Versatility
I began my career painting with oils and I believe I will always be an oil painter. I sometimes wonder if what you start with is always your favorite medium or if it makes a difference. I have tried acrylics and watercolors and always end up back with oils.
Oil paints are made with the same pigments as watercolor except that the “binder” they mix with is an oil. The only way to make them opaque is to use white along with them. The water colorist does not use any white, only the whiteness of the paper. Interesting, isn’t it!!
Oil paint is very versatile and can be used in many different ways. The most common is Alla Prima which of course simply means painting wet-in-wet. We apply color thinly to thickly toward the finished task. Yet, there are other ways of using oils such as glazing, under-painting, scumbling, and dragging.
The old masters did mostly glazing, that is, to put a transparent layer of color over a monochromatic under-painting. In my opinion, they probably did this to use their colors sparingly as they were difficult to get. But glazing provides a luminosity and glow like no other and it is what draws me to totally be in awe of them.
There are many books out there to explore all these techniques and I would encourage you all to go the library and read about them.
Tis the Season
Hey everyone, this is the time of year for great photo opportunities, especially of little children. I am thinking of course of future portraits to be painted. When those little ones are all dressed up by the Christmas tree or opening a gift, get down on their level to get a great photo. The same is to be done with pets, get down on your belly on the floor to get a good shot. These will make wonderful paintings.
I want to thank all of you who support me and give me such inspiration and joy. It is such a pleasure and honor to have you in my life.
Let’s Get Back to Blogging
I apologise to all who were enjoying my blog. I didn’t realize anyone was following it and thus it took a very low degree of importance in “stuff to get done”. So I am thrilled to know people are reading and learning from me!!
I thought today I would write to the tremendous and overwhelming task of getting to the end result while staring at a blank canvas. It seems an extremely daunting task. I know it is for me so for all you new people it is probably the major “block” you encounter.
First, I know when I teach I am constantly saying, “This is not the finished product, Let’s just get something on this canvas to play with”. I know you have heard me say this. To expect our paint and brushes to arrive at a masterpiece at the first sitting is not possible. It takes many layers. A wonderful artist by the name of Helen Van Wyck had a wonderful quote that I just love and it is “Layers of paint are layers of thought.”
First we must have the inspiration and sketch it on, next, as I usually do, do a tonal composition,next comes the color and then finally the details, darken shadows and lighten lights etc. So right there are four layers of paint and thought.
If we all would take more time to think and paint and not be quite so worried about getting “done and hung” our work would be so much better.
Todays Technology
Hi everyone,
I have been enjoying my classes with senior adults so much. A discussion was held recently on the marvels of modern technology and the uses of it for the modern day artist.
I feel strongly that life evolves and that art should evolve along with it. Why not use modern technology available to us today, such as the digital camera. The cameras available now have tremendous capabilities that have advantages for the artist. In my opinion, an artist with vision uses what is available to him to get the project underway.
It is also my opinion that the old masters would have been thrilled to have the technology that we have today. The fantastic paints, mediums, canvas etc. So let’s not get hung up on the term “artist” and allow it to stand in the way of great artwork.
Seeing a Trend
I have been noticing these past few months that more and more people over the age of fifty-five are enrolling in painting classes. The comments I have heard many times are that these folks have always wanted to paint but have never had the time or money to invest in themselves. Now that family is grown and responsibilities are fewer, people are pursuing their long forgotten desires and developing their hidden creative sides.
Interestingly enough, in this months issue of The Artists Magazine there is an enjoyable article on several artists who started to paint once they reached sixty.
It is always important to remember that it is never too late to begin a new chapter in your life!
Finally back together
Finally had a class last night. This winter has been a killer as far as everyone making it to class. It seems it has snowed almost every Tuesday night since mid January but it held off last night. What fun! All the chit chat and wonderful news everyone shared as they eagerly got set up to paint. Believe it or not a student was even finishing up a beautiful portrait of Santa; she will be ready for next year, that’s for sure ! Other students were busily working on portraits of loved ones. It was a great night had by all.
Economic Situation
We all know how bad the economy is, right? We are being bombarded with negative information constantly these days and I find it difficult to even get myself to the studio let alone pick up a brush. So I kn0w that if I am feeling this way, many others are as well. We have to push through this heavy cloud that is hanging over us and find the sunshine. By doing nothing, nothings happens!! That is a very simple way of looking at it but that’s the basics of it folks.
When, I find myself feeling rather weighted down here is what I do and I suggest you do it too!!
Look through books, ideas start to flow when looking at pictures, if you have an art museum…go there
Play great invigorating music while looking through books, jump up and dance around the room…. who cares who’s watching. If they laugh at us, guess what, they’ll feel better too!!
Clean up your paint area, now that will either motivate you or depress you so be careful. Ha!
But here is the best of all……. get together with a paint friend and go through books and pictures together. Go out for lunch (eating always makes us feel good). Book a time together to paint and that will get you back into it. Smell that paint, feel the brush, watch it happen and voila!
As I go around teaching, I am finding that there is a lot of confusion regarding “mediums” we use, no, not crystal balls or ougi boards, but that liquid we must use along with oil paints. Yes, you must use a medium; I have come across students who did not know that.
Mediums are a must to thin the paint or to allow better manipulations of the paint and also to promote drying time. It also can change the character of the paint such as make it transparent as oppose to opaque. The ideal mediums are clear and do not affect the color of the paint.
In my opinion, and for the beginner painter, there are only two to consider. The first is a product called Liquin from Winsor Newton or Liquiglaze from Martin Weber. The second is Cold-pressed linseed oil. I recommend Cold-pressed over refined because it dries faster and is the best quality of linseed oil.
There are many other mediums but I feel if you stick to these two you will be successful!
Back from Vacation
Sorry for the delay on updates, I have been on vacation to the wonderful Big Island of Hawaii. What a wonderful place for unusual plants and flowers and of course the sea. I found myself studying waves, water movement and foam patterns daily and I must have a hundred photos of just water. I do think that by being able to focus on the water in real time it makes it easier to understand the anatomy of a wave. It is rather difficult for a midwest prairie painter to paint the sea without experiencing it so if have an interest in seascape, I would suggest you visit the sea!
Happy New Year
Sorry, I have had a brief time out here but these busy days got the best of me. Now, how many times have we been hearing….new year…..new you!!
Well, I am wondering with all the new resolutions being made, if any of them include perhaps more painting? It does not matter for me, I don’t ever have to make that a resolution because I find it hard to stay out of my studio!! Mine should probably be doing more house work,,,,Yuk!!! I certainly hope that those of you who want to paint more are able to do it.
Another path for those of you who have painted a lot and are getting rather bored with it, it is probably time to try something new. Just trying new surfaces, new textures and or a new medium may be just what it takes to get excited again. I am going to be playing in water mixable oils ( just playing, mind you). At this point, I am certainly not ready to give up love of tradional oils but for purposes of travel, it may make sense for me to make them work. I am thinking a combination of acrylic and water mixable oils. There is a lot to learn and not many avenues for information so it shall be fun experimenting!!
