Tag Archives: art lessons

When to call it finished?

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Every piece of artwork has a time when it is time to put down the brushes. There is a saying “Artwork is never finished” But that is a very thin fine line. Do not over-work a piece by playing attention to every tiny detail. In this painting I tilted; “DAD, HOLD STILL!”; I added a few dandelions here and there  for a dot of color to break up the green. Be careful how you add details;  I didn’t want the viewer’ eyes to go to the dandelions first. I like this……there are things I would have changed, but every artist is their own worst  critic.

 

 “DAD, HOLD STILL!”.  Watercolor; 16.75″ x 27.75″.

When I get a moment…..

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As soon as I get an extra moment I will up load several life drawing sketches and a few friends’ artworks. Keep sketching and working on your next masterpieces!

I finally am able to print out my art directions regarding miniature flowers I design. What a huge hurdle that was….Now if I can only get the files to email? Tried everything. Anyway, as soon as I have an extra hour I will try to figure out what to do next. The flowers I have posted in the Miniature Flower section the Directions are for sale. I can only print them at this point. I will mail them to you vs. email a PDF.  Payment would be through Paypal to my email.  Please email me if interested. Thanks.

In the next day or so I will post the amount of pages per flower and the directions I have so far; such as container ideas etc.

I was going to sell and post per flowers directions; I think it will be easier if I combined three flowers and their directions per mini book. I will figure out the cost for printing color ink, folder and shipping in US and I will post soon. Please look for a new menu tab in the near future for Mini Flower Directions for sale.

Made an artist.

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Just when you think you understand and have a grasp on “My art” the universe has a different idea. I have a habit of saying I am a portrait artist, but I really need to open those borders by saying painting portraiture is my love. Maybe I should stick to “I am an artist”.  I had a recent artwork where I needed to paint landscape and I actually loved painting the scenery. Who knew and the landscape actually came out very well.  I find amongst artist friends each has a speciality and style which they stick too; I do not want to be typed into one or few categories. Anyway, another life lesson.

I will be adding a new piece to my gallery soon….a new category to my experience. :}

Improving your skill level is important if you want to better your artist ability; keep Life drawing. Life drawing is key to improving your skill level. Even if the only access you have to a model is drawing Grandpa sleeping in his old chair than sketch Grandpa. You can not advance to the next level if you do not have strong fundamentals in drawing; you need to know how to draw what something actually looks like in reality [realism] before you can change form for a stylized art. Keep sketching during a lunch hour; watching people walking by or a co-worker. A sleeping family member or maybe someone in your family wont mind sitting for you for a  few minutes. Use charcoal and newsprint which will allow you to sketch quickly and shade in values in a short five minute pose. You can do it! Let me know how you are doing.

Thanks once again to the comments I receive; some are “eye brawl” raising and interesting, most are kinds words which I truly appreciate.

Hitting the wall!

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Yesterday an artist friend and student of mine were taking about when as an artist we “Hit the wall” when painting or drawing or whatever medium it is. This particular brain freeze of where to go next? How do I put the background in or where do I go from here? It can be a question and answer of simple as skill level needing to be developed and there is the “Hitting the wall”. Most times artist want to give up at this point, but DON”T! This is a crucial time of learning, the art juices are flowing. Press through and don’t put the artwork away and think you will come back and finish because that time usually never comes. Sit the artwork aside for a few days but continue to view the artwork and let the composition speak to you. Let the artwork speak to you and see what parts bother you or figure out what just doesn’t look right. Sometimes I do Not like to show anyone my artwork to a certain stage and I respect that, but someone may see something you do not. A constructive critique is key to any artist.

For myself when painting this last watercolor of the kids in the pool I found myself “Stuck” on what to do with the background. I love painting in realism in any medium, but I also need a balance of subdued color or style for a happy balance in composition. The problem is getting there. I see other artist works that I know I have the same skill level of realism, but how they achieved the balance is a learning process I need to work more in. Watercolor is an ideal medium for loose wash techniques and most artist paint watercolor in that style, but I don’t or have a hard time of breaking free from controlled layers of color or photo realism. This is where Life drawing helps with timed poses and self teaching of “Letting go” from adding too much realism. It’s funny because I have artist friends that tell me they wish they could paint watercolor like I do and here I am wanting to paint looser. Go figure. I don’t think it is has to do with not being content on how I paint I don’t want my compositions to speak “seen it” already. Artwork can become seen and done it, Next! There are some artist that paint and their skill level is amazing but the artwork is steal after twenty paintings completed the same way. That is where I am at, I think? The car watercolor before this pool painting I don’t mind total realism through out because the composition is strong. There is the happy balance once again. Being an artist is a struggle, especially when emotion is attached. That is what an artist is made of, a bag of emotion trying to escape through paint. Add life, experiences in life and it reflects in our artwork and how we have a need to create through all these experiences. Maybe it is growth in our work? It is what makes us accomplished artist? Instead of thinking about it and never really have the answers of these questions being asked through-out time it is best to pick a brush and work it out! Will I get there eventually? I think so, but artwork is never really finished. I guess the finished artwork or when I call it finished relates to where I am at that particular time in life. Too profound today with unanswered questions. Time to pick up the brush, put some Neil Young on and paint…….:}

Thanks for reading to the bottom [lol], I do read all the comments and I have to say some are crazy! Not exactly sure where they are coming from and please try to keep them to yourself. I need to add video as some have suggested, I still need to figure out how to get the flowers files out of scrapbook program. I am not the sharpest tack on the board but I have tried all that I know how to do on this computer. Anyway, if anyone knows please email the solution. Thanks.

Building an easel

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The matt I have leaning against the watercolour  is not the correct size, it needs a wider size. The way the fence came out in the distance I like, especially the way the colors are subdued.

Building an easel isn’t hard if you have help from someone who likes using power tools. I had this easel from college that my Dad made me. Getting rid of it wasn’t an option, but after years in an attic the wood was old and somewhat smelly. The easel did sit outside on my porch for a few days just to air it out before I brought it back in. All the existing wood was re-screwed and reinforced with new wood. At first the plan was to take it apart and follow the plans with new wood, but I decided to just reinforce what I already had. “My First Watercolour” was painted on this easel! The top white surface I would use at all cost if that was the only sections salvageable. Staying re-connected to those artistic days is important to me, trying to take the influence of my art then into the present day artwork I am producing. The photography I work on this semester will have that particular goal and theme.

As you can see in the picture it is a top bolted from two steel bars too two post so that the top can change angles.  There should be two arm type bars on the sides that would help change angles and screw tight to hold the angle, but I didn’t make them as yet. The original ones are missing, but so far I like the ability to move the top freely, so I will see how this works out before I re-make new side arms. I am happy I was able to re-use and bring back to life what my Dad had made me. My Dad always said, “Don’t ever be afraid of where you come from!” and it’s true. When he made this for me it was about three feet larger which was large then but too large for my space today. Plus I added magic sliders so I can move it into the light when I am painting. It measures now about 40 inches wide. I also added a few pieces of wood to raise it a bit higher. The posts are suppose to be able to move up and down to height with bolts, but I just screwed the two post together. It is really hard and heavy to adjust height.

I had two jobs in college if being in college isn’t hard enough, I was  a little  embarrassed at this easel at first. { Embarrassed has “ASS” in there}  All my art friends had store-bought easels and I wanted one too! This easels was two and three times larger than anyones and homemade….sort of felt Amish! Now, I wouldn’t think of parting with it, it comes from Love. Jesus says there is nothing more important than Love.  I think there come a time when we have been through so much already in our lives and who really gives a crap what others think. It’s not that important what others think about me at any age, but it takes a maturity level before that clicks.

watercolour

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Here is my newest watercolour painting. I named it, “Dad, Hold Still!” It measures 17 x 28″.

I still may go back add a bit here and there. I want to let it rest for a day or so. I see many tiny mistakes…..awe. I still want to bring the blue up into the sky.

Juried shows.

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I have a post somewhere on my blog regarding entering juried shows. It is not as hard as you may think; not anymore since digital land. Juried shows can cost anywhere from an average of $9.00 to 30-40 dollars an entry. Usually if you enter two – three entries it may be around $75 to enter. Most show I have seen lately you enter a digital image at a certain size of usually 1000 or a bit more pixels. The rules on the show page will have a required size in the rules. Follow the guide to what they want. You will need a credit card to enter and pay for your image[s]. Follow the directions. When entering I like to enter at least two paintings for the reason the judges see my range of style and control of watercolor. Entering one piece is good when your artwork is spot on and hits the high mark being able to stand strong solo in composition and all the elements.  Some artwork needs to be seen in a series of three if the subject matter is similar in content and similar compositions. If there is not a strong compositional range in the work, then I like to enter three images of close subject matter. For example; say you paint flowers up close in a size 9 x 12. One painting or drawing is not strong enough or large enough to stand alone. Not every case, but for the most part. It leaves the viewer or judge thinking it just can’t make the cut because it needs just a bit more to take it to the next level. But, when you put three paintings together similar in content they enhance each other in content and become a strong entry. It is usually three or five in a series. After five it’s time to move on and expand your artwork to something else so you’re not repetitive.

When taking your best picture I photograph outside under my porch. I have true natural light with no cast shadows. The natural light is usually crisp and I get a true color read. NEVER photo shop your imagines…..you will be disqualified. If you make the first cut you may be asked to physically bring your artwork to place where your work will be displayed and judged. Some shows they judge solely on the digital images. Find a show that fits your artwork and go for it!

Here is a list of a few magazines that list shows and on their sites there will be a listing in the competition menu or event menu. You can find these magazines at Barnes and Noble bookstore or another bookstore in your town.

www.artistdaily.com, www.artistmagazine.com, www.watercolorartistmagazine.com, www.baltmorewatercolorsociety.org.

American Artist Magazine, American Artist drawing, Watercolor Artist, The artist magazine,and International artist. 

Prismacolor.com also has a gallery to display your artwork, sign on and create your artwork gallery. You can look at other artist as well and share tips and recieve feedback too.

How to recognize a con-artist.

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There are copyright laws for a reason, please respect them. As a true artist we hold a self-respect to a high standard regarding our and other artist artwork. DO NOT EVER take credit for another artist artwork. If you do that…… then call yourself a con-artist.

These type of people you don’t want to work with anyway, so shake it off. What does Jesus say; pick yourself up and dust your sandles off and keep moving. God will acknowledge your honesty and open doors and bless you! Always do the right thing in everything.

Color theory

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Remember when you are painting or using any medium with color that warm colors and tones will automatically come towards you in space. Any cool tone shade or color will go back in space. It is the Law of the land; the way God designed it and that principle can not be changed and altered as hard as some artist will try. If you know of an artist that has had sucess in this please email the name so I can view this for myself.

Dark colors asborb all color and white reflects all color. With the absent of light there is darkness. It is only when you add “Light” will the color show through. Even in black and white mediums there are several blacks and whites shades of color. For example Ivory black is warm tone, Lamp black is cool tone. Use this principle to enhance your work. To see these values get a piece of paper and paint the colors out marking which one is what. Look at them closely; warm tones shades will come towards you in space as darks go back in space.

Brushes

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Here is a way to contain all your brushes in one neat spot. This is bead holder found in the jewelry department. I am sure you can find one on-line. It is a Bead Bellishment Bench by ArtBin, I found this at AcMoore art and craft store. All I did was buy sand from the Dollar Store and added about 60% in each jar leaving the lid off. Added my favorite brushes and it works wonderfully! My brushes are not as long as oil brushes can be, they are watercolor brushes mainly. As you can see in the picture it really works well. I guess you could use beans, rice or tiny beads instead of sand, but sand works. I like this because I can see where the brush I want easily and I don’t need to put a brush cover on any. When you are traveling with your brushes DO NOT just throw them in the bottom of your bag! If you do not have anything to contain them at a quick moment at least roll the brushes up in a paper towel. If you don’t want to buy anything, at least use a paper towel cardboard tube; simply roll the brushes up in a paper towel and stick in the tube. You can find many tube like structures to use around the house. In the Dollar stores you can buy a straw table place-mat which will allow you to stick or weave the brushes through the straw and roll the mat up.