For people starting out in drawing who aren't confident in their drawing skills, there are several ways of transferring a subject onto a piece of paper. Tracing, projecting, gridding are all used in varying degrees and a proportional divider is another option.
This is a simple tool that provides accuracy for drawing and can be used to increase or decrease size. It can also be used as a check for measurement after freehand drawing if something doesn't look quite right.
Once the scale size is decided on, the central screw can be fixed in place. The closer to the smaller end of the divider that the screw is placed, the larger the proportion of the drawing will be and vice versa. This setting should not be changed during measurements for the drawing. The small ends of the divider are used to measure the height or width of the subject. The larger end is used against the drawing surface and small dots or lines are made to indicate the measurement. These measurements are made throughout the drawing, depending on the number of objects in the piece.
Of course, the usual plumb lines for proportion and measurement are needed to ensure objects align as required. Angles are usually determined by confirming an angle with a pencil then moving that same angle to the drawing. Where points intersect will be the measurement test and can be adjusted as needed.
If drawing from life, it is crucial that your view point never changes and that your arm is locked at the elbow for each measurement. If either of these change, the drawing will be not be accurate. If using a photograph or drawing from a computer or tablet screen, you can measure direct from the image, scaling up or down as required. Note if you use a computer screen: make sure that the photograph size is not enlarged or reduced if you draw over several sessions.
While tools can make life easier in setting up drawings, they shouldn't be relied on for daily use and can never replace the hand/eye drawing skills that develop over time. It is well worth learning to use the classical techniques for drawing, proportion and measurement and use tools such as the proportional divider for complex pieces or to check for accuracy in line placement in freehand drawing.
The divider I used here is from Accurasee in the USA and can be ordered online.
No, these are not the tools that you make art with however, indirectly you do, as they are an integral part of what you create. They are the written tools that are essential to every artist who is involved in presenting art publicly. An artist statement, an art resume and a biography are the documents that most galleries, juried exhibitions or competitions ask to accompany image submission.
The artist statement
This needs to be updated at least annually, more if you're very active in the art world. The one that seems to provide the most headaches is the artist statement. Basically, it is a short explanation of the thought or meaning behind the art that the viewer is seeing. It can be full of "art speak" which the video below pokes fun at so well, proving just how confusing and pointless it is to over explain in terms that aren't clear. Thankfully, the trend now is usually more towards simple explanations of what, why and how you create what you do. A couple of paragraphs at best works well, as no one will stand there and read for 20 minutes. The statement and/or biography are often placed next to your work in a gallery or show.
If your style and medium never change, it makes life easier to create and tweak artist statements, but artists evolve over time, special events, themes or requests happen and for those a different artist statement is needed.
The art resume
An art resume is a replica of a work resume, but all art related. There should be no reference to a position outside the art industry on this document unless it is linked closely with the art world - i.e. if you were a gallery curator, museum collector, etc. Education, training, exhibitions, grants, etc., are all listed. Art resumes can take up a dozen pages or more which are fine for your own records, but most organizations who want to see that document are looking for information on recent work and activities and restrict submission to three pages. Less is more. If you go for overkill and send in a dozen pages, you'll likely end up in the bin.
The artist biography
A biography is similar to an artist statement, only you're talking about yourself. It consists of a couple of paragraphs that sum up your artistic background, involvement and activity and provide a snapshot for those wanting a quick overview of the artist.
The elevator pitch
This is a sentence or three that sums up what you do if someone asks and you have a brief period of time to tell them - like on an elevator ride. If you don't have your pitch made, its time to consider it. Think of adjectives that describe what you do; what your strengths are or what do you sell or make. What makes you unique? You're create a visual image in words for your audience so they can "see" what you do. It helps to have business cards as well as an image or two available to show, especially as mobile phones are so common these days, you can easily pop an image or two of your best work on there to have available.
What's my elevator pitch?
I am impressionist painter, creating textural paintings of boats and water in oils using only a palette knife. I also teach classic drawing and painting techniques.
What is your elevator pitch? Do you have an art resume, biography and artist statement that tell more about you and your work?
How often we look to the skies to predict the weather and it often seems a much better predictor than the meteorologist reports that we are bombarded with daily.
This was a demo from a recent workshop for an introduction to palette knife painting. The colour mixing and shapes are simplified and the sky forgiving in terms of shapes, making it a perfect subject for individuals testing the technique for the first time.
There are few colours that fit the need straight out of the tube. They nearly always need a boost from another colour to adjust value or create the correct hue. The use complementary colours and addition of colours that are unorthodox but the right value, add interest to the work. Try throwing in a streak of a complementary colour, just a little, to give more oomph, you'll be amazing how it makes a painting sit up and demand viewer attention.
I've been busy creating and finalizing pieces for upcoming exhibitions. Spring and summer are always crazy times for artists and coming out of the cocoon of winter is always a shock in terms of just how much work must be done.
But there is worth in deadlines, even if we complain about them.
Deadlines provide incentives to produce work and goals to aim for. They push you to explore boundaries and experiment with new ideas. Without deadlines whether external or self imposed, I can wander around like a lost puppy or procrastinate until a deadline is lost. Then I kick myself for wasting time or not paying attention.
Embrace deadlines and impose them on yourself regularly and see your production soar. How to meet yoru deadlines? You need to do a little planning and setting your own deadlines to meet a production time.
Here are some tips to help
Understand exactly what the deadline is. June 25? Ok, but 9am, 3pm or midnight on that date?
Can you really meet this deadline? There's no point in rushing work and not producing your best. Consider carefully if trying for a deadline will make you crazy, make you create sloppy work or look unprofessional before you say yes.
Set you own goals within the time frame. You can't produce everything in one day and deliver. Set goals for yourself at daily or weekly intervals leading up to the final deadline.
Give yourself wiggle room. Life happens and its beyond our control, so add some extra prep/work time for the project so that if the worst happens, you still have available time before the deadline.
Be prepared to do the work. If you procrastinate or mess up, be prepared to do an all nighter or work extra hours to make up for lost time.
Jelly is probably considered old fashioned now and not sophisticated for children or adults to consume. I remember it with fondness from childhood and my own children's childhood as a treat. Jelly and its more elegant, but less tasty cousin, blancmange. Either one wasn't served in just any old bowl, it had to be in a jelly mould which came in all sizes and shapes. I recall a glass rabbit mould which I loved but it must have gotten broken somewhere in the passing of time.
I found this old pressed glass mould in a cupboard when clearing my mother's house. I remember it being my grandmother's, who lived with us, and it held many a sweet treat. In the 60s jellied salads became the rage. They weren't healthy but got vegetables into reluctant children. I recall one made with pineapple and grated carrot in lemon jelly and another with lime jelly and green peas. I know...yuck right? See here for some "interesting" salads that were made with jelly.
The bubble topped jelly mould was common and made anywhere from the 1930s to the 1960s. Seeing the contents layered through the glass made the eating more interesting perhaps.
Now as for drawing glass, its one of those perceived difficulties. Its all about light and shade and picking out the specific areas of each as well as those subtle variances of mid tone with bright shots of white highlights that made it work. Observation is key for glass, but very achievable if you take your time. This is a quick sketch in my Moleskine with a few wonky angles as I didn't measure, but I see it appearing as a larger charcoal piece in the future.
I've been going through some old photos of relatives and came across rather battered one of a great aunt. The photo was taken when she was around 18 or 19 at the time, sometime in the 1920s. I love sketching relatives from the past. Looking at clothes and hairstyles and seeing what physical characteristics are passed down from generation to generation is interesting.
The hairstyle fascinated me and made me do a little research on hairstyles of the 1920s. This is when the "bob" came into fashion which was a trend that caused a lot of controversy and perhaps was a push into women's rights and a break from the patriarchal society rules of the time. Film stars of the time, such as Clara Bow, jumped on the bandwagon and I would imagine that my great aunt, like any other teenager, mimicked trends and fashion - and rebelled a bit too. Apparently the introduction of the bob also spurred the creation of the bobbie pin.
I remember my great aunt as having the characteristic thick curly or wavy hair that ran in my mother's side of the family (I seem to have gotten the dead straight gene but kept the thick part), so cutting her hair into a bob must have been problematic in terms of maintenance as most curly or wavy hair has a mind of its own.
For a private workshop this week I looked through my reference images for something different, yet not too challenging, for painting. I don't often paint flowers but with Easter/Spring in the air, I thought a tulip might fit the bill. And it did. The individual who I was teaching had not painted anything previously and never used a palette knife but did a fabulous job with her first painting of a tulip as you can see in the image below.
Its interesting to see how different people approach painting, especially those not influenced by previous painting experience. Some have a natural ability to see colours and shapes, while others struggle with that observation. Practice, of course, brings the training of eye/hand that helps with seeing shapes and judging colours. Each person brings their own unique vision and painting style to a piece and its wonderful watching it unfold.
Hindsight is 20:20 and wouldn't it be nice to be able to mentor your younger self and provide the sage advice that time and experience provides?
From the artist's view point if I could advise my younger self here are some things I'd say:
Get a thick skin quickly. There will always be critics and they will wound you to the core. Get over it. As you move up the art ladder, there will be people who try to knock you
off. This will come in a variety of forms, from blatant plagerism and
copyright theft down to the jabs and remarks spurred on by the green gods
of jealousy and hatred. Ignore your critics and those intent on trying to hurt you. Keep your vision strong and your belief in yourself and your art stronger. But never be afraid to fight for what is right and what is yours.
Become identifiable. Perfect your technique and find your style and medium. Nothing gets you more rejections than poorly executed art, art that encompasses a dozen different styles and mediums or art that looks identical to 20 other artists. Your style belongs to you. You work hard to achieve it, so guard it like a dog does its bone.
Practice your art. Work in your studio daily, no matter what. Practice equals beautiful art and it inspires creative work. As Chuck Close said, "Inspiration is for amateurs. The rest of us just show up and get to work." Create a body of work of 15 - 20 pieces. Then create another. And another...
Learn the art of marketing yourself. No one else will do it for you. Not unless you pay them a lot of money. Promote yourself and your work constantly. Exposure to eyes is what makes art visible. Keeping it in a studio collecting dust will not benefit you, or the world.
Share your knowledge. No, don't sell the farm and reveal everything, but share your knowledge of technique to other artists coming after you. After all, technique doesn't belong to you, you are only a medium through which it is passed down from artist to artist as it has for hundreds of years. It is your duty as an artist to show others artistic techniques.
Create what you love. Don't be swayed by what subject sells in a gallery, what a best selling artist paints or what the current trend is in art. Create the art that resonates within you. It will sell if you want it to. Be patient and wait for the right person to claim it.
Nurture yourself. Surround yourself with beautiful things, beautiful surroundings, beautiful people. It need not be beauty in the traditional sense of pleasing to look at, though that is always pleasant, but more the people and objects that are pleasing to the soul. Artists create best when their soul is satisfied.
Ring the bell. Leonard Cohen once wrote "Ring the bells that still can ring. Forget your perfect offering. There is a crack in everything. That's how the light gets in." Don't strive for perfection. Real beauty lies in imperfection and uniqueness.
"All afternoon in the deck chair, I try to describe to my notebook the
colors of the water and sky. How to translate sunlight into words?" Author: Frances Mayes
Dusk and dawn are the artist's most prized times of day because light is beautiful then. The sun is low in the sky, casting long shadows and tinging the landscape with amber light. Those moments just prior to dawn or before dark when light is barely there adds more mystery. Shapes are indistinct and colours muted.
Watching the light and choosing the right moment to paint or capture the light with a camera opens up a world of beauty.
Clouds are so forgiving to paint and the colours that can be found in them make them interesting subjects. Like all subjects, looking for the overall shape, noting values and hues and where they change is vital to make a cloud look like, well, a cloud! Clouds such as this stratocumulus have wispy edges where some of the sky can be seen, while the body of the cloud has a denser look and the form is achieved through colour and value change.
Living on an island in the Atlantic, there's no shortage of clouds and "cloudy with a chance of rain" (or flurries) is pretty common in the forecast, so models are never far away.
Save 25% on all small paintings over $50 in my Etsy shop until March 31st. Enter BIRTHDAY25 on checkout to receive your discount. Have a peek and chose your favourite!
I use a limited stroke technique in workshops that helps loosen up participant's painting and reduces the concentration on creating detail. Its a common thread with many painters, this urge to create detail long before the painting is ready for it. Putting details in too soon usually means that you end up painting them over and over and over as shapes and colours are adjusted in the painting. This technique of course can be used with a brush but the end result should be similar and the key is using sufficient paint with either tool.
The limited stroke technique takes a little pre-planning before painting. First, I create a sketch of the subject and draw a map of the colour and/or value changes within the subject. The piece should look like a puzzle with abstract shapes within in. Next, using the palette knife that I will paint with, but no paint, I work out approximately how many strokes it will take to complete the sketch by placing the knife strokes as if I were painting and counting how many strokes will be needed for each colour/value. I make a note of the number of strokes that I think it will take to complete the piece.
Limited stroke exercise - pear
Multimedia paper - oil paint
A stroke is defined as one movement of the knife and cannot be lifted from the support. There is no going back to adjust, dab, or change. The aim of the exercise is to see how few strokes it will take to complete the piece. The key is to use lots of paint and manipulate the knife to eke out the stroke capability so that you can cover as much area as possible. Make a mark on the page or on another sheet with the paint colour or with a pencil for each stroke that you apply. Add the total number of strokes at the end of the painting to find out if you used more or less strokes than you anticipated. Test yourself with more versions of the same subject to see how few strokes you can use to create it.
The resulting painting will be abstract blocks of colour or value. This is not a painting for your wall, this is an exercise to help improve your ability to see shapes and colours or values. You should have a representation of the subject, but no detail. If you have detail, the purpose of the exercise has not be achieved and should be tried again. To ensure that it doesn't become "precious", I use sketchbook or multimedia paper and oil paint which I know are not the best carriers for the medium, with oil seeping out and staining the paper. But it is an exercise for learning, not for keeping or selling.
In this exercise using the peacock, I predicted I would complete it in 35 strokes, but managed it in 33.
In the pear, I predicted 27 strokes and painted it in 21.
Try the exercise yourself and see what you come up with. You'll be surprised at how it will make you really observe your subject, values and loosen up your painting ability.
There are two schools of thought on creating an under drawing before painting.
The first school is that the creation of a drawn guide for paint placement is essential for accuracy.
The second school of thought is that an under drawing isn't necessary and may even impede freedom of expression.
I'm firmly in the first school of thought, having been trained in classical drawing and painting and feel that these have benefited me to observe and translate shapes and values accurately.
I usually work out colours and composition with a little study prior to
painting and find that it helps a lot in problem solving. The study is
in oils in a sketchbook. I use whatever surface that happens to be
handy for most of my studies as I don't care if they find their way into
the future or not. For me, they are working tools only, not precious
pieces.
My current painting on the easel is a bit ambitious in complexity. Its worthwhile throwing a challenge at yourself now and then to push outside the comfort zone and make yourself sit up and pay attention. I've drawn it freehand as I do with nearly all my work. The top right hand side has been altered just a little to reduce the size of the fish as its out of proportion with the others.
I created a speeded up clip of some of the drawing process. I'm busy fighting with the learning curve for a new video editing program and this video is not fabulous quality, but you can see a little of my thought process as I draw perhaps.
The painting is 24" x 24" on gessoed masonite. I like this surface more and more for painting.
I seem to have a lot of red in my paintings lately and its nothing to do with Valentine's Day. Perhaps its the bleak mid winter with its palette of greys and blues that makes me want to have bright colours livening up my studio.
Does red attract collectors? Colour is used in marketing to trigger sales responses and here you can see an infographic on how the psychology of colour is used.
I don't consider colour as the primary influence when creating a piece of art. It factors into composition, form and light and combined, it makes a painting come together. I have painted red boats previously and they have all sold, so perhaps there is something in the theory of putting red into a painting.
All four of the star lots in Sotheby’s 2014 February sale featured a striking
red colour, including a Richter painting which sold for 17.4 million pounds.
An untitled work by Cy Twombly, valued at up to £7m, is said to be
particularly desirable for being the "most red of all his works".
The importance of the colour red has been noted previously in the work
of Piet Mondrian, with paintings featuring a red square thought to be
more desirable.
In 2013 Brett Gorvy, co-head of contemporary
art at Christie’s International, said red was the most lucrative colour
in art works, followed by white, blue, yellow, green and black, in that
order.
Philip Hook, from Sotheby's, has called the power of red "
quite extraordinary", with a "judicious touch" giving a painting a
"huge extra piquancy and impact".
The two top prices for works
by Rothko are for red canvases, with four of the top five sales figures
for Richter being for predominantly red paintings.
“Tell me the facts and I’ll learn.
Tell me the truth and I’ll believe.
But tell me a story and it will live
in my heart forever.” An old Native American proverb
I love weathered, rugged wooden boats. There's always a dozen stories at least in the chipped paint, the barnacles and rust. A modern fibreglass boat, while often elegant and streamlined, never is quite the storyteller that a well-worn vessel is.
This piece is just about finished. I let a piece sit on an old easel in the far corner of the studio where it catches my eye for a week or two and lets me know if any changes are required. Sometimes a touch up of a line or a colour enhancement take place, but rarely major changes.
While standing back from a painting every 20 minutes or so is very useful, give yourself even more space to really see a piece. Standing back further from a painting, depending on its size and situation gives a different impression of the piece than the "nose to painting" view. I know everyone (mostly artists) usually leans in closer to see detail, but especially in looser paintings, the detail is very abstract and only when you are at a distance will things jump into focus.
I don't do a lot of printmaking, but I do thoroughly enjoy creating both relief prints and etching. The whole process, from design, to inking, making paper choices and the final reveal as the paper is lifted off the block or plate is intriguing to me.
I created this little print with spring in mind. Of course here that will be a long way off yet, but I'm optimistic that with the unusually warm winter we're having that spring may be a treat and not a misery of fog and dampness.
I'm not a fan or "Hallmark" holidays, which I always consider Valentine's Day to be, but if you do celebrate, this print could just fit the bill for the love of your life, or for a treat for yourself. A little bird pulling hearts, almost like worms, out of the ground, letting the wind scatter and share them to spread the love, is my thoughts behind it. And we all know that there's no harm in spreading some love around the world these days if you happen to watch the news.
I hand printed these in black or red in on ginwashi paper and have provided an option for personalizing a print with colour and words.
You can see the details of the prints in my Etsy shop.
“The seed of your next art
work lies embedded in the imperfections of your current piece. Such
imperfections are your guides–valuable, objective, non-judgmental guides
to matters you need to reconsider or develop further.” ~David Bayle
Some paintings take longer than others to produce and you never know when you start how the process will unfold. A painting may almost fall off the knife or I may have to paint and scrape and repaint ad infinitum until that moment arrives when it starts to come together.
Working through what seems like a horrible session only to see that glimmer of recognition of the vision that you originally had. Its oh so easy to give up and try something easier, but there is no learning in that. Speed and ease should be removed from everyone's vocabulary when painting. Yes there will be times when both are there, but there will be more times when they are not.
This boat took a fair bit of working and reworking to get it to where I wanted it to go. I accept that not everything in the creation of art is easy and that's a major step in forward movement. Instead of abandoning a piece that isn't working as I want it to, I look at why it isn't working and fix those mistakes. Isn't that true of most of life and how to make it more pleasant?
As promised, here's a short video on thickening acrylic paint to use in palette knife techniques. I have another step by step video on using the thickened paints to demonstrate and am in the process of editing and making it available soon.
The teaching adage of "See One. Do One. Teach One" applies to art workshops as well as any kind of learning. So aside from explanation of practical technique, participants need to also see how paintings are constructed and then get some practice putting that information into paint application. Whether they go on to teach one only the future can tell.
I do demonstrations of paintings and drawings at every workshop, some more finished than others, depending on how much time is available due to class size. I used to be terrified standing up there with expectant eyes on me, waiting for perfection. But now, I take it in stride, but of course, things don't always go to plan and perfection is rare.
I'm teaching some workshops for Anna Templeton Centre in the city centre. Its a lovely old (1849) building that used to be The Bank of British North America originally. Full of creaks and quirks befitting its age, it houses arts, crafts and design classes and is a wonderful space to work in.
Art journalling is a current trend over the last couple of years, turning into big business in some aspects. Its not fine art, but it explores creativity, colour exploration and drawing skills and encourages non-artists to dip a toe into the world of art. I've never been a big one for journalling, but always enjoyed sketching. On impulse I bought a new Moleskine notebook last weekend. I had used these quite a lot a few years ago and loved the creamy, wax-like paper surface. Perhaps I should have bought the sketchbook instead of the notebook, as the paper in the notebook is flimsier than the sketchbook and pen marks do show through to the other side, so I will be using one side only unless I decide to coat the pages with gesso if I want a double page.
I'm an abuser of sketchbooks and the Moleskine will be no different. It just may get a bit more abuse in terms of media and additions to pages. I don't view sketchbooks or journals as precious and "mistakes" should be embraced and shown as part of the process. Not everything will be fit for consumption, but some will be catalysts for paintings and further exploration.
Journals are a way to escape, be creative, work out ideas and release inner thoughts. An entry can take as little or as much time as you have available and become a colourful way of recording your view on the world. You don't need to be an artist to keep an art journal, but any time spent creating can only be beneficial if you're heading down that creative road.
I'm going to try to do something in the journal each day until its filled, then see where I go from there. I have several sketch books for general drawing but the journal will be a little different, a little more personal.
