Oil Painting Tips – How To Keep Your Colors Pure

One of the biggest hurdles for beginner oil painters is learning how to keep colors pure. How many times have you started an oil painting only to quit from frustration because things just didn’t look right. Your colors were muddy or they just lacked brilliance. This is a very common problem for artists just starting out with oil paints. Hopefully the in this article will help relieve some of your frustration and enable you to finally enjoy painting.

BE CLEAN AND ORGANIZED

I know for some of us, it can be very difficult to maintain a clean and organized painting environment. Sometimes we can get very caught up in our work and things can get sloppy. The last thing you want is to become a sloppy painter as your work will suffer. Break the habit early and try your hardest to develop clean and organized painting habits. Read more

Plein Air Painting Demo by Robert Lewis

This demo is presented by award-winning plein air artist Robert Lewis. The demo takes place on a bluff over the Monterey Bay.

Composing a Portrait

By John A Burton

This article merely aims to highlight the key “rules” of composition, and focuses primarily on a head and shoulders portrait of a single sitter.

Principle point of interest

Any image requires a principal point of interest, and in a portrait this is usually the subject’s eyes.

The principal point of interest should not be dead centre in the frame: this is too static and symmetrical. Imagine a line running through the subject’s eyes, and another at 90° running through their nose and chin to form a cross. The best position for this cross is slightly above the horizontal middle of the frame, and slightly to the left or right of the vertical middle.

Whether the cross is slightly to the left or right depends on which direction the subject is looking. If they are looking to the left, there should be more background to the left, so the cross is placed the the right of centre. Conversely, if they are looking to the right, the cross should be placed to the left. This helps prevent the viewer’s eye from being drawn out of the picture when it follows the subjects sight line.

When the subject is facing directly towards the camera, consider the direction of the shoulders. Here the aim should be to have a little more space in front of the subject rather than behind them. So, if the right shoulder is nearest the camera, frame the shot so their eyes are also right of centre.

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An Introduction to Color Theory for Painters

Color is a very broad topic. Entire books have been written on color and it would be quite difficult to cover every aspect of it within the confines of this article. My hopes with this introduction to is to peek your interest and hopefully cause you to study this topic further on your own. Understanding color theory is perhaps one of the most important aspects of becoming a good painter. When you understand the elements of color and how colors interact with one another, you have unlocked one of the biggest puzzles of painting.

WHERE DOES COLOR COME FROM?

Our beautiful world of color is only possible because of the solar spectrum. You can certainly do your best to mimic natural sunlight with today’s technology and they have done a pretty fine job of that with full spectrum lighting. But even full spectrum lighting is not as true as sunlight. One only needs to spend a day painting outdoors to see how your color pops out at you under natural sunlight when compared to indoor lighting.

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Artist Spotlite – Daad Abi Saab

Artist: Daad Abi Saab

Location: BEIRUT- LEBANON

Title: The Rocky Shore

Medium: Oil

Dimensions: 50cmx65cm

Support: Canvas

More About this Painting: I really enjoy painting and drawing a lot of different subjects with different mediums. But my favorite would have to be oil painting on canvas and my inspration is nature, landscapes and seascapes. This art work is a view beautiful scene from Lebanon which located on the eastren shore of the Mediterranean Sea. I hope you like it.

The Rocky Shore

Artist Spotlite – Tiffany Pacileo

Artist: Tiffany Pacileo

Title: “Golden Gate/Matangi”

Medium: 35mm Double Exposure Photograph

About this Photo: This is a double exposure of obviously, the Gold Gate Bridge in San Francisco plus a brilliant sunset from the Island of Matangi in Fiji.  A great memory of two wonderful vacations in one photo! Prints available on high quality, archival photo paper or stretched canvas

Website: http://www.citysitesphoto.com/

Golden Gate Bridge Double Exposure

Watercolor Painting Tutorial – Distant Hills & Mountains

This tutorial for painting distant hills and mountains is taken from my Watercolor Secrets course. This is the first lesson in the “hill & mountains” DVD and we progress gradually from here..

You Asked – Using Zinc White?

Todays question comes from Helen and she asks:

“In using oil paints, I always use Titanium White, where and how is Zinc White used (Mixing White )? Thank You .”

Do you have any information that may help Helen?  Please leave your response in the comments box below.  Thanks!

Interview With Artist Sandy Sandy

About Sandy Sandy

Sandy SandySince 1996, Sandy Sandy has been a professional fine artist and has devoted her career to painting full time. After a divorce, she left behind a thriving advertising, illustration and sign company which she owned and operated for seventeen years. Sandy currently works in her spacious art studio from her NJ Pine Barrens home. Here she is inspired by the wildlife that visits her yard daily. A strong connection with animals and nature is evident in her choice of subjects. Her philosophy of “spirit” is woven into her work, where thousands of watercolors have given way to her flowing expressionist style.

Collectors of Sandy’s original paintings can be found throughout Canada and the US. Commissions are always welcomed to create specific works for individuals and organizations such as The NJ Symphony Orchestra. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Illustration from Moore College of Art and Design and attended The Art Institute in Philadelphia. Having studied watercolor with many nationally known watercolor masters including those from the E.A.Whitney, Brandywine and New Hope Schools has given her roots that are strong in the American Art Tradition. Sandy currently provides uplifting, motivational and instructional content in her various free online communities. She also is available for speaking engagements, demonstrations, workshops and classes.

Sandy’s Website: http://www.sandysandy.com/ Read more

Watercolor Painting Demonstration – Fluffy Young Duckling

About the Artist

My name is Dawn McLeod Heim, author of the book “Step-by-Step Guide to Painting Realistic Watercolors“.
Over the years I have had numerous inquiries and requests to create a website not only geared towards learning how to paint watercolor in a realistic manner, but also a place that fellow watercolor enthusiasts can have the opportunity to purchase and paint the class projects that I have taught my students.
My Website: http://www.watercolorpaintingandprojects.com/

Gaining a better understanding

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