Acrylic Painting Medium, Gloss Acrylic Medium & Varnish
STAGE ONE I began by drawing the subject in brown pastel pencil and then go over the outline drawing with red oxide acrylic [next time I will use less pigment for this as I subsequently found the outlines rather difficult to get rid of]I blocked in shadow shapes on the figures with red oxide and washed in some of the shadows/reflections in the sea and sand. My aim was to establish the tonal values of the painting from the outset.
STAGE TWO I started filling in the background and foreground in fairly large blocks of colour …….. no details yet. At this stage I was experimenting with different mixes and hues. I wanted to get the feeling of a very hot, bright day.I decided early on that I would lower the horizon to increase the sense of distance. Because it is a large canvas I took frequent breaks and looked at the painting in the mirror from about 12 feet away. It would be all too easy to get involved in unnecessary detail …. I kept having to remind myself that I wanted this painting to ‘come together’ only when seen from a distance!Although it would be nice to get the background colours right before moving on to the figures I was not too worried as I knew I could easily change things later.
STAGE THREE I started working on the figures with very light washes.I realised that I was not very happy with the sky and sea at this stage so I went over them again, changing the colour mixes slightly.I put some of the sky colour into the middle and foreground … to give the effect of sky reflections on wet sand.
STAGE FOUR At this point I started to put shadow detail on to the figures in dark red, blue-green and red-brown. I kept the shadow shapes very simplified with little softening or blending of edges – See photo of detail below.I kept the paint thinned down and semi-transparent using painting medium to dilute the pigment.At all stages I kept a watchful eye on progress by checking in the mirror. In this way I was able to determine if the effect was what I wanted when viewed from a distance.
[Photo detail of shadow shapes.]
FINAL STAGE The final stage involved adding more body colour and glazes to various parts of the painting until I felt satisfied with the overall effect. I reach a point where I feel that I can usefully do no more.Enough is enough, already!

All Images and Text Copyright Lesly Finn

Visit Lesly’s Site: http://www.leslyfinnsart.com/

How To Draw Cars – Top 10 Online Resources To Help You Learn

Learning how to draw cars is a very popular hobby as of late, so I decided to dedicate a post that lists some great resources online to help you learn how to draw cars fast. The following links include free step by step drawing tutorials of race cars, sports cars and other great tips for car drawing enthusiasts.

Resource # 1 – How To Draw Cars Fast and Easy Ebook

This first resource is not free but is well worth the small investment.

This is a great downloadable ebook and highly recommended if you truly want to learn how to draw cars fast and easy like a pro.

It was written by Tim Rugendyke who has worked as an automotive designer for 15 years for large companies like Ford and General Motors. Tim also does lectures at an Australian Design School where he teaches students how to draw cars like the pros do.

This ebook contains over 135 illustrations that include step by step instructions on drawing cars like the experts.

This is truly an invaluable resource for car drawing enthusiasts and will save you hours of searching for tips and step by step lessons online.

Click here to download this ebook now!

Resource # 2 -Back View Rendering in Mixed Media.

This tutorial shows the step by step process of rendering a sports car from a rear view perspective using markers and pastels on paper and using photoshop for the finishing touches.

Click here to view this tutorial

Resource # 3 – Mixed Media Demonstration of an SUV

This tutorial shows step by step how to create a mixed media drawing of an SUV using pencils, markers, pastels and ballpoint pens.

Click here to view this tutorial…

Resource # 4 – Drawing a Ferrari with a colored pen

This step by step tutorial demonstrates how to draw a ferrari using a colored pen on traditional paper.

Click here to view this tutorial…

Resource # 5 – How to Draw Cars

This is a great little site on how to draw cars including step by step lessons on:

How to Draw a 1957 Chevy

How to Draw a Classic Car

How to Draw a Corvette

How to Draw a Ferrari

How to Draw a Lamborghini

And More!

Click here to reach this site..

Resource # 6 – How to draw cars easy, step by step

Wonderful online guide to help you draw cars step by step.

Here is a brief description of this guide taken from the site:

“The aim of this guide is to enable anyone wanting to know how to draw cars to do it without having to become a mathematical genus or expert draftsperson in the shortest amount of time possible, easily and accurately.

Following these guidelines will also give you the basics to progress your ability and skills faster than any other system I know.

This guide will also help you to develop your drawing skills into any area you wish not just drawing cars.”

Click here to reach this site….

Resource # 7 – Side View Car Drawing Tutorial Using Marker & Pastels

This tutorial demonstrates how to draw a car with shiny reflections using markers and pastel powder.

Click here to view this online tutorial…

Resource # 8 – Ferrari Drawing Tutorial

Another great Ferrari drawing tutorial using a ball point pen and a layout marker..

Click here to view this tutorial…

Resource # 9 – Mixed Media Vellum Tutorial

This is a large format step by step demonstration explaining how to draw a car using markers, colored pencils and chalk.

Click here to view this tutorial…

Resource # 10 – Car Drawing Tutorial: Quick Sketch Technique

This step by step tutorial explains techniques that will help you create quick sketches of cars.

Click here to view this tutorial…

Interview With Artist Pamela E. Miller

About Pamela

“By cultivating the beautiful we scatter the seeds of heavenly flowers, as by doing good we cultivate those that belong to humanity” -Robert Heinlein

These are just a few words that I like to live by. I feel that creating art is a way of sharing your soul with others. As you will see in my artwork: sometimes I am very flamboyant and always colorful, sometimes confidant and peaceful, other times angry or chaotic. I think all of my emotions; passions come out in my works. Sometimes I layer it on thick (paint and words) and other times I flirt with the canvas with light feathery strokes. My art reflects my beliefs in love, warmth, generosity, loyalty, and honesty. I’m inspired by science, fantasy, martial arts, architecture, and nature (especially water).

THE INTERVIEW

Q – What medium or mediums do you work with?

A – I adore experimenting; if I could start my life over I think I’d devote a little more time to being a mad scientist. With that said my preferred choice of mediums are acrylics (especially metallics, which are my signature), watercolors and mixed-media(could be anything from gels and sculpting mediums to glitter and papers.

Q – How long have you been an artist?

A – My Journey: From the time I could hold a crayon in hand, I was always drawing and painting. As a child, I was always encouraged in the arts and I had a natural affinity to sales. My grandmother and mom love to swap tales of me as a child. Apparently if anyone asked what I was doing my standard relay would be, “I’m making a “insert whatever”. For .25 cents you can have it!” I’m probably one of the first artists to have a gallery show at 3 years old. My parents gave dinner parties and since we had a hallway that extended from the front of our Victorian styled home to the back, I displayed my art there for all the neighbors/friends to see.

During high school I explored with different mediums and devoured books on technique, anatomy etc. I’ve always loved horses and after purchasing one, I began doing horse portraits in earnest. All of the folks at the farm wanted portraits of their horses, which I happily sold them for, I believe $20.0(may have been more..my elephant’s memory seems to have deserted me).

In the beginning of my development, I focused on realism, technical accuracy and traditional studies in portraits, still life and prospective. However, I’ve always loved dramatic, vibrant paintings, experimenting and breaking “rules”. These personality traits lead to bold, colorful creations using a much ‘looser’ style.

I was thrilled when I decided to take the plunge and become a professional artist full time in 2006. However, given my independent nature, I cried the first time my husband had to pay my marketing bill. Now I’m on the long road to winning back my “technology sales” income doing something I couldn’t stop doing if I was paid to. I believe what Ronald E Osborn said ‘Unless you try to do something beyond what you have already mastered you will never grow.’

Q – Do you have any formal training or are you self taught?

A – I think education is very important. So I’ve always devoured books, magazines and workshops that will help me learn to be better. In the technology industry, I studied sales techniques, technical documentation/skills and quizzed marketing folks on their statistics. I’m like a cat or ferret, curious above all else. I credit my success to having some wonderful mentors and co-workers. However, I believe that it is an artist’s responsibility to NOT follow the art world “rules” when creating. Perhaps there is an “outsider artist” in here somewhere!

Education:

Maryland Institute of Art- Summer School

Howard Community College-Liberal Arts

Capital College-Computer Engineering (before the internet..LOL)

Q – Do you have any favorite art supplies that you would like to recommend??

A- Two words… Dick Blick!!
Love their quality, prices and service!

I love watercolors and watercolor pencils because they are so easy to “take with you”. A lot of the watercolor works I do are created poolside on a beautiful day.

Q – Do you work with any specific styles or subject matter?

A – Painting and Art includes: Urban Cityscapes, Impressionistic Seascapes, Asian Abstract Expressionism and Fantasy with Surreal/Cubism Influences. I also use ACEOs (Art Cards, Editions & Originals)and SMA(Small Format Art) as my sketch book or paint whatever the heck you feel like resource.

Q – Can you recommend any books, videos or other resources that will help new artists?

A – I love the Artist’s Magazine. I would also recommend the little art instructional books you can purchase in craft stores and on-line.

Q – How do you get ideas to create a piece? What inspires you?

A – I wrote this guide for Ebay Artists…As a painter, our best work is done when we are inspired. But how do we get that inspiration? Here are some of the ways I gain my inspiration. Hope this guide helps you to get over the “creative block “hump” or be even more inspired!

1. Observe the world. I love the water and also big cities. So I can get inspiration by visiting a new vacation spot or city. Where are some of your favorite places to be? Using photos you’ve taken or other’s have given you permission to paint from, create your own happy place..chances are it’s someone else’s too.

2. Hobbies. What do you like to do? Sailing, Golfing, Animals etc can be great inspiration.

3. What are others creating and how can you make their style fit for you? Go to museums, galleries and visit ebay art.

4. Movies and Books. What are your favorites and if you were asked to design for a set or cover what would you paint?

5. Meditate or Think On It. This may sound corny but sometimes just sitting and thinking about your creative dream can bring wonderful new ideas.

6. Just Do It. Sometimes the simple act of putting a brush to paper can inspire you.

Hope you have some wonderful inspiration come your way soon.

Q – Are there any artists that have influenced you?

A – Some of the artists that have influenced me would be Picasso, Kandinsky, and Peter Max. Not sure if it’s true but I heard Peter Max is a “nice guy” and has qualities I strive for, namely: generosity, loyalty and friendliness.

Q – Do you have a website?

A –YES! I’m very excited to announce I just got on the ecommerce bandwagon (read more in my press release). My new site can be visited at: http://www.modernart.com. Please let me know your suggestions for improvements but bear in mind I know little about html and I’m not a wiz at spelling/typing either..haha. What I’m saying is let me know what’s wrong and right with my site but don’t judge me to harshly.

I love fun stuff like cards, mugs & apparel (including plus sizes) so I partnered with Zazzle to offer them here: www.zazzle.com/allyon1*

I love talking about my new stuff, looking at other people’s new stuff, learning new stuff and going to artsy places. Here’s where you can find information on my “super” sales, new artworks, press and artists/art related information I’ve discovered: http://pmillerabstractart.blogspot.com/

Q – Finally, do you have any last words of advice?

A – Follow your heart to happiness and paint what you love.

Feed your creative soul by meeting new people, reading lots of books and taking classes

“By cultivating the beautiful we scatter the seeds of heavenly flowers, as by doing good we cultivate those that belong to humanity”: Robert Heinlein

“To Change One’s Life: Start Immediately. Do it flamboyantly. No exceptions” – William James

At The Dock – An Acrylic Painting Demonstration by Brian Rice

About Brian Rice:

Brian was born on May 25,1958 and his roots are in the small outport of Pilleys Island, Newfoundland, Canada. At the age of nineteen he moved to central Canada in the Sarnia, Ontario area, where he now works in the Petrochemical industry.

His interest in art began in high school, when an art teacher encouraged him. In 1979 he began to paint realistic images of Newfoundland and northern wildlife, using an acrylic medium. He has many admirers of his work and most of the paintings have been sold; many were commissions. In 1998 he did a painting of an old united church (circa 1945) for his hometown heritage society. Prints were made and sold as a fund raiser.

In 1997 he entered an art contest in Sarnia. This contest was held to select a winner to commemorate the new blue water bridge. The painting got an honourable mention and it was reproduced as a limited edition print.

Brian has no formal training in art. He is self taught and learns most from a careful observation of the order and design of the natural world . He believes that “nature is the artwork of a creator/master artist who displays a wisdom and a genius that we have only begun to understand”. His focus is to create art that will cause the soul to search for a deeper meaning in an increasingly chaotic world.

He started striving for a photo realism style in the 1990’s and achieved it to some degree, but, he found the style did not evoke much emotion and set out on a journey to find a style that was realistic but, with a much looser impressionistic approach.

Eighteen of his paintings were on display at his hometown Petrolia Library during the Summer of 2004.

The Painting “The Newfoundland Cabin” appeared in “Guest Gallery “which is a page in the downhomer magazine; www.Downhome.com is the biggest magazine on the Canadian eastcoast with 26,000 subscribers. This magazine also has a gallery and gift shop in St. John’s, Newfoundland which now carries prints of the painting “seasons of life”

Acrylic Painting Demonstration: “At The Dock”

I got the idea for this painting while on vacation in Newfoundland. The quiet and serenity of this area was what I wanted to capture in the painting. I liked this reference image below as a photo. But, I wanted to do something else in a painting . I thought I would push the islands apart so that the boat would point out the bay towards the opening in the distance. It just seemed right for a better composition.

On my 24″ x 36″ panel I drew out the plan:

I lined the head of the boat up so that it would point directly at that dot in the background. I guessed that this would become the secondary focus in the painting, after the boat, if I had enough elements pushing the eye outward towards to that area.

The hint of the dock would provide a link from the boat to land and serve as a directional line toward the boat.

I blocked in the main colors:

I wanted to keep the overcast sky. It seemed to suit the painting.

I wanted to show the ocean bottom near the dock . Calm, shallow water would serve as a great enterance to the painting and add to the over all appeal of the view . I had never attempted this transparent water look before. I started by putting in the main colors of the bottom .Then I painted rough forms that looked like rocks .

I used Thalo blue , Ultramarine blue, Paynes grey, a tad of Napthol red, and White mostly in the water and sky in the distance. I have a glaze or two of burnt sienna and yellow ochre in there too. In the foreground there are those colors plus burnt sienna, raw sienna, yellow ochre . There may be a little burnt umber in the mix too.

My next move was to paint in the distant hills and island. . It took a lot of glazes and a few attempts to get the water and sky the way I wanted it. I wanted that opening in the distance to be in the direction that the head of the boat would be pointing towards. The pushing apart of the islands and moving the distant opening to line up with the boat seemed to also open up the view for the eye to go out the bay to the farthest inlet. This helped give the painting a feeling of space. The feel of wide open space is a wonderful sense you get in Newfoundland. It is a land that is 98 % unpopulated.

I worked on the glazing some more and defined the rocks better. I used glazes of thalo blue , then glazes of burnt sienna, then a glaze of yellow ochre. I repeated this several times with very little paint pigment in the glazes. I kept the area where the boat would be, open, mostly to keep in mind its placement area.

Excuse the blurred photo but the next photo just shows where I sketched a fairly accurate outline of the boat. You have to be very careful at this point. If the drawing is not right on, you could ruin many hours of work . If a line is off by an eighth of an inch it will be noticeable .

When I was sure the outline was right I blocked in the boat base colors. I wasn’t overly concerned where the green and red was inside the outline as long as I didn’t mess up the outer lines. The green is a mixture of Chromium oxide green and thalo blue. The red is Cad med toned down a bit with thalo blue.

I now worked on the rocks at the bottom more . I added a lot more little rocks and added a few more glazes over that.

At this point I knew the boat didn’t look like it was sitting right in the water . It could have been an optical illusion because the red and green inside the boat were not where they should be yet. I re-measured my outline and realized it was the bottom line at the back of the boat that was throwing it off. It may sound like I was being too particular. But, to someone who is accustomed to boats and how they sit in the water these things are very noticeable. It was something that was fixable . I also did some more redefining of the rocks at the bottom.

I worked on that boat again. The colors look a little raw at this stage and the boat interior needed more work. I re-worked that shadow; its more of a shadow then a reflection .The sky is overcast so I have to get that fine balance in the details , definition without strong shadows. Easier said then done . Most of the time its easier to have strong light and shadows. I thought I was finished with the water under the boat. The only areas that needed work outside the boat was the island on the left and the indication of a dock on the right side.

Next, I put a little more detail into the boat. I changed the rear look of the boat three times . I decided in the end that I was going to make this a simple row boat and not include that 4.5 hp gasoline driven outboard motor. The painting would appeal to me more without that noise making machine. It just don’t fit into my ideal world. The other advantage in not including a gas engine was the fact that one could think of its time period as being anywhere from 1940’s to today. If I didn’t use the bright red and green it could have been dated from 1900 – today. These little wooden boats had the same basic style for a century.

These photos aren’t the best quality because they were taken with just the light in the room without a flash. When the painting was done I got a better photo using daylight.

I then worked on the island on the left. Its showing low tide and the kelp is visible at the low water level. This kelp in Newfoundland is a distinct orange /ochre/ greenish color depending on the lighting of the day.

There as been a shift in my painting technique over the past year or so. I discovered the power of glazing and the excellent properties of Goldens acrylic glazing liquid.

I do paint the odd painting with the more opaque method.

But,this one will have been done with more layers of glaze then I have ever used before. I have about 20-25 layers in the water. At first I use to try and put glazes on with just glazing liquid and had some difficulty with application . But now I dip my brush in water more and dilute the glaze liquid . This seems to work much better and I don’t get a thick sticky layer that is hard to apply.

The secret to successful glazing seems to be in the application of very thin coats,with very little paint pigment in it , and then letting each coat dry before applying another. It is amazing how layer after layer of thin color can produce what opaque paint could never do.

I am starting to use glazes more and more as I continue learning about painting.

The finished painting

Detail of finished painting.

I hope you enjoyed the demo. You can contact me at brrice2003@yahoo.ca . Your comments would be greatly appreciated because feedback lets me know if these demos actually help others in their painting.