Learn to… Art!

Drawing and Painting Glass

Jun 27, 2010 Drawing, Painting

Question: How do you draw something that’s clear?

Answer: You don’t.

Confused?

The key to drawing or painting glass is not to render the actual glass object but to render the way the glass distorts and reflects the objects around it.

Glass is clear so we see through it, but glass can be many different shapes. What we see through the glass gets warped. This warping is what gives us the information we need to determine the shape of the glass.

In the painting above, you can see a glass bottle sitting in front of some blinds. The way the blinds are seen through the glass tell us about the shape and volume of the bottle. When I painted this, I didn’t paint the bottle, I painted the blinds as they are seen through the glass. This is key!

When rendering glass, you’re going to need a reference image, either from life or a photo. You will also need to use your artistic observational skills. You really need to pay attention to what’s going on within the glass. That being said, don’t get too caught up in the myriad of tiny shapes that you can see. You will need to simplify and edit the shapes. Pick out the major light and dark areas, then work the mid-tones.

The other thing to remember is that glass is reflective. This means that shapes and objects in front of the glass may be seen in it, but it also means that there will be bright highlights. These highlights are what communicate the shiny, reflective nature of the glass.

Drawing and painting glass is not as tricky as it looks. Pick a simple object to start (the more complex your glass object, the more difficult it will be to draw). Focus on the lights and darks, pay close attention to the way the glass distorts the background, and observe the subtle variations in tone. As you draw the visible shapes, you will begin nto see your glass objects take shape.

Good luck! I’d love to see the results of your efforts!

Tags: art tips, drawing tips, drawings, paintings

Studio Tips for Renting Artists

Jun 23, 2010 Art General

So you’re wanting to set up a studio space in your home or another area that you don’t own. You want it to be a space in which you can let loose and get messy, but you want to keep your damage deposit! What do you do?

Well, from an artist who’s had a studio space in every rented home she’s had, and who has always gotten her damage deposit, here are some tips.

Preventing Mess

Prevention is key! When you set up your space, take into consideration all the areas you want to protect.

The floor: A drop sheet is absolutely necessary, wall to wall if possible! A plastic drop sheet works well, but the best ones I’ve seen are double layered. One layer is a light canvas, the second layer is heavy plastic. If you lay this out canvas side up, the fabric will absorb any spills so that it doesn’t run off the edge of the drop sheet, and the plastic keeps it from leaking through. The double layer also makes it less likely that you will put a hole through it. Whichever kind of drop sheet you choose, heavier is better!

Some notes on drop sheets: Spiders love these things, so just be aware that you might have a few unwelcome visitors! It’s also a good idea to take them out every once in awhile to double check that nothing is leaking, as well as to let your room air out. Plastic can trap moisture and you wouldn’t want mold to grow!

The walls: This is an area that is easy to overlook. Even if you’re doing nice, neat paintings on canvas, there are a million ways that paint could end up on the wall. Dropping a paint brush, a flicking motion of your brush, etc. Identify the areas most likely to get hit and drape some plastic there. This plastic doesn’t need to be as heavy, it just needs to protect the wall. A push-pin or two should be enough to hold it up, and that won’t damage the walls too much.

Storage: Having a safe, dedicated area to store things definitely cuts down on the number of spills and accidents that happen in the studio. Try to keep your work area tidy and put things away after you use them. Clean your brushes promptly, pour out rinse water right away and keep your palette clean or put away.

Cleaning Up Mess

No matter how many preventions you take, no matter how careful you are, you will inevitably get paint in a place where it shouldn’t be. Here are some strategies for effective clean-up.

The floor: Luckily, hardwood, lino and laminate are easy to clean up. If the paint is wet, it wipes right off and if it’s dry, it scrapes off fairly easily. Carpet is tougher. Make sure you clean it up right away while the paint is wet. I’ve found that Master’s Brush Cleaner works really well to get oil paint out of carpet, much better than carpet cleaner. Whatever you do, dab, don’t scrub!

The wall: I have a few strategies that have worked for me when trying to get paint splatters off the wall. The first is using fine sand paper and very lightly sanding away the paint. You need to do this very slowly and carefully! Another thing you could try is using your own paints to mix the wall colour and painting over top of your splatters. This only works if you have a few tiny spots of paint to cover up, and make sure you test your colour somewhere inconspicuous first. Obviously, these should only be attempted if your efforts are going to improve the condition of the walls. The whole idea is to leave them as you found them, but not at the risk of doing more damage.

The sink: Whether you wash up in the bathroom or in the kitchen, the sink is another area where paint can splatter. The area you really need to worry about is the counter, which can stain. Make sure you wipe up anything that gets on the counter right away. The sink itself may look stained, but will wash up with some cleaner like Vim, or in extreme cases, some kind of bleach.

Your route: The last place that is likely to get dirty is the route you take between your work space and your wash-up area. I know this from experience… A spot of paint on the foot can be tracked through the whole house, or a handful of brushes that need cleaning can make a mess of the wall if you’re not paying attention! I’ve also gotten paint on light switches by accident. Just be aware of yourself and your movements through the house during and after working in the studio. The sooner you notice a mess, the easier it is to clean up.

Conclusion

Just because you don’t own your house doesn’t mean you can’t fashion a functional area to make art. You just need a little extra precaution and fore-sight. I’ve always been able to rig up a space that allows me to get messy. I once had an entire room lined with plastic and it worked perfectly! So get some drop sheets, set up a space that works for you, and start creating!

Tags: art studio, organization, paintings

Combating Perfectionism in Art

Jun 16, 2010 Art General

The folks over at theArtistsWhoTHRIVE Blog posted a great article a little while ago: Perfectionism Kills Creativity. If you receive my newsletter, you will have already seen it. If not, I suggest you read it!

This short but informative article suggests that quantity is more important than quality in an art practice, a sentiment I happen to agree with.

When it comes to art, quality follows quantity. That is, by producing lots of work, experimenting, trying new things and allowing yourself to make mistakes, you will inevitably improve your skills. If you’re bogged down with details, obsessed with perfectionism, you limit your own creativity.

Your job as an artist is not to produce good art, it’s to produce lots of art. By producing lots of art, you will thereby produce good art!

Okay, it’s a bit much to wrap your mind around, but once you do, it’s very liberating! Let me give you an example:

I am a huge perfectionist, a characteristic that is evident in my portrait work. Throughout the first three years of art school, I really struggled with my need to create perfect images. I was criticized for it and questioned my own creativity. It wasn’t until my fourth year that I was able to set aside my perfectionism and start producing a larger volume of work. That’s when my creativity really flourished and the ideas started flowing like crazy!

So how do we leave perfectionism behind and embrace our true creative natures? Well, it wasn’t easy for me and it probably won’t be easy for you!

For most people, perfectionism isn’t a switch in the brain that can just be turned off. You will likely need to implement strategies that help you subvert your natural tendencies. For me, this was a systematic destruction of my own creations. Because I knew that I would be destroying my work eventually, it didn’t matter anymore if it wasn’t perfect. This allowed me to make mistakes and work more quickly without trying to plan the end result.

So, what are some ways you can stop being a perfectionist? Here are a few ideas that I came up with.

Practical Ways to Subvert Perfectionism in Art

1. Paint with an extra large brush. Don’t allow yourself a small brush to paint details. Force yourself to contend with a too-large tool and simplify shapes.

2. Don’t use an eraser. Whatever you do, whatever mistakes you make, no erasers! Either live with the mistake, or find a way to fix it by continuing to draw.

3. Give yourself permission to make mistakes. Not in a vague and abstract sense, but in a concrete sense. State to yourself that you will make (and not correct) three mistakes in your next piece.

4. Make up rules that get in the way of your usual process. For example, you could decide that after completing the first parts of a painting, you will outline everything in bright orange. This gives you another element to contend with and will keep you from getting caught up in details too early.

5. Go big. Technical drawers (like myself) tend to work on smaller pieces and stay tightly focused on the subject. We use small tools and small actions to draw. Break away from this mindset by using a large piece of paper and drawing with big, expressive gestures.

6. Paint or draw without looking at your work. Do this in the beginning to get a looser feeling, then challenge yourself to make it work.

7. Try it “en plein air.” Take your easel outside and work from nature. This forces you to work faster and looser, and to simplify many of the details that are visible.

8. Give yourself a time limit. Gesture drawings are great for this. Challenge yourself to capture the essense of a subject in thirty seconds, one minute, or five minutes.

By using these and other strategies, you can begin to let go of any perfectionism that may be holding you back. When you don’t stress over every little detail in every little piece, you free up a lot of time to make more art.

Perfectionism on the Web

Perfectionism seems to be a hot topic among artists right now. Check out Itaya’s blog and Kirsty Hall’s blog for more thoughts and discussion on the topic of perfectionism.

Share!

What are your thoughts of and experiences with perfectionism? What are some strategies that you use to keep from stressing over details?

Tags: art, artists, Creativity, perfectionism

You Have Your Paints… What do You Paint On?

Jun 13, 2010 Painting

Although paper can be used as a painting surface, canvas is the most common choice. Fortunately, there are many choices when it comes to canvas, one to suit every artist’s level and budget.

1. Canvas Paper

This is a synthetic imitation of real canvas. The paper has more of a plastic-like sheen than a feeling of fabric, but it does have the texture of woven fibres. Canvas paper is available in pads, and is great for artists new to painting and for those looking for an inexpensive surface for studies and sketches. It’s also very easy to frame.

2. Canvas Board

This is a gesso-ed piece of canvas stretched over cardboard. You can buy these or make them yourself. This is another good option for beginning painters, but they can be tricky to hang.

3. Pre-stretched Canvas

Personally, this is my favorite. These can be bought from any art-supply store in a variety of sizes, dimensions and depths.

Painting on a stretched canvas is completely unlike painting on any kind of paper or board. As one of my instructors once said, the canvas paints back. The stretched fabric has a give that can take some getting used to.

When buying pre-stretched canvas, make sure you get the ones with the staples on the back, not on the sides. Also, double check for any dents in the stretcher bars.

4. Stretching Your Own Canvas

This allows you to customize the size and dimension of your canvas to your exact specifications. It also allows you more control over the tension of the canvas. Many artists prefer using their own stretched canvas for these reasons.

There are two ways you can make your own canvas: you can buy pre-made stretcher bars, which you assemble and then stretch the canvas over, or you can build your own canvas stretcher bars.

It’s important to note that there is a definite hierarchy when it comes to these four options. Most “professional” artists will tell you that an artist should make their own stretchers. This isn’t always practical, or possible, though. If you are selling your work, or trying to get into a gallery, I would recommend that you work on stretched canvas even if they are pre-stretched. If you approach a gallery with works on canvas board, you may get sneered at!

Tags: acrylic painting, canvas, oil painting, paintings

Dry-Brushing, Scumbling, Scrubbing – Blending Acrylic Paint

Jun 6, 2010 Painting

Although smooth blending can be done in acrylics, it takes a lot of time and patience. And if you screw it up, you pretty much have to re-paint the entire area. I find it much easier to blend acrylics using a dry-brush technique, which works better with the acrylic paint’s quick drying time.

Scumbling is blending two colours together when one colour is already dry. It’s also called dry-brushing because the paint brush is loaded with very little paint.

To achieve this affect, you basically drag your brush across the painting surface without pressing too hard. For this to work, you need to have a textured surface: canvas works perfectly. The paint from your brush gets left behind on the surface of the tooth of the canvas, letting the other colours show through beneath. If you want it darker, you press harder.

See below for a very quick video tutorial on how to dry-brush!

This picture shows how you can create a gradation with the scumbling technique. I started out pressing hard, then dragged the brush away in short strokes, using less and less pressure.

This picture shows how scumbling can be used to blend colours. Here I have dry brushed red over yellow. By controlling the pressure of my brush, I can create a smooth gradation between the two colours. Because of the same illusion used in dot painting, the colours blend visually and we see orange.

The great thing about scumbling is that if you mess up, all you need to do is scumble the other colour back on top to even it out. It’s not as finicky as smooth blending.

Scrubbing

I’m sure sure this is a technical term, but it’s the word I use to describe a slightly different technique. Instead of using steady brush strokes to scumble, this involves scrubbing your brush into your canvas. This can be hard on your brushes, so I like to use one that’s already a bit fuzzy. It also works better with a brush that has shorter, stiff bristles. Personally, I like scrubbing more than controlled dry-brushing because it’s more spontaneous and intuitive.

Video Tutorial

Disclaimer: I feel like I need to admit that this video isn’t  of the best quality… I obviously need to learn how to work my camera better, because it goes in and out of focus. I wasn’t going to include it at all, but I decided to for two reasons: one, I did all the work already, and two, it does clarify how exactly to use your brush to apply paint in a scumbling or scrubbing technique.

Hope it helps!

Tags: acrylic painting, blending, dry-brushing, scumbling