Monday, August 8, 2011
Shading
An example of shading done well. It's a pencil drawing i bought in Margate Gallery, supposedly school of Augustus John. Though i like freer styles i want to be able to do this - get the technique and discipline first.
My lounge
some pics i took before moving things around and deciding where to put pics. It's a mess and crowded - you can see all my china things i've collected for still lifes/craft projects perhaps. This is where i live mostly and do some art stuff.
3 pics above my computer: top one is strange leg drawing i did - looks half like an arm. bottom left is the very first piece of art i bought on a farm in the lake district for £20 and the bottom right a mixed media piece i did last year with pictures, wax and gold leaf.
bought pic and my pic
the corner of stuff
the table i drew
started having lots of flowers round like basler
the blue acrylic landscape painting i bought for £25 from Peter Hodson who belieives art should be for everyone
one of my life drawings in ink. you can just see i started to paint cupboard in a rough stroke grey - it's now lighter rough grey ready for my attempt at a basler one day3 pics above my computer: top one is strange leg drawing i did - looks half like an arm. bottom left is the very first piece of art i bought on a farm in the lake district for £20 and the bottom right a mixed media piece i did last year with pictures, wax and gold leaf.
Bookmaking
class i did at Mary Ward 2010. Want to do more with books and boxes but not sure what yet. A bookmaker i saw at craft fair last year got into Royal Academy Summer Exhibition with a lovely memory book i had loved, and it sold there. Good see this kind of thing being taken seriously.
My meager attempts:
My meager attempts:
A3 art folder
small multiple section stiched
small concertina and a flag book
A5 posts
opened
mini book xmas decoration
spells christmas when open
artist's book based on original poem
opens out to full circle 
blue sealike decoration on outside with red and gold interior, and holes/cutouts doors showing thruLandscape
Here is a pastel stylised landscape i did last year based on an early Lowry. Tell me what if anything you can see in it.
Shirley Trevena Watercolour DVD
I watched all the inspiring art demo dvd's i got from my library, a great way to learn - anyway after watching them, i decided to get out the only one i have ever bought - vibrant watercolours by Shirley Trevena - i have the ebook as well. She has a great style like me too, innit?:
I think when u see her style you can see what i am aiming for. It fits in with claire basler, john virtue and Pieroni that i have previously posted - in their freedom of style.
It was great to watch it again. I am going to watch several times and try the exercises which are incredible. The way she drops watercolour into each other, ads pencil, pen, wax etc, shaves watercolour pencil into it. I've know about these techniques but i think i am ready to try them her way. And she collects of interesting pieces to use again and again - an excuse for the all the junk i have collected. Here is one of her works that i will try to emulate. :
Now unfortunately, here is where i am starting from. These are pictures of a watercolour class i did 1-2 yrs ago. Some r worse than others but none are anywhere near where i'd like to be but at least i now have the confidence to have a go and better knowledge of what i want and perhaps how to do it. It now just means lots of experiment and practice and i'll start with her dvd. I wish claire basler would do a dvd because she is my perfect style.
My still lifes 2009-10. some watercolour, mixed media, oil, charcoal.
It was great to watch it again. I am going to watch several times and try the exercises which are incredible. The way she drops watercolour into each other, ads pencil, pen, wax etc, shaves watercolour pencil into it. I've know about these techniques but i think i am ready to try them her way. And she collects of interesting pieces to use again and again - an excuse for the all the junk i have collected. Here is one of her works that i will try to emulate. :
My still lifes 2009-10. some watercolour, mixed media, oil, charcoal.
oil copy of known artist work
watercolour
charcoal
charcoal
ink exercises
mixed media - ink watercolour and salt
mixed media as above
oil
oil
oil not finished
waterolour
watercolour and ink
watercolour
ink
ink
watercolor and wax crayon
ink
pastel
acrylic
acrylic
watercolour and acrylic
watercolour
watercolour
watercolour
watercolour
watercolour and inkSunday, August 7, 2011
Comparing painting mediums watercolour, gouache , acrylics, oils, pastels
I am just starting to uderstand it all. i've only been drawing for the last year (ie haven't done painting classes for a year) but need to get back to colour and this weekend i've beenwatching art workshop videos from the library and thought i'd share clarifcation.
A: Water based
1. Transparent (mistakes will show so you have to use them)- watercolour,
Watercolour - is the only true transparent medium (ie you always get some light reflected from the white paper behind), though the white watercolour (except one which is semi transparent) is fully opaque so if you mix any watercolour with white you lose the transparency which would negate the main reson for watercolour. Transparency is good to give a dazzling vibrancy, that is if you don't put on the watercolour too darkly(not enough water) and if you leave some of the paper white as hightlights. If you lose these highlights then you need to add some white at the end to bring the highlights back. (watercolour white would't be enough usually so you would use gouche or acrylic white because they are strong and opaque enough to cover any dark watercolours.) In watercolour you work from light to dark - ie go in lightly and build up layers for darker colours. - ie You can't add light colours over dark colours as they won't be visible enough. You can also mix colours on the paper - put light wash of yellow, let it dry then a very light wash of red and you'll get more orange colour though this can be more difficult to get right.
2. Opaque is good because you can always cover mistakes of any colour whether dark or light with another layer of paint of any colour dark or light- gouache, and acrylic are both water based opaque meidums, though if you water them down enough you will a little transparency but not as much as watercolour. I have some books thought that talk about using watercolour vibrantly and boldly so it's up to you what u do with it. With opaque mediums for example you could paint a black box, then add white on top for a highlight. You couldn't do this with watercolour. with watercolour you would leave the paper white where you want the highlight and use the white of the paper as the highlight (you can get masking fluid to paint on this to avoid paint getting on it - the fluid dries to a rubber which you can peel off when u have finished the painting to reveal the white. then you paint the black box, peel of the fluid and you have black box with white highlight. if you lost this highlight - say not using the masking fluid and accidently getting the black where the highlight should be, then you would need to use white gouche or acrylic to get it back.
Gouchace - opaque - used by graphic artists becuase of strong beautifully bright colour - many artists coloured felt tip pens are a form of gouche. Also used with watercolour when mistake needs covering and you don't mind losing the transparency
Acrylic - opaque, can be watered down for transparency. can add lots of diff kinds of mediums to it to give texture amd make thicker like oil paint but it is usually matter finish than oil. Is probably the easiest to handle and usually the cheapest. Main prob is that it dries within minutes which stops you from blending on the page for say sublte colour changes in skin on different areas of face, that is if you really want very smooth skin tone - then oil would be easier, rather than a more impressionist brush stroke skin look which acrylic could handle. You can use spray water bottle to keep them wet but if it dries you can't re-wet as it dries to a plasticy skin. There is now a slower drying one just developed which supposedly you can wet even after it dries - i am going to buy one tube to try it.
B: Oil based
- oil paint opaque, it's not so much the paint smells, its the linseed oil which you use to thin the colour (gives more shine that spirits( and the spirits you use to thin the colour (more quick drying that linseed oil) and used to clean brushes. though you can now get a wonderful orange zest called Zest it to clean brushes. Oil paint takes long time to dry (decades for some thick old paintings) which is why you dont put glass on it when framed). Because of this you have plenty of time to get the most subtle blendings of colours. Usually good to work on several at same time so you can work on one while other is drying you enough to add next layer. You can thin oil paint right down so it becomes almost transparent like watercolour and build up a work using many many layers - this is called glazing and gives great depth. Or you can use it as thick as butter for texture. It led the art field because of it's sublety and beautiful butter look. some artists think it's the top/only real art medium. It gave the masters of renaissance when it was introduced, the power to do amazing portraits etc.
Pastels are considered a painting medium because they can be blended on the paper to form new colours, you can even spray with a special fluid for more blending. I've definately seen pastel works that i thought were painted. It's messy but beautiful.
Hope this helps rather than confuse - it is just my understanding of course - i may be wrong/short sighted at this point.
A: Water based
1. Transparent (mistakes will show so you have to use them)- watercolour,
Watercolour - is the only true transparent medium (ie you always get some light reflected from the white paper behind), though the white watercolour (except one which is semi transparent) is fully opaque so if you mix any watercolour with white you lose the transparency which would negate the main reson for watercolour. Transparency is good to give a dazzling vibrancy, that is if you don't put on the watercolour too darkly(not enough water) and if you leave some of the paper white as hightlights. If you lose these highlights then you need to add some white at the end to bring the highlights back. (watercolour white would't be enough usually so you would use gouche or acrylic white because they are strong and opaque enough to cover any dark watercolours.) In watercolour you work from light to dark - ie go in lightly and build up layers for darker colours. - ie You can't add light colours over dark colours as they won't be visible enough. You can also mix colours on the paper - put light wash of yellow, let it dry then a very light wash of red and you'll get more orange colour though this can be more difficult to get right.
2. Opaque is good because you can always cover mistakes of any colour whether dark or light with another layer of paint of any colour dark or light- gouache, and acrylic are both water based opaque meidums, though if you water them down enough you will a little transparency but not as much as watercolour. I have some books thought that talk about using watercolour vibrantly and boldly so it's up to you what u do with it. With opaque mediums for example you could paint a black box, then add white on top for a highlight. You couldn't do this with watercolour. with watercolour you would leave the paper white where you want the highlight and use the white of the paper as the highlight (you can get masking fluid to paint on this to avoid paint getting on it - the fluid dries to a rubber which you can peel off when u have finished the painting to reveal the white. then you paint the black box, peel of the fluid and you have black box with white highlight. if you lost this highlight - say not using the masking fluid and accidently getting the black where the highlight should be, then you would need to use white gouche or acrylic to get it back.
Gouchace - opaque - used by graphic artists becuase of strong beautifully bright colour - many artists coloured felt tip pens are a form of gouche. Also used with watercolour when mistake needs covering and you don't mind losing the transparency
Acrylic - opaque, can be watered down for transparency. can add lots of diff kinds of mediums to it to give texture amd make thicker like oil paint but it is usually matter finish than oil. Is probably the easiest to handle and usually the cheapest. Main prob is that it dries within minutes which stops you from blending on the page for say sublte colour changes in skin on different areas of face, that is if you really want very smooth skin tone - then oil would be easier, rather than a more impressionist brush stroke skin look which acrylic could handle. You can use spray water bottle to keep them wet but if it dries you can't re-wet as it dries to a plasticy skin. There is now a slower drying one just developed which supposedly you can wet even after it dries - i am going to buy one tube to try it.
B: Oil based
- oil paint opaque, it's not so much the paint smells, its the linseed oil which you use to thin the colour (gives more shine that spirits( and the spirits you use to thin the colour (more quick drying that linseed oil) and used to clean brushes. though you can now get a wonderful orange zest called Zest it to clean brushes. Oil paint takes long time to dry (decades for some thick old paintings) which is why you dont put glass on it when framed). Because of this you have plenty of time to get the most subtle blendings of colours. Usually good to work on several at same time so you can work on one while other is drying you enough to add next layer. You can thin oil paint right down so it becomes almost transparent like watercolour and build up a work using many many layers - this is called glazing and gives great depth. Or you can use it as thick as butter for texture. It led the art field because of it's sublety and beautiful butter look. some artists think it's the top/only real art medium. It gave the masters of renaissance when it was introduced, the power to do amazing portraits etc.
Pastels are considered a painting medium because they can be blended on the paper to form new colours, you can even spray with a special fluid for more blending. I've definately seen pastel works that i thought were painted. It's messy but beautiful.
Hope this helps rather than confuse - it is just my understanding of course - i may be wrong/short sighted at this point.
Jaci Hogan does lovely flowers in acrylics
http://www.jacihoganart.com/original-artwork-c-24.html
saw her work at a craft fair. She is more Botanical in style than Basler and Trevena ie more realistic, watercolour stays within the lines of the carefully drawn plants. When i saw the Watercolour exhibtion at tate, part of the important history of watercolour painting is Botanical painting - developed in 19th century i think when botanist wanted to illustrate their new finds and when it was fashionable to be seen to keep up with the latest science and thus have such books of both beauty and knowledge in your house. They are very realistic because they are meant to illustrate exactly what a new species looks like.
saw her work at a craft fair. She is more Botanical in style than Basler and Trevena ie more realistic, watercolour stays within the lines of the carefully drawn plants. When i saw the Watercolour exhibtion at tate, part of the important history of watercolour painting is Botanical painting - developed in 19th century i think when botanist wanted to illustrate their new finds and when it was fashionable to be seen to keep up with the latest science and thus have such books of both beauty and knowledge in your house. They are very realistic because they are meant to illustrate exactly what a new species looks like.
One of my fav life artists Bella Pierono - love to draw figures this freely
Saturday, August 6, 2011
John Virtue turner like painter of thames/london in black and white
ai borrowed a few art video from library yesterday - i'd never heard of him but love his work. He works in black ink and white acrylic on huge canvases and he was artist in resident at nat gallery in 2004 when he painting the thames and london with it's smog - very turner like without colour - turner is his fav artist and one of mine. just found an exert of the video on youtube - it's a real lesson in freedom in painting in the hands of a master.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ur7Neunx1ic&feature=related
some info on him on the nat gallery site: http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/learning/associate-artist-scheme/john-virtue/
though his is grottier, i see similar kind of misty freedom/not too realistic, that i see in claire basler but perhaps even more so in his
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ur7Neunx1ic&feature=related
some info on him on the nat gallery site: http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/learning/associate-artist-scheme/john-virtue/
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