Learn and Master Painting – An Artists Review

October 13, 2009 by rserpe
Filed under Art Instruction Videos, Resources

Color Mixing Tutorials & Resources For Oil Paints

October 13, 2009 by rserpe
Filed under Color Theory, Oil Painting

VIDEOS:

How to Mix Colors for Oil Paints

All About Color

How to Mix Oil Paint -- Video Lessons with Hall Groat II

ARTICLES:

How to Make Better Oil Paintings: Tips & Techniques for Correctly Mixing Color

This is a great post from EmptyEasel.com that talks about correctly mixing colors from a limited palette of only 8 colors. Read the rest of this color mixing tutorial here.

Oil Painting Tips Part 2: Mixing Colors to get Brown and Black

Here is another great post from EmptyEasel.com and is a continuation of the post above that demonstrates mixing oil colors to get browns and blacks. Read this lesson here.

Bill Martins’ Guide to Oil Painting -- Mixing Colors

In this post, Bill Martin talks about his full spectrum of oil colors and how he mixes tints of these colors using titanium white. Read this tutorial here.

Color Theory & Mixing -- 16 Lessons in Colour Theory

This is a very thorough 16 part lesson from Wet Canvas covering color theory and color mixing. It covers everything from the history of color to the Psychology of Color. View these lessons here.

Notes on Colour Mixing by Andrew Newland

On the following page, artist Andrew Newland has provided an introduction to the theory of colour mixing.
He has intended this tutorial as a practical guide to the art of mixing oil paints. Also included is a related color mixing excercise to give yousome It is intended as a practical guide to the mixing of paints and has a related Colour mixing exercise. View this lesson and excercise here.

BOOKS:

Tags: color mixing online, Color Theory, oil painting color mixing, oil painting instruction, Oil Painting Lessons, oil painting technique, oil painting tips, paint color mixing

Oil Painting Art Course – Is Using Photographs OK? Edgar Degas and Norman Rockwell Thought So

June 27, 2009 by rserpe
Filed under Oil Painting, Painting

3 Comments

By Barry Waldman

Edgar Degas painted from photos:

Degas became a painter just at the beginning of photography. He first had others shoot photos for him for his use in his paintings. Later, he became an expert photographer. Degas’ paintings show the influence of photography in the cutting off of figures. Before Degas, the whole person was inside the painting. In many of Degas’ work, the figures are cut off mid leg or their figures are cut off on the left, right and top by the edge of the painting. This cropping came from his reference photos.

Photos were a tool in his paintings, drawings and sculpture. Degas’ photographs had the look of his paintings. His paintings were based on his photographs.

Students ask me if it is proper to use photos:

I have a classmate from the art school from which I graduated. He has had a very distinguished career painting all his life. He said that anything you do to help you develop a painting is a correct method.

Seven Ways to Project or Transfer Photos or Drawings onto Your Canvas:

1. Tack them up on your easel as reference: There is a famous Norman Rockwell self-portrait (Google it). The painting shows Rockwell painting himself at an easel covered with photos of portraits by Rembrandt and Van Gogh and a drawing of himself. Rockwell is also looking in a mirror as he paints.

2. Opaque Projectors: The opaque projector is a machine that projects photos, book pages or drawings by shining a bright light onto the photo from above. A series of mirrors, prisms and lenses project the image onto a canvas. The artist then draws the outlines of the photo on the canvas using the projected image as a guide. Opaque projectors are available from Dick Blick, Jerry’s Artorama or Mister Art online or at some art stores.

3. Camera Lucida: A camera lucida is a lens on a metal arm that clamps onto the artist’s drawing board. The camera lucida superimposes an image on the artist’s drawing surface. One sees a scene or the reference photo on the drawing surface. You can then trace the outlines of objects.

4. Mirrors: David Hockney, a well-known contemporary artist, was interviewed on “60 Minutes” on CBS-TV. Hockney had Lesley Stahl stand outside his studio window, in full sunlight, facing a mirror set up inside the window. Her image was reflected in the mirror and it was projected inside Hockney’s dark studio onto Hockney’s canvas. That projected image can then be copied. Hockney had written a book called “Secret Knowledge” about which Stahl did the interview. In the book Hockney theorizes that artists in the 1400’s learned how to use lenses and mirrors to project images onto their canvases.

5. Print the photo or drawing on your canvas: You can print your photograph directly onto your canvas and then paint over them in oil paints. Ink jet printer paper suppliers offer ink jet printable canvas. You need to ask your ink jet/canvas supplier how long their inks last according to scientific testing.

There are printing services that offer Giclee fine art reproductions for painters, photographers, galleries and museums on fine art canvas. Some artists use these services to make reproductions of their paintings for sale in addition to selling the original oil painting. Giclee (French for “a spurt”) is an inkjet process for making super high quality and long lasting prints. A good supplier uses fade-resistant inks or dyes that some claim last as long as 100 years.

Other artists print photos on canvas at Giclee printers and then paint over them in oil paints. Giclee prints are not only long lasting but also have no visible dots as do most ink jet printers. Google “giclee printers” to find giclee printing suppliers on the web.

6. Camera Obscura: In his book “Vermeer’s Camera” Philip Steadman poses the theory that VerMeer used the early version of the photographic camera: the camera obscura. Camera obscura are the Latin words for dark room.

How the camera obscura works:

A box (or room) with a pinhole in the front end is placed in a well-lit room.
The room in front of the hole will then be projected onto the inside back end of the box.
Later, the camera obscura evolved into what we now call a camera. In a photographic camera, film is placed on the inside back end of the box where the image is projected from the lens in the front end of the box.
Using the camera obscura principle with additional lenses and mirror, one can project an accurate image onto a painting surface and trace over the projected lines. Some suggest one can paint onto the canvas directly guided by the projected image. People still make camera obscuras … Google “camera obscura” on the web.

7. Tracing: Some artists trace and transfer the outlines of photos onto their canvas or other drawing surface. They staple together a “sandwich” of the traced photo, a transfer sheet and the canvas. Drawing over the traced photo drawing on the top of the sandwich with a ballpoint pen causes the transfer sheet color to be transferred to the canvas. They then paint using the transferred line drawing as a guide on their canvas with the original photo(s) tacked alongside their canvas as reference.

Is Using Photographs OK? Like Edgar Degas and Norman Rockwell and countless other great painters and illustrators, I think so.

The author has painted and taught for 50 years and has had over 30 art exhibits of his paintings. My USA based online art school has students in 19 countries. I have taught art classes at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn and Manhattan, USA, Fairfield University in Fairfield, Connecticut, Famous Artists Schools in Westport, Connecticut, USA. I have also lectured on various art subjects all over the USA and in Holland, Belgium, France, South Africa and Australia.

My online interactive art school is at:

http://www.interactiveartschool.com

Links to people, images mentioned in article are at:

http://www.interactiveartschool.com/linksEzine.html

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Barry_Waldman
http://EzineArticles.com/?Oil-Painting-Art-Course—Is-Using-Photographs-OK?-Edgar-Degas-and-Norman-Rockwell-Thought-So&id=2383384

Tags: oil painting instruction, oil painting lesson, Oil Painting Lessons, oil painting techniques, oil painting tips, oil painting tutorial

Landscape Painting Demonstration by Dan Schultz

May 15, 2009 by rserpe
Filed under Landscape/Plein Air, Lessons By Subject, Oil Painting, Painting

8 Comments

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/

Sign Up For Dan’s Email Newsletter

Every month or so, Dan sends out announcements about new artwork, upcoming shows and other news. If you would like to receive these announcements please take a moment to sign up for his newsletter by following the link below:

Please click here to reach Dan’s Newsletter Sign Up Form

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).

Sand Creek Demo

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.

Sand Creek Demo

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.

Sand Creek Demo

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.)

Sand Creek Demo

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.

Sand Creek Demo

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.

Sand Creek Demo

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.

Sand Creek Demo

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.

Sand Creek Demo

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.

Sand Creek Demo

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.

Sand Creek Demo

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.

Sand Creek Demo

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.

Sand Creek Demo

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.

Sand Creek Demo

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.

Sand Creek Demo

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 Demo