Big Art, Small Art
May 30, 2010 Creativity
What size do you typically work in? Do you always work in the same size, or do you change it up? How do you decide what size you want to work? Do you work in a size that’s comfortable?
Personally, I like a lot of variety when it comes to sized.
Going between big art and small art helps the creative juices flow. It sparks new ideas and allows you to see links and parallels between the works that can lead to a deeper understanding of your own art.
Small Art
Lots of artists do small art in the form of studies. Working small allows you to work very quickly. It only takes a few brushstrokes to cover your surface, so it is easier to work spontaneously and expressively. Small art often captures a sense of energy and movement.
Also, because you have less room, it is necessary to “edit” or simplify your subject matter in order to fit it all. Working small doesn’t always mean working with small tools. It can be an interesting challenge to do a small painting with a regular-sized paint brush.
Big Art
Big art has its own set of challenges and advantages. The challenge can be filling up all the space. It takes much longer and because of that, it can be difficult to maintain the spontaneity of brushstroke in smaller works.
On the other hand, big art can open up new possibilities, giving you more space to let loose and get expressive. This is especially true if you’re used to working on a smaller scale. Going big can be very liberating!
Variety in Art
Changing things up in your art practice is so important. Moving between subjects, mediums and size are great ways to generate new ideas. The act of re-interpreting your style and finding different ways to express yourself not only enriches your experience as an artist but keeps you from stagnating.
On Comfort
If you’re at a point in your art career where you feel comfortable, you need to change something! Art isn’t about comfort, it’s about presenting yourself with new challenges and finding ways to overcome them.
If you always work on the same size canvas because it’s comfortable and practical, find a way to change it up. Always working the same way will almost always produce the same kind of work.
PS: Only a few more days to win a tote bag loaded with free art supplies!
Tags: art, art tips, Creativity
In the Background – What to Put Behind Portrait Drawings
May 26, 2010 Drawing
Once you get a handle on how to draw portraits, it’s time to start thinking about the backgrounds of your drawings.
When you’re just starting to learn how to draw, backgrounds can be overwhelming and just plain annoying. As you start to develop your techniques, you begin to see the importance of considering what is behind your portrait.
Using seven examples of my own portraits, here are some options for portrait backgrounds.
1. White
This is the most obvious and the most easiest, but it isn’t always the most effective. The problem with a white background is that the white of the paper remains on the same “plane” as the white highlights on your figure. This means that the background and the foreground merge, and your subject doesn’t pop forward.
2. Shaded
With this portrait, I opted to shade the entire background in a mid-tone gray. By doing this, I pushed the background back, letting the subject come forward. The dog’s face pops on the darker background and it looks more three-dimensional.
3. Gradient
This is another way to dress-up the shaded background. You can manipulate the background in a way that suggests a light source, that emphasizes your subject, and creates direction and focus. Here, the highlight is behind the subject’s head, drawing the focus there.
4. Simple
In this portrait, I’ve taken the natural background and simplified it. Behind the subject was the beach, ocean and horizon. I’ve simplified it so that it’s easier and quicker to draw, but is still recognizable to the client who knows what it is. It adds a little extra interest to the portrait without taking away from the subject.
5. Blurry
This type of background is similar to the previous one, but it creates more of an atmospheric setting. Here the background refers to nature, trees, and foliage. To create this effect, shade the whole background and then pick up random highlights with a kneaded eraser. Then go back in with your pencil and darken some areas. The key is to make the patterns of light and dark unpredictable.
6. Realistic
Using a realistic background is a good way to communicate something about your subject or their personality. In this portrait, my client asked me to draw a wheat field in the background to relate to her dad’s life as a farmer. When drawing a realistic background, remember that you will have to simplify the details to a certain extent. Here, the wheat gets less distinct as it gets farther away, creating a sense of distance and depth.
7. Montage
This type of background is gives you some freedom to play with the elements of your portrait and create meaning in a more creative way. In this portrait, I’ve used the image of a medal that the subject won at a marathon. Although the medal is much bigger compared to the figure than it would be in real life, it becomes a part of the overall composition and adds context to the portrait.
Each of these techniques serves a purpose and will suit some portraits better than others. Whatever you do, don’t forget to consider your background. Your drawing is your whole page and you need to think about how best to use it!
Don’t be afraid of backgrounds, jump in and experiment!
Tags: backgrounds, better drawings, composition, drawing tips, portraits
Acrylic Mediums: Add Dimension to Your Paintings
May 23, 2010 Painting
One of the drawbacks to acrylic paints is their consistency and finish. Acrylics dry very flat and plastic-y. They lack the solidity and substance of oil paints.
Luckily, there is a great variety of products available that can help us alter the consistency of the paint. Here’s an overview of some of the common mediums.
Acrylic Gel Medium
This is basically paint without pigment. It dries clear on its own, but can be added to paint to help it go further and can be used to make glazes. It is available in matte and gloss, so it also alters the paint’s finish. Gel medium on its own is an excellent glue and can be used to fix objects to your canvas.
Impasto Gel
Use this medium if you want lots of texture. Unlike gel medium, which flattens as it dries, impasto gel will hold its shape and dry in sharp peaks. This means that you can build up layers of texture and brush strokes. You can also use impasto to create a textured ground on your canvas before painting.
Self Leveling Gel
This medium lets you blend your paints and produce flat areas of colour without brush strokes. The paint essentially “levels” itself, making it flat and uniform.
Acrylic Retarder
I’ve mentioned this one before, but it doesn’t hurt to talk about it again! This medium won’t change the finish or texture of your paint, but it will extend its workability. Retarder slows drying time and lets you work the paint longer.
Other Mediums
There is a slew of other mediums available that will add all different textures to your paint. You can get sand and pumice mediums that produce a grainy texture, you can even get mediums with tiny glass beads in them. Check out Golden’s page on acrylic mediums for more information on what is available and how to use them.
And don’t forget to enter to win free drawing supplies!
Tags: acrylic mediums, acrylic painting, paintings, texture
Want to Win Free Art Supplies?
May 19, 2010 Special Bulletins
THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED… THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO ENTERED!
At the end of this month, Learn to… Art! is one year old!
I can’t believe it’s been so long already. When I first started blogging, I wondered if I’d even have enough to say to last this long. Apparently I do!
To celebrate the blog’s birthday, I’m hosting a giveaway of a tote bag loaded with drawing supplies! The tote bag is totally practical and great for taking to workshops or plein air painting and drawing. The art supplies area variety of different media to encourage you to try new things! This prize package is great for beginners as well as those needing to re-stock!
What You Get:
- a custom Learn to… Art! canvas tote bag.
- a sketch book
- two pencils (different graphites)
- two blending sticks (different sizes)
- a graphite stick
- a charcoal stick
- a white conte stick
- a kneaded eraser and a regular eraser
- a pencil sharpener
Estimated value: $50
How to Enter
To enter, all you need to do is leave a comment on this blog post. I’d love it if you let me know your favorite part about Learn to… Art! or make a suggestion about what you’d like to see more of.
Extra entries for:
- tweeting about this giveaway with a link to this post
- following me on Twitter
- sharing this link on Facebook
- becoming a fan on Facebook
- blogging about this giveaway with a link to this post
- subscribing to my RSS feed or e-mail feed
- signing up for the monthly newsletter
If you do any of these extras, or have already done, leave a comment and let me know!
Deadline: May 31st
This is my way of showing my gratitude and appreciation for an ever-growing audience. This blog is all about helping people expand their artistic horizons, learn new techniques, becoming better artists and having the confidence to put yourself out there.
Good luck!
7 Exciting Exercises in Abstract Art
May 16, 2010 Art General
Want to get in touch with your abstract side but not sure how? Here are a few different exercises to get you thinking about form and space, shape, emotion and composition.
1. Paint with Feeling
Many abstract works are expressive, as in they express something, often an emotion. Practice making marks on a page. What would an angry mark look like? Now a happy mark. Experiment with different kinds of lines and marks that express some kind of feeling. Then, pick a feeling and focus on creating an expressive painting. Think about the types of shapes you will use, the types of marks and the colours.
2. Paint a Word
This is similar to the first exercise, but here you’re choosing an abstract word that you can “illustrate.” Challenge yourself to make a drawing or painting that refers to your word without using explicit pictures. A good example for a word is time. How can you represent time without using the image of a clock? What would it look like?
3. Repetition
Another common element of abstraction is repetition. Choose an image or a shape to repeat throughout your piece. Draw the outline of your image and overlap the edges. Some questions to ask yourself are: do my shapes touch the edge? are they all the same size or are they different? Start filling in the resulting shapes in your chosen colour palette, but don’t stop there. Re-work some of the lines and edges, focus on creating a cohesive image.
4. Give Yourself Rules
A random set of arbitrary rules will give you a starting place and provide you with a guideline for your abstract work. For example, you could tell yourself that you must draw 100 dots. They can be any size, they can be any colour, they can be all the same or all different. You can draw whatever else you want, but you must somehow incorporate 100 dots. Give this a try and let your creativity go wild.
5. Collage
Collage is another great way to let loose and experiment. In this situation, you’re using an existing image (either your own work or from a magazine) and abstracting the image beyond recognition. Tear up your image and glue it down to your paper, using the shapes and lines to guide the composition. The great thing about this is that you know the colours already work, now you’re just re-arranging them. Again, don’t stop there! Re-work your collage with some drawn or painted elements.
6. Crop it Down
This exercise also uses a found image. This could be a photograph, an image from a magazine, or your own work. Cut two L-shaped pieces of paper to form a frame and use these to find a composition that you like. The key here is to crop the image so closely that it becomes simply a combination of line, form and colour. Now you have a reference to draw from. You can be as faithful, or unfaithful as you like with the colours. The example above was taken from a photo of many houses, cropped right down so that it’s unrecognizable.
7. Step-by-Step
If you’re still stuck, you can try these step-by-step instructions for abstract art. It’s meant for kids, but don’t let that deter you! This is a cool exercise to loosen you up and make you think outside your box. You can always come up with your own instructions and see what happens.
The important thing in abstract art is that you open yourself up to what is possible. You may need to let go of some of your prejudices about what is and isn’t art, but when you do, you will discover a whole new world of art!
Also check out my article about understanding abstract art.
Tags: abstract, art, art tips, Creativity
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