Artist Spotlite – Dianne Bertold

Artist: Dianne Bertold

Location: Grande Prairie, Alberta  CANADA

Title: Morning Sentry

Medium: Soft Pastels

Dimensions: 15.5″ x 22″

Support: Fabriano Pastel Paper

Comments from the Artist: This Wood Lily stood amongst tall grass but the strong lighting through the leaves and on the stem made me want to simplify the background so I used a blue-grey (complementary to the orange) to help it stand alone.  It needed no “supporting actors”.  The flower itself is done in multiple layers (fixatif between layers) to achieve the shape through shadow and light.

Artist Spotlite – Jaime Moxey

Artist: Jaime Moxey

Location: Argentina

Title: Gardeners

Medium: Acrylics

Dimensions: 100 x 130 cm

You Asked – Beginners Oil Painting DVD?

Today’s question comes from Don, and he asks:

“I am looking for a tutorial DVD to assist me in a move from watercolour to oil. What I am looking for is a beginners guide which not only illustrates oil techniques but also explains what materials – canvas/paper, mediums, brushes etc – are suitable. My search to date for a suitable DVD has been unsuccessful.”

Do you have any information that might help Don?

Interview with Artist Leslie Tribolet

About Leslie

Leslie Tribolet lives on Kauai with her husband and her animals. She studied at Santa Barbara Art Institute back in the 70’s, but with pencil as her medium of choice. During her battle with both cervical and breast cancer, she decided to try to learn how to paint for something to do. She dabbled in watercolors and loved them, but seemed that everyone on Kauai was painting with watercolors, and that she found to be boring…..

She was introduced to the Genesis Heat Set Paints in 2007, and loved it because of the ease of finishing her work quickly, without having to wait for the paint to dry and it was “different”. These paints are dried with heat, (heat gun or an oven) which speeds up the process and it is great, especially with living in the humid air of Hawaii. She has always been drawn to ethnic faces, so she decided to try her hand at painting them with these paints, and it worked. She hopes that you enjoy looking at them as much as she enjoys painting them.

Visit Leslie’s Website Today…

Q: What medium or mediums do you work with?

A: I really only used the new Genesis Paints when I paint now. I will dabble with the watercolors when I get bored with same’ol, same’ol. But really like having the ability to paint really fast and Genesis Heat Set Paints allow me to do that.

Q: How long have you been an artist? How did you get started?

A: I have been involved with art in some form since I was a kid. I attended the Santa Barbara Art Institute when I was 19 for a year and loved it. I drew with pencil in figure and head drawing classes mostly, but did take a couple of sculpture classes where I really had a blast. Someday I hope to get back into sculpting.

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

A: The only formal training I have had other than the drawing classes at the Institute, is a couple of classes from some local artists here on Kauai. I really am pretty much self taught, learning through trial and error….

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

A: I would recommend to anyone wanting to learn how to paint, to invest in about 6 basic colors of the Genesis Paints. From that you will be able to pretty much make up any color… I would be happy to assist with the information to anyone who wants to know how to start with the Genesis Paints.

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

A: I seem to be drawn (no pun intended) to painting people… maybe it was all those drawing classes of people at the Institute. I just find them to be challenging and fun. I will get bored now and then though, and switch over to plants or whatever I want to explore… no good with animals. Too much hair for me and I admire those who can do it! My style is realism. I like to make my paintings look as close as I can to a picture. A lot of people don’t appreciate that technique, but I do. When I go into a gallery, I immediately go over to the realism paintings.

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

A: I would recommend to anyone wanting to start to paint, to go to artrenewal.org and explore around the gallery. Wonderful paintings from new to very, very old. I learn a lot just by looking at the way someone painted….

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

A: I am inspired by great faces. That is why I like to paint ethnic faces. There is so much more character to an ethnic face. I am not interested in painting some beautiful model with blue eyes and blonde hair…. boring.

Q: Are there any artists that have influenced you and why?

A: I have always been in-love with Norman Rockwell!

Q: Do you have a website you would like to share?

A: My website is : http://www.leslietribolet.com

Q: Finally do you have any last words of advice for beginner artists?

A: Advice is to jump in and start painting. I get discouraged when my paintings are in the beginning stages, so I keep in front of me a piece of paper that has this little boy that I painted with photos from the start to finish. The beginning of his painting was awful and I almost gave up. I didn’t, and he turned out to be one of my best paintings in my opinion. I look at that to remind me to KEEP GOING!

Free Step By Step Watercolor Lesson By Aileen McLeod

About Aileen

Aileen is a multi-medium artist/tutor. Her portraits have been included in major portrait exhibtions and she has been commissioned to paint VIP. Aileen has been a guest on national TV pertaining to her art and appeared in various leading magazines. Portraits are a great love and she welcomes commissions in this and other subjects/mediums.

Visit Aileen’s Site by Clicking Here.

Aileen offers lessons in other mediums and subjects are available on CD /DVD. She also offers personal critique via email . Please contact her for more information.

Step By Step Watercolor Painting Lesson

I love to share this SPONTANEOUS EXPERIENCE in WATER COLOUR.

This sweet face belongs to Harmoni and I was drawn to paint her portrait for her first birthday. The paper used was Canson 33.gms. a lovely surface for detail and a good weight to prevent buckling. No. 12 and 4 sable brush was my choice.

STEP 1. Sketch the features with a Light Red aquarelle pencil.

STEP 2. A wash of Burnt Sienna was used to establish the shadows.

STEP 3. Golden Red was washed into the hair.HINT: Try to hold the brush in a relaxed manner as in sample 2.

STEP 4. Flesh was painted in for the face tones and the cheek colour, Vermillion was then placed in, still using the same brush.

STEP 5. The eyes were painted in Brown with No 4 brush and the eyelashes were established with a Dark Brown tone. HINT: Do not paint the individual lashes.

STEP 6. Still using the No 4 brush the mouth is painted with Vermillion. some deeper tones were painted into the hair with Brown plus Burnt Sienna.

STEP 7. Decisions….decisions….I was not sure whether to leave the washes in the free-flowing technique…see sample 3:

I then decided to apply some Flesh plus White into the lighter areas of the face; this blended the edges of the shadows and formed some middle tones. With a No 4 brush and White I then established the reflected light on the side of the face and some highlights on the cheek, chin, nose and upper lip. The highlights on the lip, tongue and the eyes were painted in with the tip of the brush.

STEP 8. Golden Brown plus White was used for the highlights of the hair while some Brown indicated darker tones and tendrils. Brown plus Blue was used for the pupils of the eyes, corners of the mouth, and the nostrils.

STEP 9. Using a No 12 brush I washed White over the background, this gave “tooth” to the paper. I then painted Permanent Green with quick stroke coverage across the paper, taking it up to the hair and the face line. When the background was dry the tendrils of the hair were exaggerated. See sample 4.

STEP 10. Time for checking and I notice the cheek is just a tiny bit too full so I mix Permant Green plus White and with N0 4 brush I came up to the side of the cheeks and painted in the background. I also took some off the top of the hair.

STEP 11. The shadows were deepened on the side of the face. a Sienna wash was painted over the hair. The Green background was continued to the top and sides of the paper, with a wash of Yellow here and there. This painting has a spontaneous appearance and that is exactly what I set out to achieve. I hope you enjoy your “Spontaneous Experience” when you use this technique.

Next Page »