Learning to Paint

Okay, so I am on an artistic journey, that is pretty obvious to anyone looking at this blog. But I am new to art of all forms, some may say I’m not a beginner anymore, but I really am. I have only been doing “art” for around 2 years, and I haven’t actually “specialised” so I am a bit of a “jack of all trades”. 

As part of my learning I watch lots of YouTube art videos; I sign up to online classes with many different tutors; I listen to podcasts, lots of podcasts; I pretty much live on Instagram and I even sign up to the odd challenge here and there. Of course if that wasn’t enough I am enrolled on a one year art college course that is University accredited, the commitment is 1 day a week in class and then at least 3 days homework!

Each and every one of these outlets teaches me something, then because I am 50 and menopausal, I forget it all and have to go back and relearn it all over again!

Now I have recently become hooked on a particular podcast series, via https://www.learntopaintpodcast.com/,  hosted by Kelly Anne Powers. I have binged almost every episode in just under 2 weeks, and I have to say I have learnt a thing or two from the artists that are interviewed, but more importantly they are all saying the same things!  30+ artists, all telling me the same thing – that can’t be a coincidence right? 

As such, I feel the need to write some things down to help me, and maybe you, in the future.  That said you probably already know this and wonder why I am telling you. Well ultimately I’m not, i’m writing it down for me to remember and to re-read when I get hit by that inner critic – you know the one :

She is the one that says

  • You don’t know what you’re doing.
  • How can you possibly consider yourself to be a budding artist when you don’t know anything. 
  • Call yourself a painter  – Ha you don’t even know what colours are what. 
  • What are lights and dark’s – like you’ll ever know.
  • What medium should you add here… ha ha testing you, you haven’t a clue.

Well you get the picture!

With all that in mind, I am going to write some key points about what I have learnt from these podcasts.  There have been 38 episodes, and I think I have 5 left to go.  So far there has only been 1 artist that I have actually heard of (Laura Horn), so it’s been a breath of fresh air to learn about, and from other artists.

Key points

On writing this article it became a lengthy post, and my husband rightly told me so. Therefore I have decided to separate it over three further posts.

You can therefore look forward to learning what I think are the key points I have gleaned from the podcasts; specifically:

Colour theory – what is it and why is it important?

The non technical answer is if you know colour you will produce good paintings. But the longer answer to that question is… well have a read about it on my post Colour Theory.

Composition – what does that even mean?

Again the non technical answer is “putting things on the page in a manner pleasing to the eye”. But again the longer answer can be found on the post Composition.

Practice – Why its important to do this as often as possible?

The thing I hear the most is “you wouldn’t expect a musician to be able to just pick up an instrument for the first time and play a masterpiece, so why do you think you can paint like Van Gogh without practising?” So for answers to this statement, please take a look at the post Practice.

Whatever takes your fancy

Well If you are still reading to here, I thank you.  I hope you stick with me for the rest of the posts, if you have something to add, please do drop it into the comments!

Linked posts :

*** Colour Theory *** Composition *** Practice ***

Disclaimer: 

All opinions expressed here are my own.
I paid for any products discussed.
I received no payment and I am not affiliated in any way with any brand mentioned herein.

Colour Theory

Here is part one of my blog series detailing my observations from the podcast “Learning to paint”. I discussed the reasons for these pages on the blog page Learning to Paint. Part two Composition and part three Practice are available too.

I came to the conclusion I needed to note my observations, especially once I realised they were being consistently mentioned by the artists. Rather than just jot it into a notebook, what better way than to share my observations with you too, also I feel it will help cement the ideas for me too!

Oh and it doesn’t matter what the medium is Oil, Acrylic or Watercolour it applies to all of them and most likely every other one too! However for clarity – this page is NOT going to talk brands. I shall save that for a future page maybe.

Colour 

  • Primary colours are Red, Yellow & Blue
    • But they can also be Warm or Cool
    • So your base palette could include 6 primaries plus white
  • Secondary Colours are the colours either side of the primaries, 
    • Orange, Green, Purple
  • Tertiary Colours are the colours either side of the Secondaries
    • Red Orange / Yellow Orange, Yellow Green / Blue Green , Blue purple / Red Purple
  • Chromatic colours = Taken straight from the tube.
  • Prismatic colours = Chromatic colours quietened with white or black or complementary
  • Muted / Neutral colours = Prismatic colours muted even further 

Colour Terms 

  • Hue = Colour
  • Warm / Advancing colours
    •  Are warm because we associate warmth with the sun, so Yellow moving towards Red is Warm.  
    • Half the colour wheel is warm.
  • Cool / Receding colours
    • Are cool because we associate coolness with water, Ice, Snow so Yellow moving towards Blue is cool. 
    • Half the colour wheel is cool.
  • Intensity / Saturation = How pure the colour is which determines its relative brightness, or dullness
  • Value = The lightness or darkness of a colour
  • Transparent = you can see through it, use it in layers and see underneath colours
  • Opaque = solid colours, you can not see through it, and blocks underneath colours
  • Granular / Granulation = how the colour settles once dry

Colour Wheel

  • Analogous : Colours adjacent to each other. 2-5 colours are optimum
  • Monochrome : Use any tint, tone or shade of one colour
  • Complementary : Two colours directly opposite each other
  • Split complementary : Three Colours : Complementary, plus its opposite that is moved one space either side of itself.
  • Triad : Three colours equally spaced apart.
  • Tetrad : Four colours that are two sets of complements.
  • Tint : Hue plus white 
  • Tone : Hue plus grey
  • Shade Hue plus black
  • Neutral Grey : a balanced combination of white and black
Paint making

Paint makeup

  • Pigment: The colour (The expensive part!)
  • Binder: The thing that makes the pigment stick to the paper
  • Solvent: The thing that makes it move on the brush
  • Filler: imitation pigment, meant to fill the gap.

Paint Grades

  • Basic – Mostly binder and filler, not much pigment
  • Student – High quota mix of binder, filler and pigment
  • Professional – High concentration pigment, lower quota binder

Prices

  • Basic : Very cheap
  • Student: Reasonably priced
  • Professional: Expensive

Some do’s and dont’s

  • You CAN buy all the colours in all the tubes, but learn to mix them first and you will KNOW why you want that colour.
  • Don’t be afraid of Greys. Greys exist in every colour you look at
  • Understanding the Value Scale is vital, a good picture will have at least 3, ideally 5 scales
  • Highlights and Shadows are important. 
  • Value scale your main colour, don’t just use black
  • Give volume to your image by using tone and scale. 
  • Turn the image from 2D to 3D by adding value.
Value Scale

This is definitely not an exhaustive list, if you have something to add please do let me know in the comments.

Ultimately I hope this helps me, and you in our future painting decisions.

Linked posts :

*** Learning to Paint *** Composition *** Practice ***

Disclaimer: 

All opinions expressed here are my own.
I paid for any products discussed.
I received no payment and I am not affiliated in any way with any brand mentioned herein.

Composition and why its important

This is part two of my series noting my observations from the “learning to paint” podcast. Today I am discussing the merits of composition, and way it is so important to a successful painting. I discussed the reasons for these pages on the blog page Learning to Paint; Part one Colour Theory and three Practice are also available.

Composition is key to a successful painting.

There are rules that if you follow them, will make your painting sing. Break the rules at your peril. Break the rules, it might work. When deciding on your painting composition you need to use one of the rules as your main, but you don’t need to use them all, that could get weird and give you a disaster.

7 Rules of Composition :

  1. Rule of thirds : break the canvas in to a 3 x 3 grid, the intersections are the sweet spot.
  2. Focal point : One item is the main area, everything else “recedes”.
  3. Rule of odds : Groups items in odd numbers, 3, 5 , 7.
  4. Perspective and Visual Pathway : Travel through the image in the direction you want the viewer to go.
  5. Variety: Use Shape, texture, tone or medium to add interest.
  6. Fill the Frame: Use a single image filling the whole space. 
  7. Direction: Items / people facing each other, into the image to keep the viewers eye in the painting.
Composition, pleasing to the eye

There are rules, but they they can be broken. They are there for you to use in your painting, they are a guideline to make things work better, make the image pleasing to the eye.

You don’t have to paint “everything” you see. Take the image, see what you like, don’t put in what you don’t like. Its your painting, do the thing that makes you happy.

Artistic licence IS a thing.

“Composition is the art of arranging in a decorative manner the diverse elements at the painter’s command to express his feelings.” 

Henri Matisse in “Notes of a Painter.”

Change things to suit what you want. Add colour or items to suit you. Remove colours or items that don’t work for you.

Random  = it just happened, you liked it and left it in.

Spontaneous = it was intentionally random (I’m not sure I really get yet but it sort of makes sense!)

Convert your reference photograph to black and white to see your values.

Make a study (thumbnail) of your reference. Use your greys to get value. Practice your colour palette.

There is so much more to composition I am sure, however these are the key points I noted. If I follow some of these then my paintings will be successful. If there is anything you think I should be aware of, please do comment below.

Linked posts:

Learning to Paint *** Colour Theory *** Practice ***

Disclaimer: All opinions expressed here are my own. I paid for the products discussed, I received no payment and I am not affiliated in any way with any brand mentioned herein.

Practice your art

In part three of my series noting my observations from the podcast “Learning to paint”. I talk about the importance of practising your art. I discussed the reasons for these pages on the blog page Learning to Paint; part one Colour Theory and part two Composition are also available.

As if the picture doesn’t say it enough, then every one of the artists on the podcast definitely did. You cannot get better if you do not practice.

  • Paint as often as you can, every day if it’s at all possible.
  • Practice, Practice Practice – you can never practice enough
  • Paint 100 paintings, maybe by 101 you will like what you’ve done.
  • Don’t assume you can paint as soon as you pick up a paintbrush.
  • Practice, Practice Practice – you can never practice enough!
  • You don’t expect a musician to be able to play their instrument without practice, so why assume that of your art?
  • All paintings have an “ugly” stage. Keep on working through it.
  • Put the painting to one side for a day, week, years if you have to, one day you will come back to it and will have the experience to know how to finish it.
  • Practice, Practice Practice – you can never practice enough!!
  • There is no “right way” to make art, but there are ways to make it better.
  • There is no “wrong way” to make art, but there are ways that can make it worse.
  • Make a Study = Make a Copy. This means copy from the masters, recreate their paintings, learn what they did, how they did it, then take it to your creative practice and make your own painting.
  • Practice, Practice Practice – you can never practice enough!!
  • Knowing how to draw will help knowing how to draw with paint
    • But it is not necessary to draw in pencil first if you are confident with the brush
    • But if you can’t draw the basics, Learn
  • Use photo references.
  • Paint an image, Copy the technique and then learn from it.
    • Once you’ve done all that, find a similar image of your own and make a study.
  • You are always learning, you will never be “done” with learning. Some new skill or technique will come up and you will want to know about that.
  • When posting on social media – ALWAYS credit the original artist if you are displaying a study of their work.
  • Credit an artist when you have been INSPIRED by their work.
  • Practice, Practice Practice – you can never practice enough!!
  • Expect to make mistakes
  • Expect to throw stuff away / paint over it – learn from that
  • Ultimately Practice – spend as much time on the canvas as you can afford to do, you will only get better with practice. 

If I am honest, practising is is probably the thing I struggle with the most. I want my painting perfect as soon as I step up to the canvas. I struggle with having to see the ugly stage, I hate not knowing how to do something, I loathe the idea of repeating an image time and again just to practice it. And yet if I could only get over that and listen to what I’ve written here I would be getting better. That said, I can absolutely see my own progress over the last few weeks, when I can dedicate time to my art, I can see what I can achieve.

Linked posts :

*** Learning to Paint *** Colour Theory *** Composition ***

Disclaimer: 

All opinions expressed here are my own.
I paid for any products discussed.
I received no payment and I am not affiliated in any way with any brand mentioned herein.

A Day of Art!

Well after the buzz of creating a blog post every day in September, which rolled into losing my Instagram account and also our son getting Covid at the beginning of October, meaning he was being home-schooled for 10 days, I have had a lot of time NOT arting. So yesterday when everyone left the house to go back to school and work – I was in the house alone, for the first time and I took the day to calm down and make it all about ME.

Homeschooling, was for the most part OK. He did achieve all lessons and even got some positive points (reward system) from some of his teachers for his efforts whilst being ill. We also had a couple of days where we worked on Art lessons. We made a Green Man and we made a Watercolour picture based on one point perspective. He worked hard, learnt a lot and went back to school in a good place, and even ahead in a couple of subjects!

DH Green Man
DH Green Man
KH Green Man
KH Green Man
Art Homework – I had to take part!

So what did I do yesterday? I spent a lot of the time catching up on the Lifebook Taster session that I had signed up for. I know I am not going to buy the course, I just cant justify it again this year, but the Taster sessions are free, and only available for 2 weeks and I really wanted to have a go at some of them.

So here is what I achieved yesterday

The Art Sherpa, For this I printed the reference onto watercolour paper, then used Royal Talens Ecoline liquid watercolour.

The Rainbow Cow
The Rainbow Cow, Tutorial by The Art Sherpa

Eris Klein Taught me to use the page and watercolour intuitively to build up an image. This again was using the Ecoline watercolours, and then I added some Pan watercolours and Gelly Roll Pen marks to fill in the image as it felt right for me.

Eris Klein
Eris Klein

Toni Burt Taught us to make a “quirky bird2 using just a pencil and a couple of watercolours. Again being very loose and intuitve with the marks.

Toni Burt Quirky Bird
Toni Burt Quirky Bird

Olga Nguyen, I’m not going to lie, this one I didn’t really “try” with. I didn’t listen to the meditation, and I didn’t engage with the “reason” for this, but I watched the video on silent, and just “followed” the process. For me I have taken it as an exercise in mark making.

Olga Nugyen
Olga Nguyen

Kate Crane – Wanderlust – This class was all about using complementary colours and creating a page talking about our “haven”.

Kate Crane page 1
Kate Crane page 1
Kate Crane page 2
Kate Crane page 2

Some other art completed since last blog post

Collage fodder, This is just one image for all the fodder I have made. I made flowers and leaves on watercolour paper, let it dry, draw around it and cut it out. I also made “painted pages” lots of sheets of A4 papers and added acrylics in complementary colours that can be cut about and / or used as journal pages. I also then spent a couple of hours ion front of the TV last night making and cutting a load more flowers! This is part of the Fodder School from Willa Wanders / Tiffany Sharpe

Collage Fodder
Collage Fodder

Karen Campbell, you all know how much I love working on Karens classes, well here are two of the latest offerings from her I have completed.

Art Deco Diva – Upcycled Album cover Mixed Media
Lurch – Addams Family – Line & Wash

College Course Update

I couldn’t attend my college course last week because of our son being ill. I received the class notes and homework via email, and had to work through it alone. It was such a shame because I really wanted to attend that class as it was going to be all about learning to paint in the style of Van Gogh. So I had to find some online help to actually learn about him, and his paint style. But I achieved it and here are two pieces I have done, as a study of his work.

Study of Van Gogh Starry Night
Study of Van Gogh Starry Night
Study of Van Gogh Almond Blossom
Study of Van Gogh Almond Blossom

I know this was a long post, and I apologise,. I had a lot to say 🙂 If you got this far, I Thank You !

I shall see you again in the next post. Stay Safe, happy arting

Disclaimer: 

All opinions expressed here are my own.
I paid for any products discussed.
I received no payment and I am not affiliated in any way with any brand mentioned herein.