Landscape Painting Demonstration by Dan Schultz

Artist’s Statement

Visual art is a language — a means of communication. As an artist, I realize that something is communicated through my work each time it is viewed whether it’s what I want to communicate, or something entirely different that is brought to the experience by the viewer. But as I communicate using this visual language through images of people, images of landscapes, and sometimes images that combine the two, I hope to relate to others the beauty of God’s creation and that through it, I believe he communicates with us. I feel that it is my responsibility to help remind others of the importance of visual art and that it can be admired, embraced, enjoyed and understood.

My interest in making artwork that portrays people stems from my intrigue with people’s ability to create connections between each other. I have long enjoyed creating images of people whether it be a portrait, a child or a woman in a tranquil landscape. I believe that people can easily relate on a personal level to images of other people. And it seems like everyone can relate to an image of a landscape that reminds them of a favorite place. When I work outdoors — standing at my easel with the landscape laid out before me — I feel a connection to the scene that I’m painting. And each time, I feel like I see more beauty in the world than I did the time before.

In order to capture these connections and relate them to the viewer, I often choose a color scheme that is simple and harmonious, which makes my paintings sometimes appear to have one overall dominant color. This allows me to express my connection with each work of art I create, and allows the viewer to experience a direct connection back to the me as the artist. I also experience this connection while viewing favorite works by other artists. They transport me to another world — one of exciting color, texture and emotion that can lift my spirit and renew my passion as an artist. I believe that you too can liberate your senses through the wonder of art and discover that it speaks to you. It only takes a few moments to begin to understand the language, and as you learn, it will become even more meaningful.

Visit Dan’s site to view more of his work and to learn more about him:

http://www.danschultzfineart.com/

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Step By Step Landscape Painting Demonstration

Step 1: Prepare to Paint

For this 18″ x 24″ studio painting I used Claessens double-oil-primed linen canvas, #15 (my usual painting surface), mounted on 1/2″ Gator Board. I applied an initial wash to the canvas with a color that I hoped would end up being pretty close to my final color for the creek bed in the foreground. I don’t use any medium with my paint, just mineral spirits (Gamsol made by Gamblin) that I sometimes use to thin the paint (which I did for the initial wash, then lightly wiped it with a paper towel). I also laid out all my palette colors (listed below).

Brushes:

Holbein Killington bristle flats and Utrecht bristle flats, sizes 2 - 12

Royal Langnickel sable flats (series 5590), sizes 2 - 12

Assorted palette knives for painting, mixing paint and cleaning my palette

Paint:

(Starting from the bottom left on my palette and working upwards and to the right.)

Titanium White (Utrecht)

Cadmium Lemon (Winsor & Newton)

Cadmium Yellow (M. Graham & Co.)

Cadmium Yellow Deep (Utrecht)

Yellow Ochre (Winsor & Newton)

Cadmium Red (M. Graham & Co.)

Venetian Red (Gamblin)

Permanent Alizarin Crimson (Gamblin)

Transparent Oxide Red (Rembrandt)

Viridian (Gamblin)

Cobalt Blue (Winsor & Newton)

Ultramarine Deep (Rembrandt)

Ivory Black (M. Graham & Co.)

The last pile is a gray mixture made from mixing the leftover paint on my palette from my last painting.

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Step 2: Draw the Scene on the Canvas

Using a #4 Holbein Killington bristle flat brush, I used some of the gray mixture on my palette to draw my scene. (It really doesn’t matter much what color is used for the drawing since it will eventually be covered up anyway. I usually just try to use a color that isn’t too intense and that is dark enough in value for me to see it over the initial wash.) I thinned the paint with some mineral spirits so that it would flow off my brush easily and tried to keep the drawing simple and accurate.

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Step 3: Start the Block-In

My next step was to determine the color and value of my darker foreground shadows and to mix it right next to the color I used for the drawing step. I had already decided that I wanted those shadows to be lighter than I had painted them in the plein air painting, so I compared the shadows between the two paintings to make sure I was on the right track. I used a #6 Utrecht bristle flat brush for these block-in steps while being careful to keep my paint consistency just thick enough to cover each area. (I apply thicker paint in certain areas later in the process.)

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Step 4: Continue the Block-In

I then continued to the shapes next to the shadows and blocked them in with the approximate values and colors of each shape. (Notice that I continue to mix the colors on my palette right next to (touching) the other colors. This allows me to squint and compare the values right on my palette, then I can double-check value and color accuracy once I block in the shapes on the canvas.) Throughout this process, I did a lot of squinting at my palette mixtures, my source painting and at the larger painting to compare the value relationships between shapes.

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Step 5: Continue the Block-In

Next, I continued by blocking in the mountain areas while trying to keep them simple. I wanted to get the majority of the canvas covered with the most accurate values and colors I could before I got into much detail. (It gets easier to accurately compare values and colors as more of the canvas gets covered.) Notice that I continued to work outward from my initial block-in areas to the areas next to them.

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Step 6: Continue the Block-In

I began to fill in the lighter tree areas while continuing my efforts to keep the shapes simple. I used a #2 Holbein Killington bristle flat brush in some of those smaller shapes in the trees, and applied the paint a little more thickly.

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Step 7: Continue the Block-In

Using the #6 Utrecht bristle flat brush again, I filled in the sky, but didn’t try to complete it yet with clouds, etc. You can see now that my initial wash on the canvas has definitely helped my process. If I had been working up to this point on a white canvas, almost the entire bottom portion of the painting would be glaring white (making it more difficult to compare the values and colors of my other shapes). Thankfully, the initial wash ended up being fairly close to the color I wanted for the creek bed.

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Step 8: Continue the Block-In

Next, I blocked in a color for the whole creek bed and started to place the areas of water.

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Step 9: Refine the Shapes

After all that block-in work, I finally began to refine some shapes by adding details. Since my focal area is just to the right of center in the painting (the bright trees and the reflecting water in the creek bed), I started refining there first. That way I could compare all the other areas in the painting to that area, letting it predominate with the most details. In this and the following refining steps, I began using #2, #4 and #6 Royal Langnickel sable flats. Their softness allows paint to be easily applied on top of wet paint, even if the paint is thick. They are also very useful for softening edges.

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Step 10: Refining

In this step, I revisited my initial shadow areas to bring them to more of a finish. I still tried to keep them simple and somewhat stylized rather  than smooth them out. This helps add some excitement to those areas.

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Step 11: Refining

I realized that the color I had chosen for the creek bed was more intense than I wanted, so I repainted that whole area and then added details there.

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Step 12: Refining

Next, I returned to the mountain areas to add details. Throughout all these refining steps, I continued comparing back to my focal area so that it would still be the most dominant.

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Step 13: Refining

The last area to complete was the sky which I wanted to break up with a few clouds. There weren’t really any in my plein air piece, so I figured out a design that would work for that area. I also decided to give shapes to the clouds that would mirror the shapes of the trees below, which would help unify the background and the foreground. Then I looked over the whole painting to make sure every part was working well, and made adjustments where they were needed. In these last few steps, I repeatedly checked the painting’s reflection in a mirror. Seeing the image in reverse helps me find mistakes that I’ve missed. Often an edge that is too sharp or a distracting brush stroke needs to be softened.

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Step 14: Varnish

All that I did for this last step was to sign the painting and varnish it. I can often get a better photo of the painting (with less glare) once it is dry and has been varnished. I included some close-up photos below.

Sand Creek · Oil on Linen · 18 x 24 inches

Available from Dan Schultz Fine Art

Inquire here.

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Graphite Pencil Drawing Tutorial: Female Eye by Faith Te

About Faith

Graphite Pencil, Charcoal Pencil and Pastels Artist

Hello! My name is Faith Te. When I was 16, a great desire to capture nature and the people around me started my passion for drawing. I began to look at drawing not just as a hobby but something which I wanted to do all my life.

I practiced every day and for many hours since. I taught myself to draw by experimenting with different techniques and materials and through helpful tips and advice from other artists.

Initially, charcoal and graphite pencils were the only mediums I used. When I began working in color, I used pastels, and more recently, oils. My main subjects are portraits but I also enjoy doing many other subjects including still life, landscapes and flowers, especially orchids.

I devote many hours and lots of attention to detail into each and every one of my drawings or paintings. My ultimate goal is not only to achieve detail and realism but also to capture the life and character of my subjects.

Thank you for your interest in my artwork. I sincerely hope you enjoy your stay here on our web site. Please visit again soon!

Please take a moment to visit Faith’s Website and Blog to learn more about her and her products and services.

Her Website: http://www.artisticrealism.com/

Her Blog: http://www.artisticrealism.com/artstudio/

Graphite Pencil Drawing Tutorial: Female Eye by Faith Te

Here is the first tutorial from Art Studio — a female eye. My method in graphite pencil drawing aims to render subjects as realistically as I can. The following is a step-by-step demonstration of how I draw eyes. While I very much hope that it helps you in drawing realistic eyes, do experiment and develop your own way of drawing. I myself sometimes do not follow some of the steps exactly as I like to experiment and try to find better ways of achieving a specific texture or effect. Before I begin, many thanks to Toni-Marie Hudson for the use of her picture. Toni-Marie does animal paintings in mixed media. Visit her web site to view her extremely realistic paintings.

Step 1:

The outline on Canson Grain. Since the outline was very light and will likely be smudged off when I start rendering or shading, I have carefully and lightly retraced the lines with a soft pencil. In this case, a Faber-Castell 0.5 mm 2B mechanical pencil.

Step 2:

Using a soft brush dipped in small amounts of graphite powder, I cover the outline with two or three layers of tone. Any brush can be used as long as it produces a very smooth effect and fills in the tooth of the paper. I try to avoid getting tone on the highlight of the iris. If I do get any graphite there, I tap the area with a clean kneaded eraser.

Step 3:

Using a smaller version of the brush I used in the previous step, I begin forming the shapes of the eye by defining the darker areas.

Step 4:

With a kneaded eraser, I cleaned up the highlights.

Step 5:

I used a Dong-A 0.5 mm 2B mechanical pencil to draw the darkest areas like the pupil, shadow on the upper part of the iris and the crease of the upper eyelid.

Step 6:

Concentrating on the iris for now, I use a hard pencil (5H Staedtler) and fairly hard pressure to draw spokes originating from the pupil. This will keep the paper from absorbing a lot of graphite in the next stage.

Step 7:

Having used a 5H on the previous stage, I can now draw darker shades on the iris using a dark pencil (2B mechanical pencil). The reason why I use 2B is because it spreads more easily. The 5H is also to keep the tones very smooth when darker tones are added.

Step 8:

I further worked on the iris erasing and adding graphite as much as needed to create varied tones. Moving on to the white of the eye, it was also covered with a layer of 5H to create a smooth effect. Then I used a 2B mechanical pencil on the shadow areas to form the eyeball.

Step 9:

Here I began working on the skin. Using a 0.5 mm HB mechanical pencil and a light circular motion, I added tones to the upper eyelid and the surrounding skin — starting first on an area which will receive more graphite (in this case, the skin around the crease) and moving towards lighter areas. I used a shop towel and a brush to smoothen out rough spots.

Step 10:

Continued with the lower part of the skin.

Step 11:

Still continuing with the HB mechanical pencil. I’ve now added shadows to the skin. The 5H Staedtler pencil was also used on the thickness of the lower eyelid. 2B mechanical pencil was used for its darker areas.

Step 12:

To create the wrinkles on the skin, I lightly drew lines with the HB mechanical pencil and then used a kneaded eraser to create fine highlights beside each line. A paper stump and a brush were used to soften and blend the lines. The same method used on the white of the eye was also used on the tear duct. The HB was used for the eyebrow — starting with the root of each hair and lessening pressure towards the tip.

Step 13:

I always try to keep from drawing the eyelashes until the skin underneath is finished. Since the upper eyelashes will be darker than the lower eyelashes or the eyebrow, I used a Dong-A 2B mechanical pencil which is much darker than a Faber-Castell of the same grade. Again, following the direction of growth and starting from the root, lessening pressure as I come to the tip. Reflections of the eyelashes were also drawn on the highlight of the iris.

Step 14:

The lower eyelashes were drawn with the Faber-Castell 2B mechanical pencil.

Step 15:

The final eye. Finishing touches were made and some of the highlights on the lower eyelid were dulled a little. I hope you find these steps and images informative and helpful.

Figurative Oil Painting Demonstration By Lacey Lewis

About Lacey

Working mainly in oil, Lacey Lewis is an award winning contemporary realist figurative artist who paints in a classical style. Whether or not one is versed in the elusive language of visual design, Lacey’s paintings communicate to the viewer as she purposefully chooses recognizable aspects of reality to recreate on the canvas. It is vital to Lacey that her art at a minimum expresses the beauty that she observes in her subject. Often that expression of beauty is an end in and of itself. Other times, it is used as a lure to entice the viewer to look a little longer so that a deeper meaning or narrative may be revealed to them.

“I take it as an opportunity to learn about a person; their essence, where they’ve been, the image they project. I want to create a record of someone’s whole being, not just their physical likeness, through a beautiful and well composed work of art.”

Lacey offers Classes, Workshops & Private Lessons. Please click here to visit the instruction section of her website for more information.

Lacey’s artwork is available for purchase. You can buy her original paintings and drawings, or you can also purchase fine art Giclée prints of her work. Lacey also accepts commissions for figurative and portrait paintings.

Please click here to visit the purchase or commission section of her website for more information.

Figurative Oil Painting Demonstration By Lacey Lewis

“Amy Pinning Her Hair”

	After priming an 11 x 14 inch hardboard panel with acrylic gesso, I painted a mixture of raw sienna, ultramarine blue, titanium white and some medium across the surface and then wiped it with a rag. Next, I roughed in the figure and the shadows, indicating general plane changes especially on the back. Some pink flesh color was added and the dress was roughed in as well.
	During this session I focused on the near arm and face area, defining the forms more clearly. I added less diluted strokes of the burnt sienna/ultramarine blue/white mixture to the background to contrast with the warmth of the flesh.
	Here the face is developed to a greater likeness of the subject and some areas are restated. Slight changes complete the background. The dress is painted in with thicker paint and the purple is used in the downward facing planes of the shadowed areas both to indicate reflected color and also to add to the unity of the work.
	The forms get their final adjustments and definition. Some transitions are smoothed while others get a harder edge. The likeness is completed and the hairpins are added. As the dress color was added into the shadows on the flesh during the last session, skin tones are now added into dress to create a greater sense of form and unity. Finally, the signature is added.
Amy Pinning Her Hair Oil on Panel, 14″ x 11″ Giclée Print of this Painting Available

Tip on Pencil Portrait Drawing - The Problem of Seeing

By Remi Engels

For untrained artists the problem of seeing lies in the conflict that exists between the actual visual reality of an object and the way the brain attempts to represent our perception of this reality on the drawing paper. This attempt always involves the tendency to draw our symbolic preconception instead of the actual reality.

Symbolic preconceptions are part of a subconscious visual language that uses symbols to represent known objects. This language of symbols evolved as a mechanism to help us survive as a species. These symbols help us, for example, to instantly recognize food sources or dangerous predators.

When we observe an unknown object our subconscious mind immediately tries to form a new symbol to represent and store the object in memory. Often beginning artists will more accurately draw unknown objects than familiar ones because they are not yet married to the new symbols.

However, when they attempt to draw the same object a second time, it is likely that a more symbolic picture will emerge because ready to use symbols have already been stored in the brain.

Consider, for example, the word “head”. Immediately an image comes to mind which is symbolic for the head. Unfortunately, this symbol is only a schematic representation of a head and is invariably a gross simplification of a real head. Nevertheless, there is a strong subconscious pull to draw the symbol instead of what we actually see.

It is this conflict that artists must learn to overcome. This is particularly a problem for pencil portrait artists. When drawing a portrait the artist must resolve numerous layers of symbols to achieve a realistic effect.

We now will describe a very good exercise to learn to overcome the problem of symbol drawing.

We will be drawing from an upside-down photograph. This way our symbolic preconception of the head is disrupted. We will be forced to draw without our symbols. The result will be a purer drawing experience unfettered by a tainted perception.

As you draw the lines and block in the tones you will feel quite awkward in your drawing. This is a good thing. Do not be overly concerned of how your drawing looks. This is an exercise in seeing.

When practicing line and tone this way, beginning artists often get better results than from the right-side up way. Trust yourself and throughout the exercise only look at your photograph in the upside-down position even though it may feel quite uncomfortable.

You will learn to see and draw tone as shapes and will be able to break down hard edges into short, straight lines instead of the usual symbols your brain will assign to the nose, the ears, etc.

Thinking of and naming perceived objects will lead you down the garden path of almond shaped eyes, two holes for nostrils, a bunch of lines for hair, cauliflower ears and something that looks like the letter M sitting on a bowl for a mouth instead of what is actually there.

Artists will never be free of symbolic preconceptions. The symbols actually adapt and become more sophisticated. It is by constantly analyzing and abstracting form that we are able to draw realistically.

Remi Engels is a pencil portrait artist and oil painter and expert teacher. Check out his Pencil Portrait Course and his Portrait Print Package Special

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Remi_Engels
http://EzineArticles.com/?Tip-on-Pencil-Portrait-Drawing—The-Problem-of-Seeing&id=1830591

How to Paint Shadows in Your Landscape and Still Life Paintings

By Julie Shoemaker

There is something about adding shadows to a painting that really bring it to life. Look around you in nature, you rarely do not see a shadow of some type. I have taken a simple painting of a vase of flowers and given it life by casting a shadow from it.

My favorite type of shadow is a simple cast shadow. If an object is blocking the sun or light source, a shadow will be cast. Cast shadows should be painted with colors that are similar to the object itself with some warm colors added. You use warm colors, red, yellow and orange because the sun is warm. So if the sun is the light source and the object is a blue vase you would take the blue and warm it a bit with one of the warm colors mentioned to dry-brush in the shadow

For landscape paintings, the value of shadows depends on the time of day. Early morning shadows are longer and darker while afternoon shadows shorter are lighter. Following the rule that the shadow is nearly 50 percent darker than the portion of the object that is in the light will generally work well.

The direction and size of the shadow should also be carefully thought out. In the example of the blue vase, lets’ say the light is coming from a window above the vase and on the left. Since the light source is higher than the object the shadow will be cast at an angle. So a shadow on the right side of the vase and extending lower than the vase would make a realistic shadow.

The length of the shadow is also important. Using the vase example again, you certainly wouldn’t create a shadow that is twice as long as the vase itself. This would not look realistic. A short or the same size as the vase shadow would be more realistic. Try to imagine in real life situations what would happen. For landscape paintings the length of a shadow also depends on the time of day. If the sun is high in the sky, sometimes, there is little to almost no shadow cast. Imagine its’ six o’clock in the evening, and there will be a quite long shadow. Sometimes the shadows are twice as long as the subjects are.

To actually paint in the shadow you must start the shadow directly beneath or to the side of the subject. There can be a highlight on the subject but not the shadow. The shadow usually fades as you work away from the subject. So decide where it will be and paint it in, dark near the subject and using a scrubbing technique and less paint, fade as you work outward.

The last thing to remember about shadows is consistency. For example, if you are working on a landscape and there are several trees, they should all have similar shadows. Buildings should all have similar shadows. Don’t forget the chimneys.

Shadows really do create drama and add realism to landscape and still life alike. Don’t be afraid to use them, but do so carefully and thoughtfully.

Julie Shoemaker is an avid painter and hobbyist who regularly gives paintings as gifts to family and friends. To read more articles like the one here, and to see more free art tips, tricks and techniques and free step by step lessons Learn Painting Techniques or visit http://www.IamPainting.org.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Julie_Shoemaker
http://EzineArticles.com/?How-to-Paint-Shadows-in-Your-Landscape-and-Still-Life-Paintings&id=1840608

“Pastels for Life” - Pastels Demonstration By Pauline Adair

“Pastels for Life”

Author: Pauline Adair - Australian Artist

Note: This painting won the Pastel Award at the 2006 Gympie Gold Rush Annual Art Exhibition.

For this Soft Pastel Demonstration I am using a double sheet of Canson Mi Tientes pastel paper, in a warm grey colour. I prefer to work on the smooth side of this, but I know many pastelists who choose the textured side. The smooth side still has a good tooth which suits my application.

The model is Sophie…. a favourite of mine, and I am working from a photo as it will probably take me several days to complete this to my satisfaction.

Here is the reference photo, which I cropped to achieve a more close up and intimate feel in the
painting.

(The photograph below contains tasteful nudity. Click image to reveal)

Sophie’s Gallery

I’m starting with a willow charcoal drawing…. I like the willow because I can just manipulate it with the heel of my hand… wiping it off easily if I want to adjust the drawing. After each couple of strokes I step back to view it as a whole, trying not to get bogged down to much in the detail of any one area.

I’m happy with the start now, I can begin to add some colour.

I’m adding some shading here, using a deep purple….. I really want to just colour the paper at this stage and to mark where the accents will be…. bones beneath the skin, the darkest shadows, etc. This is still at the drawing stage…. not the painting stage.

Just getting a feel for the lights now, finding where the light falls on her body from the one light source. All those planes must be facing the light to create the illusion.

The shadows need warming up…..I’m putting a couple of warm skin tones in over the purple, still working loosely.

I call them ‘hot spots’….where I see the warmest of the skin colours…. in the creases, on the elbows, lips, cheeks. Nothing is set in concrete at this stage…. I’m still feeling my way around…..tentatively!

Sophie has red hair…. so while I have the red in my hand….in that goes too!

I’m strongly leaning toward a dark background.

Yes…. I’ve made the decision to go really dark in the background, as Sophie is obviously sleeping so a night scene seems to make sense….. it is all part of the story.

I have this vision in my mind of a kind of glow behind Sophie….I need to make it richer. As an experiment I’ll try to bring it to life with a bright orange over top of the dark purple. The first few strokes are a bit of a shock so I’ll just leave that there for a while and do some work on the foreground…tucking the background away into the recesses of my mind for now!

Just as I put some of the foreground colour into the skin, I need to also put some of the skin colour into the sheets. This will unify the whole painting.

Back to the background! Will I…. won’t I….I will! I carry the orange through. I must now include some of this colour elsewhere in the painting as well as in the background. I check to see how it will look with the mat around it.

Close up of Sophie’s face at this stage.

These are all the pastels I selected as the work progressed. Included are some Schminkes, Windsor & Newton, Art spectrum, Holbein and some contes. I find the contes great for blending over the very soft pastels, rather than using my fingers or a stump.

I’m finishing off the skin tones using some pink variations, and lightening the highlights. The purple sheets go in, and I add some variation to the background using the same purples and blues from the sheets.

I’ve almost put Sophie ‘to bed’ now, and I’ve a feeling this painting just might work out. (I never really know until the end!) Final details go in, and I use the lightest colours in my chosen palette to bring the skin to life.

Finally, Sophie is done and popped into a frame I already have. I had a few tense moments with this painting, but afterall…. that is why I paint….I love the challenge, the nervous start, the frustration, the exaspiration…. and the thrill at the end of having gained a little more experience and knowledge along the way.

 

B i o g r a p h y

Born in New Zealand, Pauline moved to Sydney, Australia where she worked as the Advertising Manager of a national retail chain. A relocation to Queensland meant that her long postponed passion for art could be given some attention, nurtured, and brought to life.

“I have many, many people to thank for encouraging me and assisting in my neverending quest to create one masterpiece during my lifetime…. one piece that may be considered special and everlasting! I’m having so much fun trying to achieve that.

“The whole of creation is the greatest masterpiece of all……….I see the beauty of each and every individual……… I paint people because that is how I celebrate humankind and each person’s uniqueness…… and I paint them as a tribute to our creator.

“I paint in oils, pastels, watercolours, acrylics, and I use many drawing mediums…. sometiimes in various combinations to make my marks.

“I endeavour to paint every day….. if I don’t I feel as though I have waisted the entire day. I just don’t want to go to my grave with my paintings still inside me…. and I mustn’t have any paint left over! ”

Pauline Adair’s ‘BodyWorks’ Blog

Click here to flip through, month by month.

My 2009 Calendars for sale at RedBubble.com

Top 10 Online Figure Drawing Resources For Beginner Artists

So you are interested in becoming an expert at drawing and painting the human figure? You have certainly found the right place! I thought it would be a good idea to find the best resources and information on figure drawing and put it all together for you in one easy location for easy reference. Below are what I feel to be, some of the best resources for helping you learn how to draw the human body.

Figure Drawing Resource 1

Ebook: Figure Drawing Secrets

How to quickly and easily master figure drawing and painting without a model…

Stop drawing and painting figures the hard way! Now you can learn the secrets of drawing people and figures quickly and easily – without a model… This newly released work called “Figure Drawing Secrets” by Victor Perard is the quickest and easiest way to learn figure drawing. This amazing resource contains over 1016 detailed illustrations for you to study and learn from. Covering every single aspect of human anatomy for the artist. It’s a shame for you not to draw people well – when it’s so simple with the right instruction.

Follow this link and download a copy of the ultimate tutorial on Figure Drawing!

Figure Drawing Resource 2

Software: Virtual Pose

The virtual pose system is the next best thing to working with a live model. It is the ultimate reference for artists that do not have access to a live model. The virtual pose system presents the human form in a way that allows for a deeper understanding of shape, form and gesture.

Highly Recommended!

Follow this link for more information about this amazing product!

Figure Drawing Resource 3

Website: Creativespotlite.com

http://www.creativespotlite.com/

A wonderful assortment of free step by step figure drawing and painting demonstrations.

 

Figure Drawing Resource 4

Website: Figuredrawings.com

http://figuredrawings.com/

This website is loaded with great information and resources on figure drawing including books, ebooks lessons and more. The site is a bit cluttered and difficult to navigate, but the amount of information there makes up for this shortcoming.

 

Figure Drawing Resource 5

Website: About.com

Figure Drawing - Life Drawing Tips and Lessons

Nice little series of lessons and exercise on figure drawing including line and contour, structure, proportions and more.

 

Figure Drawing Resource 6

Website Lesson: Figure Drawing Basics

http://www.drawspace.com/lessons/lesson.php?id=h17

 

Figure Drawing Resource 7

Website: Figure Drawing Lab

http://drawinglab.evansville.edu/

 

Figure Drawing Resource 8

Website Tutorial: Figure drawing: Basic Pose and Construction

http://www.elfwood.com/farp/figure/williamlibodyconstruction.html

 

Figure Drawing Resource 9

Website Lesson: Life Drawing

http://art.net/~rebecca/LifeDrawing1.html

 

Figure Drawing Resource 10

YouTube Videos

Below are several of the best Figure Drawing videos I could find from YouTube.

Video 1: Drawing the Human Figure From Your Mind

Video 2: How to Draw a Female Figure

Start a female figure drawing by outlining the shoulders and moving to the hips. Learn to draw a female figure with tips from a professional illustrator in this free video about learning to draw.

Video 3: How to draw the human figure - Dan Nelson

Video 4: 10-Minute Figure Drawing Techniques

Video 5: How to Draw the Human Figure

 

Figure Drawing Resources Update

Since publishing this post a few people have contacted me with more resources to add to this list and I have included them below.

Update 1

Website - http://www.posespace.com/

Update 2

Website - http://www.posemaniacs.com/

Figure Drawing Secrets

How to quickly and easily master figure drawing and painting without a model…

Stop drawing and painting figures the hard way!

Now you can learn the secrets of drawing people and figures quickly and easily – without a model…

This newly released work called “Figure Drawing Secrets” by Victor Perard is the quickest and easiest way to learn figure drawing.

This amazing resource contains over 1016 detailed illustrations for you to study and learn from. Covering every single aspect of anatomy for the artist.

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How To Paint a Rose in Watercolor Step By Step By Doris Joa

About Doris Joa

My name is Doris Joa and I am an artist from Germany.

My mediums are watercolor and oil. One of my special favorite subjects are Roses and figurative work. I paint roses and also other flowers in oil and watercolor. Beside Pansies, Rhododendron, Peonies, Daisies and Tulips, there are a lot of roses in my gallery on my website like Heidi Klum Rose, Sangerhauser Jubiläumsrose, Rose “Mein schöner Garten”, Rose Golden Celebration from David Austin, Rose Innocencia, Rose New Dawn, Rose Clair Renaissance, Rose Queen Mother, Rose Bonita Renaissance and more.

My goal is to paint in romantic realism. I am also doing figurative work, portraits, still lifes and in 2005 I have started a new series of colourful Horse paintings in oil. I also have started with doing postcard paintings in 4?x6? and other small studies .

I have a great passion for nature and her beauty and try to capture this in my paintings. The sunshine, the shadows, the light and the glittering of a raindrop I find most captivating.

I love it when people tell me that when they view my paintings they can smell the flowers, feel the velvet of the rose-petals and have the feeling of standing in a garden.

Please be sure to visit Dori’s website to learn more about her and to view more of her work.

Her websites:

http://www.dorisjoa.com/

http://romanticrosesinwatercolor.blogspot.com/

How To Paint a Rose in Watercolor Step By Step

The Star of this painting and Demonstration will be the Rose painting “Open Arms”.
It is a beautiful climbing rose, which I bought new this year for my garden and I was lucky to see a lot of blooms.

I love the colours in this rose and I am looking forward to paint this rose.
Since I need time for doing a rose painting, I cannot paint from life, no rose would live such a long time.

Another reason is that I have two small kids, so I usually only have time to paint in the evening when they are sleeping - so I work from photos. Since this rose is in my own garden, I had enough time to really observe it and understand more about the colors.

I work only from my own reference photos.

I used a digital camera, Olympus C -750 Ultra Zoom to take the photos in this demo. It’s a great camera. I am able to see the details on the wings of a bee. I can zoom up to 40 times.

Now let us get started:

What do I need for a watercolor painting?

I need:

• watercolor paper
• brushes
• paints
• paper towels
• and of course water.

And I will show you later some helpfool tools.

I am using only hotpressed paper. Most of the time I use 300 g (140 Lb) Arches hotpressed watercolor paper, but I am also using Lanaquarelle, also 140 Lb (300 g) and also hotpressed.

I do not see a difference between both brands, only that one is more expensive than the other.
I like the surface of this paper, it is wonderful for describing the finest detail and it is possible to paint the whole spectrum of texture. Hotpressed paper allows you also to paint in layers without disturbing underlayers.

One thing: As you know, I am a german girl, so please be kind with me about my english. When I do not explain good enough or when you do not understand things, what I am saying, please let me know. Thank you.

Back to the first steps:

I always stretch my paper.

You will need: your paper, a board, stretching tape, jar of clear water and paper towels.

I wet my paper in the bath or shower , place it on the board and wet the measured pieces of tape by wetting them in the jar of clear water. I then place the tape around the sheet of paper (it is half over the paper and half over the board). With the paper towel I go along the stretching tape to absorb the moisture.

Do not worry if there are still some buckles in the paper. When the paper starts to dry they will disappear.

I have a lot of colour tubes in my paintbox, but I do not need them all. Also I work with different palettes.

In the next photo you see these small porcellain palettes. These are my favorite. I always use a small palette for my flower colours, one palette for the leaves and one for the background etc.

My favorite brushes are Da Vinci Maestro brushes. I have them in several sizes, but most of the time I work with sizes 2, 3, 4 and 6. The points of these brushes are excellent.

Before I start, I would like to show you some helpful tools. I am sure you know what masking fluid is. I prefer to not use it as I do not like the hard edges that you will get. Also it is easy to ruin your brushes with it. When you use masking fluid, use only old brushes. When I have tiny highlights in my painting, which are very hard to save, I prefer to use Masquepen. It has a very fine point applicator.

Another helpfool tool is Aquacover.

Here is the excact description: Aquacover is a revolutionary new product from Creative Mark! Aquacover is a versatile product that will provide new avenues of creativity and alleviate a problem that has plagued watercolorists since the beginning of time. It is available in 5 shades of white that perfectly match the most popular watercolor papers used today. Aquacover is the perfect cover up allowing you to fix small or large areas quickly and painlessly. Once applied it dries in seconds and is permanent, non-cracking and non-yellowing. You can then apply color directly over it without bleeding! Aquacover is sold in 1oz bottles with dropper caps and is sold with our unconditional guarantee of complete satisfaction. Get a bottle today. We know you’ll love it! (Due to its thick consistency, Aquacover is best applied with a brush. We do not recommend the included dropper for direct application.)

I use Aquacover rarely, but it helps me to get highlights back. You can use it with your brushes, it doesn’t ruin them.

The next helpful tool is an eraser from Faber Castell called the Perfection 7057. It is a very hard eraser, which helps you to get highlights back when you later decide to add dewdrops and you have not saved the highlights before. It is a great tool.

Click Here For Part 2 >>

How To Paint a Rose in Watercolor Step By Step - Part 2

I have started with the painting.

Here is a photo of the drawing. As you can see, the detail is not very good. I am sorry.

At first I wanted to do a square format, but I did not really like it, so I changed the composition and now it will be a high format.

There are several larger roses, some buds and leaves.

I also have decided for my palette. I am using:

• Naples Yellow (Winsor & Newton)
• Indian Yellow (Schmincke)
• Translucent orange (Schmincke)
• Permanent rose (Winsor & Newton)
• Alizarin Crimson (Schmincke)
• Phthalo blue (Schmincke)
• Brillant Purple (Schmincke)
• Sap Green (Daniel Smith)

As I mentioned in my earlier post, I do not like to use masking fluid, but in this painting I will go over all the stamens with the masquepen. It would be otherwise too complicated to paint around them. I have done small lines, so I am sure, I will have no hard edges there later, when I have removed the masking fluid and add the colour there.

The next photo will show you, how I have started with the first rose.

In this rose are areas of white. I do not like the raw white, so I did a very very fine wash with Naples Yellow over this rose. Then I added some Indian yellow where I saw more yellow in this reference photo.

I wanted to have the colours in this rose warm, so the next layers were a mix of permanent rose and translucent orange. Where it was not so warm, I added to this mix a bit of brillant purple. To the areas that seem to be more cold, I added a mix of brillant purple and phthalo blue.

So far I like what I have done , but there is one area which I do not really like. It is this blue area. I am sure you see it, so I will go over it. Maybe I will try to lighten the color a bit or simply add a touch of my warmer mix. I will try this carefully until I am pleased.
I paint petal for petal and when I am finished with them, I soften the edges. I am using a flat brush for this, it works perfect.

I hope to do more painting tomorrow. I will work on the stamens later - I usually do this when I am in the mood. First I will continue with the other roses and some buds.

In the next step I have painted on two buds and also on some leaves around them. The buds and leaves are not finished yet, as you will see.

I have start again with underlayers. On the buds I did a very fine wash of Naples Yellow - but where I saw more yellow I did an underlayer of Indian Yellow and where necessary I added a bit of Sap Green.
Then I worked with the same colours I used on the large rose - but I tried to make them a bit more cool (adding a bit more of brillant purple and/or phthalo blue).

On the leaves I also started with underlayers. One side of the leaves I did an underlayer of Indian yellow and on the other side I did an underlayer of phthalo blue, so I have a warm and a cool side on the leaves. In the next layer I added Sap Green. I will work more on the leaves and also add some of my petal-colour (permanent rose or brillant purple), because the leaves will be reflected from the roses and also the roses will be reflected from the leaves. I will also add sap green/ phthalo blue and/or alizarin crimson on the leaves, to make beautiful darker areas.

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