Author Archive

Here is a selection of colours mixed during a Studio Session Class. This will be a great review for students with some interesting colour theory notes. I hope it is helpful.

Okanagan Sage Variations:

Start with Yellow Ochre. Tip: If your overall colour is generally light, it is easier to start with the light colour and add small amounts of dark to get your mix. If you add light to the dark you will use up a lot more paint to get to the same colour.

Add Ultramarine Blue until you get a blue-green.

Tint the colour with Titanium White until it comes up to the light value of Sage.

You can then alter this colour with more Yellow Ochre to get the golden look of flowering sage, or winter sage.

Okanagan Cliff Colour

Start with Yellow Ochre

Mix a small amount of Titanium White

With a clean brush next mix up Mauve. Start with Ultramarine Blue.

Add Alizarin Crimson

Lighten or tint with Titanium White.

With a clean brush add tiny amounts of the mauve that you have mixed to your first mix of Yellow Ochre and White. Note: This will essentially grey down your gold to get the sand colour for the cliffs. The Mauve is a close complement to the Gold- this allows you to control the intensity of the gold without deadening or losing the vibrancy of the colour.

Grey-Blue of Overcast Skies:

Start with Ultramarine Blue.

Lighten or tint with Titanium White.

Add small amounts of Burnt Umber to grey the blue.

Tint or lighten with Titanium White until desired value.

Grey-Blue of Overcast Skies Variation with Complements:

For a more vibrant version of Grey-blue, consider the use of the complementary colour of Orange to grey the Blue.

Start with your mix if Ultramarine Blue and Titanium White.

With a clean brush, mix an orange. Start with Cadmium Red Medium.

Mix in Lemon Yellow. Note: A green-bias yellow like Lemon will help to balance out the red-bias of Ultramarine blue. If Cadmium Yellow was used, which has a lot of red in it, (red-bias) there would not be an opposite reached to achieve your grey.

With a clean brush, add the orange mix to your blue until you reach a grey that works for your painting. This grey will have more life to it than the mix with Burnt Umber because the brown has more colour in it than a pure orange, the complementary use is muddied with other colours.

Tint your grey with Titanium White as needed.

Bright Green and Forest Green:

Start with Hansa Yellow.

Add a very small amount of Phtalo Blue. Tip: It is very important to add the dark to the light colour in this mix. Otherwise the green will be too dark and heavy and you will need a very large amount of yellow to get the mix light enough.

For Forest green start with Ultramarine Blue.

Add Hansa Yellow until you get a rich dark green.

Then tint or lighten with a small amount of Titanium White.

Often coniferous forests have  rusty highlights. Try greying your green with Burnt Sienna, which is a close complement to the forest green, and letting the red aspect of the greyed green show through in places.

During a Studio class, an interesting topic came up about what we aspire to as artists. It is often what we see in others, that we wish for in ourselves. I know in psychology, there is a concept known as projection, where aspects we see and dislike in others, are actually things within ourselves that we are unable or unwilling to look at. I beleive the opposite is also true- That we see in others our own latent or unrealized potential. But we are often too busy discounting ourselves to recognize the kinship.

There is a a point during the painting or creating process where it is important to examine the thoughts and perceptions that we hold about our painting or drawing. Asking ourselves whether those ideas and perceptions serve us in our artistic self-expression, or limit us. Many of the perceptions that we hold about our subject matter or materials are either not true or are only partly true. An examination of subject where we concentrate on separating the commonly held beliefs, from the true seeing and observing of that subject can be incredibly helpful.

It is so easy to get overly attached to our ways of working, until we are no longer mindful of the process. Autopilot kicks in and we begin to loose the passion we feel for creating. So the next time we pick up a brush or pencil, let us take a moment to release the preconceptions and unhelpful thoughts that do not serve the creation of art.

 

Tips for painting transparent glass:

Step 1: Paint in your basic background both oil or acrylic is fine but if you are painting with oil, you might want to let your background coat dry.

Step 2: mix a blue-grey mid value and draw the outline of your glass object onto your canvas.

Step 3: paint what is inside the glass, noting the various distortions that happen when objects are viewed through glass. For example look at the double tops of the stone in the above painting.

Step 4: cool highlights- these will be a pale grey-blue colour. Glass reflects it’s surroundings, so be sure to take notice of the colours that are being reflected in the surface of your glass object. Paint them in as you see them. Tip: to edit the complexity of reflection, relax the focus of your eyes as you look at your subject or take off your glasses if you wear them for close up. This will blend many of the smaller highlights out.

Step 5: Warm highlights- mix up a warm off-white, yellow ochre and white makes a great warm highlight. Again look at your subject and find all the places where your highlights are warm, paint them in as you see them.

Step 6: Semi-Transparent Highlights- these highlights are like a screen between you and what can be seen through the glass. They can be softly dry-brushed in or blended with a wash. The important thing to remember for the semi-transparent highlights is that you need to be able to see through them to the objects in or beyond the glass. Look at your subject to see what semi-transparent highlights you can find and paint them in.

Step 7: Brilliant White highlights- there will be relatively few of these dazzling points of light. Use your pure white and place the few prominent ones that you see on your painting. Note: you can even star them out like the one on the top of the jar to make them appear more scattered and fractured.

The most important thing to remember for painting realistic glass is that you need to see through it, so paint what is behind the glass as much as the reflections on the glass itself.

Enjoy seeing the various reflections and let yourself get lost in them, they can be quite exciting to paint!

Here is a fun way to practice painting. Dry-brushwork over staining is a very quick and easy technique to use. Acrylic works best, because it will dry quickly, but you can use oil too, just wait a day for your stained layer to dry before applying the Dry-brushing.

For a complete list and description of the various brushwork techniques see Brushwork Examples from an earlier post.

Thin down your paint (with water for acrylic, thinner or Liquin for oil) and block in the various colours and values of your subject and background. If you don’t like the drips, then lay your canvas flat. It is important to put in all the main parts of the subject like the apple’s cast shadow, the background colour and several of the red values of the apple at this stage.

When the stain is dry, apply the final highlights and soften the background with dry brushing using a very light-touch. Drag your brush, cleaned of excess paint, at as close an angle as possible to the plane of your canvas.

Notes for where I Dry-brushed the apple above:

The white highlights on the apple.

The bright Cadmium Red on the top of the apple.

Yellow Ochre reflected highlight on the underside of the apple.

A slightly lighter version of the background colours.

The pale lavender on the apple’s cast shadow.

A touch of burnt sienna at the front of the cast shadow .

The apple’s stem. One dark stroke with two lighter touches for highlight done with the edge of the brush.

A bit of Yellow Ochre and White around the base of the apple.

It is important to remember that you can cover as much of your stained under painting as you want. I do find, however, that the charm of this way of working comes from the combination of the two techniques, and as such the stain needs be apparent.

This is a very fast way of working and can be fun to use for studies or quick still life works.

Wether the budding artist is you or someone close to you, it is extremely important to provide nourishment and non-judgemental support to those first tentative attempts to create a reflection of our inner selves on paper or canvas. An interesting and very relevant conversation happened during a critique session for one of my Studio Session Classes and I wish to pass it along as it is very pertinent to those interested in exploring their creativity.

For many, the urge to create and be expressive through the arts gets squashed or repressed at an early age when thoughtless and unsupportive comments are made by those around us. It will often take years for someone to build up the self-confidence to explore their creative urges again. When someone has the courage to begin developing their creative side, it is of the utmost importance to be supportive and non-judgemental with them. What comes to light when people begin to delve into creative self-expression is very personal. The state of vulnerability for someone just beginning to journey along that road is extreme. A thoughtless word or offhand comment meant to tease can actually cause a lot of harm, setting someone back drastically in their confidence and willingness to continue.

We are often most hard on ourselves,  hating what we do if it is not perfect, or believing that if there is no apparent talent, we shouldn’t try at all. But what artists do is defined most often by a series of skills that have been learned and mastered. Some people have an innate ability to see and transpose into their chosen medium, but even those with great talent had to work to understand and practice  a set of learnable skills to refine their raw abilities.

So if you are a budding artist or you know someone who is, give them time to begin to master their skills. Feed them encouragement and look always to the things that they are getting right and improving before looking to what isn’t working. Remember that what comes out on canvas or paper is often very personal and needs to be respected. And if you are that budding artist, remember to give yourself some boundaries. Ask people who are looking at your work to not comment or give their opinion. You may find them relieved, they might not have known what to say or how to talk about art. You can also choose not to show your work to people who might be disrespectful. And always make sure you honour yourself for the work you are doing. If you get frustrated, remember that it takes time to learn and master the skills that will allow you to reach your creative potential. Just because you aren’t a marathon runner, doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy running.

You don’t have to be a master painter or sculptor to enjoy and gain fulfillment through exploring your creativity!

The art of using your paint brush to achieve different atmosphere and effects can be difficult to sort out. Here are some definitions and examples to help clarify some of  the brushwork techniques at your disposal.

Staining: Thinning your paint down to a very liquid consistency. With oil, use thinner ,with acrylic thin with water. (see below) When applying with your brush, keep your canvas vertical if you want drips, lay it flat to pool the paint. Note: you can control the movement of your paint with blotting rags or towels and adding less water or thinner to keep the paint more controllable.

Lines with Semi-opaque washes: Using a flat brush and applying the paint with the edge of the brush can give you great line effects. (see below) Adding a little water or thinner with oil to your paint will give you more control. If you want the sharp end of the line to be in certain place, make sure your brush sweeps through to end at the place where you would like it to taper.

Scrubbing: Scrubbing paint onto your canvas is exactly what it sounds like. Take a stiff brush, larger often works better, and scrub your paint hard into the surface of the canvas. Don’t be afraid to apply some pressure to spread the paint around. This is a way to get a paint coverage without apparent brushstrokes.(see below)

Scumbling: This is basically the same as scrubbing with the difference being the amount of water or thinner used in your paint. Scumble over other colours with a semi-opaque wash to achieve a strong atmosphere of mist or to soften.(see below) You can build up successive layers of scumbled washes to get the effect you want. Scumbling will give you a very soft look without brushstrokes. Note: When scumbling, make sure your paint layer underneath is dry, otherwise you pull the paint off and lose the effect.

Dry Brushing: This is the use of your brush and paint with no water or thinners and very little paint on your brush. A flat brush works well for dry brushing. Hold the brush as close to the plane of your canvas as you can and drag your brush very gently across the surface. With dry brushing, you are trying to highlight only the raised surface texture of the canvas. Great effect can be achieved with dry brush techniques using complementary colours. (see below) Dry brush red over green and see the little bits of green pop and zing as they show through. Note: you may need to wipe the excess paint off your brush onto a rag before applying to your painting.

Thick impasto: This is akin to laying icing on a cake. Don’t thin your paint down and load your brush fully. Then lay it down as you would spread icing on a cake. Note: when working with oil, load your brush frequently and try not to touch your canvas too much as you will pick up the colour underneath.

Dry brush to add soft highlights or lowlights: When your painting is almost finished, but you would like to add some warmth or punch up some soft highlights, try dry brushing. (see below)

Semi-Opaque washes: Layering up the density of your paint can be done easily with semi-opaque washes. Add a little water or thinner to your paint and apply several layers until you achieve the colour and value density you want. Because it is possible to see partially through the paint to the layer below, you can achieve a look of blending without needing to work with your paint wet on wet. it is also a great way to let under colour peak through in a very subtle way. (see below)

When choosing what colour to use as an underpainting, it is helpful to look at the two extremes of warm and cool. Burnt sienna for the study above and ultramarine blue for the face below.

Now, when working with oil paint that isn’t dry, as an under tone, the paint over the top will pick up some of the colour of the underpainting, hence the yellows that blend with the blue to create a green cast on the second face. The same will apply to the warm under painted colour, turning whites slightly pink. For flesh tones, the burnt sienna will likely work the best, but if you are interested in conveying a sense of coolness and austerity, then perhaps a blue would be a good choice.

Consider the over all atmosphere that you are looking to give your painting. Hints of the complementary orange colour as an under painting for a predominantly blue grey landscape will add life and zing with those little bits that you choose to leave showing. The key to successful underpainting is to let it show through, so its colour can add to your painting’s complexity. Don’t feel you have to use the same colour for your entire underpainting either. If you have two main sections for a landscape for instance, like land and sky, consider choosing different under painting colours for each.

There are several reasons why you might use an under painting:

By giving yourself a mid-value to start with, you will be able to gauge accurately how dark your darks are and how light your lights. Consider what happens when you apply cream or off white to a stark white canvas- you can’t see it very well and the mid value you apply will appear far darker than it is because it is sitting in contrast to a white surface.

Giving your painting an atmosphere with a rich underpainting colour peaking out from under your final strokes can lend great interest.

By covering your canvas first with a mid value colour, you give yourself the option of not having to cover your entire canvas with your finished strokes. your middle values can remain as under painting.

Knowing when not to use an underpainting is important too. Letting the white of the canvas peep through in places can give a great luminosity to your work, especially if you are using transparent colours.

On a practical note: If you don’t want your oil under painting getting mixed with your over paint, try your under painting in acrylic and then paint with oil. If you choose to work only in acrylic, then all the under painting advice still applies.

As the season begins to change, I find myself starting to turn inward. For me the most productive creative time is the fall and winter. Even though it is still August, I always feel like fall begins half way through the month. As the days shorten and the evenings lengthen, the urge to curl up with a great book or squirrel away in the studio to work on a painting or sculpture becomes strong. Grey, windy afternoons and spinning leaves that dance down the street seem to echo the rhythm and pulse of creative drive. My best works, it seems, happen in the mid to late afternoon before the light is gone from the studio and after I have had the chance to sink into the creative zone.

It took many years of painting to fully understand the ebb and flow of my own creative life and I likely was unaware that there even was one when I was younger. I find it important to ensure that my schedule coincides with allowing me the time to work when I know I will be the most productive. That being said, I still have to paint during other times as well, but understanding of my own creative flow helps greatly.

“Know thy self” as the saying goes…

Figure/ground exercises, also known as negative space drawings are a great tool for helping to show you a different perspective in your compositions. Using a figure/ground study will help you see what the shapes of the background look like by drawing your attention to them. I makes it easy to then analyze whether those spaces surrounding your subject are enhancing the composition of your painting or drawing, or detracting from it.

When you set about painting something, try doing a few quick figure/ground studies to see what those negative spaces or background areas are doing. Start with a simple contour drawing of your main subject and then darken the background to create a reverse silhouette. Now you can easily see if the placement of your subject is working. You may find that some very simple adjustments to your subject can solve any problems with your composition.

Hint: Try your figure/ground study with vine or willow charcoal. It is very easy to erase or lift off to make alterations to your study. These drawings are tools for your more finished paintings and drawings, but I often find that they make very interesting works on their own.

In the grand scheme of things and the bustle and business of our day to day lives, when do we find the time to rest and refill our tanks? In the business of making art, the state of burnout is just as easily achieved as in other professions. I don’t think I have met another artist who hasn’t experienced times of looking at the easel and a blank canvas without so much as a flicker of interest or inspiration.

The most important thing to remember at such times is that it is ok to take a break. This is not to be confused with the concept of: “I can’t work unless I am inspired.” There is definitely a balance to be struck and it is important to be able to recognize the difference between a genuine need to take a break and justification for not  just getting into the studio and starting.

If you do find yourself utterly devoid of the urge to paint or draw, take some time instead to crack open a book on art or take yourself out to your local art gallery to see what other’s are creating. Try your hand at something completely different, keep your projects small and within the vein of play. The moment that you start to take what you are doing too seriously or get harsh with yourself, you will find the urge to create diminish.

So take some time to play and explore, don’t approach each artistic endeavour with the need or expectation that it must turn out well. If you give yourself permission to explore and experiment, you may find that urge to create returning. And remember to take a break if you need it.

The image for this post is from one of my sketchbooks. I often draw small things that I see at museums or while out for a walk. The drawings are small and quick, and they are not meant for anything more than what they are: the pure joy of drawing.