Monday Motivator: Opening of Awareness
"...creating art is a kind of opening to awareness: whether it is slowing down your vision to look at the detail in a surface, being open to serendipitous accidents, or discerning the distinct flavours of your own internal states and emotions."Allowing your emotions to impact your painting creates variation because we're not in the same mood every day. Whether you save a work-in-progress for a particular mood, like you might save a painting to work in natural light or under artificial light only, is a matter of personal preference. I generally tend not to, rather treating each day's painting on a canvas as another layer in its creation, with mood-induced variations simply adding to the final result.
--Keith Tyson, quoted in Mick Maslen and Jack Southern, Drawing Projects, Black Dog Publishing, page 208(Buy Direct)
Photo © Marion Boddy-Evans. Licensed to About.com, Inc.
Are We There Yet? Aka Finishing a Painting
Deciding a painting is finished tends to be tricky. How can you be sure it is indeed where it needs to be, that there isn't something you've left undone or that still needs fixing or could be improved? I'm lucky in that my Significant Other also has an artistic eye, so I usually ask his opinion when I begin to think I'm there.
We'd recently been talking about how you decide, which led to him putting together a helpful list of things you can do to check: Are We There Yet?
• Have Your Say:When is a Painting Finished?
Image © 2013 Marion Boddy-Evans. Licensed to About.com, Inc.
This Week's Painting Tip: DIY Painting Easel
Do you wish you had a painting easel but can't afford one? Well, if you've some basic woodworking skills (or know someone who does), it's feasible to make a simple, A-frame easel. Even better, you can make it "double sided", so you can have a painting on either side that you're working on. Find out more...
See Also:
• Tips on Buying an Easel
• Photo Gallery: A Plein Air Easel
• Forum Discussion: Do I Need an Easel?
Image: © Clark Botha
One Point Perspective Made Easy
• Perspective in Art: A Beginner's Guide
The 5 Most Tedious and Boring Art Tasks
Varnishing paintings is something I enjoy even less than watching paint dry. I like the result (the uniform finish), and the added layer of protection of my painting, but doing it isn't exactly exciting. It's on my list of the unavoidable art tasks that are simply tedious, repetitive, mind-numbing, and boring, albeit essential. Read more...• Have Your Say: What do you think is the worst art task?
Poll: What Type(s) of Varnish Do You Use?
Given how much time I've spent the last little while with a varnish brush in my hand, and will be in the next few days as I'm varnishing paintings for a solo exhibition that opens on Monday, I thought I'd highlight the varnishing poll in today's blog.
I used to mostly use a matt varnish on my paintings, which it means there's no reflection from lights or windows on a painting no matter where it's hung, but have now swapped to satin, which has a little bit of sheen to it but not so much that reflected light is a problem.
See Also:
• Problem with Fingerprints in Varnish
• What's Retouch Varnish?
• Why Varnish a Painting?
Image © Marion Boddy-Evans. Licensed to About.com, Inc.
Monday Motivator: Composition is Not Calculus
"Composition is not calculus. It's actually quite simple, and following a couple of simple rules will guarantee a successful composition.Learning the basics of composition is easy in the same way that learning the basics of color mixing is. But, likewise, the more you learn the more possibilities you become aware of and the easier it is to get yourself into complex knots. If a painting isn't working, strip the composition down to the basics to help you pinpoint a fault."Secure the edges of the canvas so you eye doesn't get thrown out ... Lead the viewer in, create some movement for the eye, and keep the eye from falling out the bottom or off the sides."
George van Hook, "An Ecstatic Plein Air Painter", Plein Air Magazine October/November 2012, page 75.
Photo © Marion Boddy-Evans. Licensed to About.com, Inc.
Art News Etc. #23
• From the Smithsonian Magazine: Never Underestimate the Power of a Paint Tube
• For a glance into the world of high-end framing, it's worth browsing the blog of framemaker Richard Christie. World's away from ready-made pine frames from your local home decor shop!
• Something to do while you wait for your meal: Portrait Painting in a Restaurant by James Gurney
• Video: Flipping Through Pages of Fake Art Journal created for International Fake Journal Month
• Commissioned Art: Negotiating Strategy for Paintings should be to ask for half the fee upfront and non-returnable says Stapleton Kearns, while Daniel Grant divides payment into thirds.
• Video: Tips for a Successful Immediate Image Transfer. This is a great technique for including photographic images in collage/mixed media pieces as it makes them see-through.
Image: © Marion Boddy-Evans. Licensed to About.com, Inc
Derwent's Competition to Win a Box of Willow Charcoal
• About.com Contests & Sweepstakes
Painting Tip of the Week: Night Colors
This week's painting tip is from Beverley Craig and is about the advantage of painting at night, in poor light. Read more...
Got a great painting tip to share? Use this form to submit it.
See Also:
• Top 100 Painting Tips
• The Light on Your Canvas
Image: © Marion Boddy-Evans. Licensed to About.com, Inc