Juxtaposition: Abstract Acrylic and Realistic Oil
Apr 27, 2010 On my Easel
Sometimes, working on two very different projects can be interesting.
It’s been awhile since I’ve posted about what’s on my easel, but that doesn’t mean that I haven’t been busy!
The other day I was working in the studio. When I stepped back, I saw these two paintings side by side and realized what a cool juxtaposition they made! They are completely different, opposites in more than one respect, and yet they relate to each other.
I like to pick out parallels between works that don’t seem to have anything in common. Here we have a blue, abstract, geometric painting in acrylic on the left, and an orange, realistic, oil painting on the right. Looking at them together makes it easy to see the similarities: bright, saturated colour, crisp lines, flat shapes. All the things that interest me!
It’s interesting because the dominant colours are not only opposites on the colour wheel, they are my two favorite colours. When trying a new technique or working with a new medium, I will always reach for either orange or blue. I am drawn to blue because it’s such a versatile colour, and to orange because of its intensity.
This piece is a continuation, almost a distillation, of the work I was doing earlier this year. Before, I was deconstructing paintings that I had completed as finished works.
Here, I have started with a sheet of gessoed canvas and painted flat, geometric shapes. Then I cut the canvas into 25 squares, as I did before, re-arranged them and painted more squares. The squares were glued to a piece of board, which was then torn apart.
This process combines the shapes and colours of my constructed paintings with the form and process of my reincarnated paintings.
The African sunset is actually a commission. My friend is getting married this summer and has asked me to do this painting, which will hang behind the bride and groom at the reception. The entire wedding will be African themed, hence the African sunset.
For this painting, I did everything right! I did a colour study and a value study to make sure I worked out any problems before digging into the real thing. This really helped me to achieve the illumination of the sun and to understand how to paint the shadows properly. If you go to my portrait website, you can see the painting studies as well as work-in-progress shots of the painting.
People seem to think it’s strange that I do both tight, realistic work and geometric abstractions. I stand by my theory that each is necessary to me, rewarding and challenging different parts of my brain. Especially when you see the two styles together, it’s evident that each informs the other.
Do you work in more than one style? How does that affect your art?
Tags: abstract, acrylic painting, oil painting, paintings
What’s Your Day Job?
Apr 25, 2010 Art General
And does it help or hinder your art practice?
For many artists, a day job is a necessary evil. A means to paying bills and buying our supplies. For some of us, a day job is only a memory.
Quitting the day job and taking up art full time seems to be a common goal, or at least a fantasy, of many artists. The consensus is also that quitting is a huge leap of faith. At some point we have to make that decision: jump or don’t. Give up a steady income, choose a life of uncertainty and pursue the dream. Or, stay on the safe track, do what you can and make the best of it.
As my other half is getting closer to finishing school, I start wondering about the possibility of giving up my own day job.
The Story of My Day Job
When I finished art school, I had no clue about what was available job-wise. I had some half-arsed ideas about graphic design, illustration, working at a gallery or something related to my field. I started applying to every gallery and museum in my very limited geographical area. That didn’t work. No one was hiring, unless it was a part-time, temporary, student position.
I expanded my search to graphic design companies, print shops and anywhere else that looked like they might deal in creativity. I soon found, however, that my education in visual artscouldn’t compete with an education in graphic design. I knew enough Photoshop to get by, but little else.
I ended up working as a customer service rep at a small print shop, the idea being that I could slowly take on some of the graphic design work, building skills and portfolio at once.
I hated it.
I could probably go on for days about why, but I’ll give you the basics. First of all, it wasn’t a nice working environment and my co-workers weren’t helpful or welcoming. Secondly, my job description consisted mostly of running hundreds or thousands of photocopies. Thirdly, business slowed down a lot after the first few months and I found myself in the production area doing mindless, horrible jobs like spiral binding books for eight hours straight. I’m not exaggerating.
At the beginning, though, the main designer went on holiday and I got a taste of graphic design. What an eye-opener! I would spend the day staring at a computer screen, importing clip art and pasting in company information. There was barely a smidgen of creativity involved. It was all very clean and formulaic: plug this in here, that in there, and you’re done!
Obviously, a designer working at a bigger firm will have more creative license and more interesting projects than an endless series of business cards, but this experience made me realize that design was not for me. I also realized that graphic design is just glorified retail. It’s all about selling something: selling your design services, up-selling products, and designing materials that will sell your clients’ products.
This was when I decided that I wanted to be an artist.
I wanted messy, I wanted hands-on, I wanted creativity, and I wanted freedom!
Of course, I’d still need a job, but I no longer wanted a creative job. I wanted a job that would allow me the time and freedom to pursue art on the side.
I thought long and hard about being a teacher, but I wasn’t completely sure about it. It would be another two or three years of education and after just finishing four years, I wasn’t ready for that.
I settled on being an education assistant, or teaching assistant. I work in the public school system, helping special-needs kids. I get breaks at Christmas and in the spring, I am finished every day at 3:30, and best of all, I get summers off.
The job itself is interesting work. It’s challenging and can be very rewarding, but it’s not something that I take home with me. I don’t do any prep or marking. More importantly, I’m not selling anything or dealing with customers.
Since being involved in the education system, I am more grateful than ever that I didn’t become a teacher. I love the idea of being an artist that teaches, but I do not want to be a teacher. The politics and the bureaucracy are not for me. Teaching really is a thankless job, and the responsibilities seem to increase while the support decreases.
And that’s the story of my day job. It seems kind of a random choice, and when people find out that I’m an artist, they often ask me, “why are you here?” It really is the best of both worlds for me: it’s a job that I can tolerate (even enjoy on some days), it pays the bills and it gives me plenty of time for art.
What’s your day job? How did you end up there? Does it help or hinder your art practice?
And for those of you who have given up your day job: What made you decide? How did you do it? Any regrets?
Please share your experiences, I’d love to hear your story!
Tags: artists, Creativity, motivation
Smooth Blending with Acrylics – Can it be done?
Apr 21, 2010 Painting
In short, yes! Smooth blending with acrylic paints is extremely tricky, mostly because they dry so fast. The key is to work quickly, using some kind of substance to extend the working time of the paints.
One of these substances is simply water. A little bit of water mixed into the paint will extend its workability. You can also use a spray bottle to give your entire painting surface a light mist. This moisture will allow you to work the paint longer.
Another substance that is available is called acrylic retarder. This is a liquid specially designed to delay the drying of acrylic paints. You can buy it at most art supply stores and it’s fairly inexpensive. Remember, a little bit goes a long way. If you use too much, it can compromise the integrity of your paint.
How to Blend
The following is a really quick tutorial on smoothly blending acrylic paints. This can also be called wet blending because both colours are wet (as opposed to scumbling, which is when you blend two colours when one is already dry).
I have to apologize; I tried to make this a video tutorial, but my poor camera had some focusing issues.
This is a very simplistic example of how to blend smoothly, but it’s a good place to start practicing, and the principles can be applied to more complex subjects.
First, you want to start with the two colours you want to blend. Place them side by side.
Next, spread the colours out to fill in the areas you want to paint, painting up to the other colour but not crossing over. Leave a small space between each colour.
At this point, it’s really important that the paint is still wet in the middle where you will blend. If it’s not, add a little more. Take a fresh brush, a wide flat one is best, and stroke down the middle. This is where a video would have come in handy, but it’s pretty simple. Repeatedly stroke down, moving the brush slightly to each side to let the paint overlap. In this example, I had to be careful that the darker, intense blue didn’t take over the yellow. Whatever you do, don’t flip your brush around or you’ll end up with blue in the yellow and vice versa.
If you want a a soft, but definite line where the two colours meet, don’t move the brush too much. If you want the colours to blend gradually over a large area, move the brush a little bit more with each stroke.
You will need to be careful that you don’t over-work this too much. As the paint dries, it will become sticky and your brush could begin to take paint off the canvas! The trick is to go quickly, and use a tiny bit of water or retarder if you need. If you’re working on a large area, this is even more important!
Tags: acrylic painting, blending, paintings
7 Common Shading Mistakes and How to Fix Them
Apr 18, 2010 Drawing
I seem to get more e-mails from people wanting to know about shading than I do anything else. Instead of talking about tips and how to shade, I thought we’d take a look at some of the common mistakes people make when shading their pencil drawings.
To the left is a well-shaded sphere. The texture is smooth and even, there is a gradual transition between values, and there is a range of lights and darks. This is what we’re aiming for!
Here are some problems we might face along the way:
1. Messy Shading
The problem: This shading is hurried and uneven. We can clearly see the pencil lines, and this takes away from any illusion of depth we might create with our values. This mistake is due to either rushing or a lack of pencil control.
I often see this when the artist hasn’t spent as much time shading areas that aren’t “important.” For example, the eyes are shaded beautifully, but the rest of the face and/or torso have been rushed.
The solution: It’s important to realize that smooth, realistic shading takes time, and that each part of the drawing is as important as the rest.
If your pencil lines are visible because you find it difficult to control the presure of the pencil, practice is the answer! Just practice shading smooth, even lines with no spaces between them, always keeping the same pressure on the pencil. When you can do this, practice making value scales that show an even transition between light and dark.
2. Abrupt Transitions
The problem: In this sphere, we can clearly see a line that defines the different values.While some shiny or metallic surfaces have very separate values, most objects show a smooth gradation between light and dark.
The solution: To fix this problem, you need to practice building values in gradual layers. It’s not a just matter of pressing harder when you start shading the dark areas, it’s more of a slow process where each layer adds another bit of graphite. As the layers slowly build up, you get a gradual transition from light to dark. You will have to press slightly harder for the darker areas, and it’s important to learn how to gradually exert more pressure, but if you find yourself pressing very hard, you’re better off switching to a softer pencil.
3. Timid Shading
The problem: Here we see nice, smooth shading and a gradual transition from light to dark, but the entire drawing is far too light! This is probably the most common mistake made by new artists. Often this is a result of being too timid to make bold shadows. The result is a very washed out, flat looking drawing.
The solution: Don’t be afraid of your drawing, and especially don’t be afraid of ruining your work! Remember that if you’ve drawn it once, you’ve drawn it again, so go ahead and try some dark, deep shadows. By creating dark shadows, you create more depth and dimension in your drawings. It’s also important to remember that the only areas that should be as white as your paper are the small highlights where light actually hits your subject. Everything else should be shaded at least lightly.
4. Grey Shading
The problem: This is very similar to the previous mistake, but here we have an entire sphere shaded in midtones. We are missing a highlight and the shadows. This also makes for a very flat drawing, not to mention it makes your work look very dull and drab.
The solution: Every element of your drawing, whether it’s skin, hair, clothing, a cup, or some other object, should have a highlight, shadows and a range of midtones. To get a highlight, either avoiding applying any graphite to the area, or use a kneaded eraser to lift out any pencil marks already there. For shadows, get a softer pencil like a 2B or a 4B and add some darker values.
5. Outlines
The problem: This sphere is shaded perfectly, but do you get a sense of depth or volume from it? No. That’s because of the outline. A line is two-dimensional, it is flat and sits on the surface of the paper. Anytime you outline your drawings, you’re bringing all the attention to the paper’s surface, essentially nullifying your shading. Don’t get me wrong, there is a time and a place for lines, but a realistically rendered drawing is not it!
The solution: It’s unrealistic to expect to do a drawing without any use of line. The trick is learning to do it in a way that isn’t distracting. Make sure your outlines are very light and easy to erase. Use either a very hard or very soft pencil, and don’t press hard. If a tiny bit of your line is left over, it’s probably fine, but the heavier it is, the more it will take away from your shading.
6. Shading in Different Directions
The problem: This is a more subtle mistake than some of the others, but if we look closely, we can see that although the shading itself is smooth, there is a “patchwork” feel to this sphere. This is because the shading was done in all different directions: first horizontal, then vertical, then diagonal. This takes away from the unity of the object’s surface and makes the shading look messy even though we can’t see the individual pencil strokes.
The solution: Try to keep your shading going in the same direction. If you absolutely must change directions (and sometimes you have to!) lessen the pressure on your pencil, change directions and keep shading, overlapping the marks you made in the other direction. This will help create a smooth transition and disguise the change. Blending with a tortillon can also help with this.
7. Improper Tools
The problem: If you’re tried all these tips and still your shading isn’t quite right, take a look at your tools. Your shading can only be as good as what you’re working with. With a regular HB pencil, for example, you will never get the rich shadows that you need. You can press as hard as you want, but it just won’t go that dark! Paper is another thing to consider. Regular computer paper is very flat, and doesn’t have the texture to take the amount of graphite needed to properly shade.
The solution: A decent sketchbook and a range of pencils won’t cost much, but will go a long way towards improving the quality of your pencil drawings.
Can’t get enough on pencil shading? Check out these articles:
How to Shade your Pencil Drawings
Tags: drawing tips, shading
Are You Getting Your Newsletter?
Apr 15, 2010 Special Bulletins
Did you sign up for the newsletter, but aren’t receiving it?
It’s come to my attention that there is a little mix-up with the newsletter. Basically, the newsletter service was sending out confirmation e-mails from a different address than where the newsletter was coming from. What that means is that the e-mails have probably gotten stuck in your junk mail folder!
I’ve fixed this little problem, but if you haven’t been getting the newsletter, make sure to check your junk mail or set info@learntoart.com to your safe list.
Sorry for the confusion!! This is all new to me and it’s definitely a learning curve!
And for those of you who haven’t signed up yet, below is the March issue. Take a look at all the juicy tid-bits you’ve been missing! I’ve also added links in the sidebar (to the right) to the latest newsletter, as well as the archive.
If you want the next issue in your inbox, please submit your address!
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