Posts filed under 'Painting'
Painting may not be all dependent on creativeness and great vision. Beauty in art can also be created by the use of quality equipment. And in the art of oil painting, quality paints and brushes can help in creating the most beautiful masterpieces. Paintbrushes, for instance become a valuable painting tool since it helps put the artist’s ideas and vision onto the canvas. Poor quality paintbrushes may contribute to a bad quality painting. A good understanding of paintbrushes and their proper use is therefore important for the budding artist.
Paintbrushes used in painting come in different types, sizes and shapes. The different brushes allow painters to create a variety of strokes required for their masterpieces. The different brushes also come in their different names. Although names and their styles may vary from manufacturer to manufacturer, such brushes may still have certain similarities. In the traditional sense, short handled brushes are usually used for painting in watercolor and in ink while the long handled ones are used for acrylic and oil paintings. The different brushes are usually distinguished by the style of brush tips that they have-
Angle- a versatile type of brush that can be applied in both general painting applications as well as in applying some detail work
Bright- type of flat brushes that come with short stiff bristles. This type of brush can be useful in driving paint into the weave of a canvas in thinner paint applications. It can also be used in some thicker painting styles.
Fan- used for blending broad areas of paint on the canvas.
Filbert- another term for flat brushes with domed ends. They provide the artist with good coverage and able to perform some detail work.
Flat- a type of brush that is mostly used for spreading paint quickly and more evenly over a canvas.
Mop- a brush with a larger than usual head with bristles having a rounded edge. It is mostly used for broad soft paint applications as well as for putting thinner glazes over existing drying layers of paint without trying to damage the lower layers.
Rigger- a type of round brush with typically longish, thin hairs. It was so named because such a brush was traditionally used for painting the rigging of ships in artworks. This type of brush are useful for painting fine lines and can be both used for oils and watercolors.
Round- a type of brush with a long and pointed tip and closely arranged bristles that is useful for detail work.
Although there might be different types of brushes available that can do a variety of functions, an artist may not have a need for all of them. Some may use only two types of brushes while others may find use for quite the other different types. Such brushes may also come in different sizes and it is up to the artist to choose which brush types and sizes serve the best purpose for his own style and technique of artwork.
September 20th, 2007
It is one way to paint a masterpiece and another way of to evaluate it. Judging and evaluating a painting can both be technical as well as an art itself. Judges in art shows not only look for technical brilliance in artistic works but also on it aesthetic value. But how do most art judges do it? What do they really look for when evaluating different artworks?
Judging artworks may differ depending on certain situations. It may depend on certain preferences that the judges as a whole may have in mind in a collective sense. It may also depend on the level of competition perhaps as well as on the regulations that may have been established beforehand. But all in all there are some general points that art judges usually look for when evaluating different paintings.
1.Originality- quite important on the list of most judges. This implies to artworks that bore any semblance to any previous artwork made. It usually takes an experienced judge to identify original works from those that are not.
2.Innovation- this shows not only of departure from but also quite a novel use of the usual characteristics accepted in a certain genre and making full use of it on a painting.
3.Quality- characteristic of a painting that show certain authority and elegance in its design and execution.
4.Depth- a certain characteristic of a work that can induce more than just a second look from an onlooker or judge.
5.Completeness- a quality that shows a painting having integrated all the aspects in the painting to come up with a thorough and coherent statement.
6.Integrity- a quality of a painting that evokes the sincere expression and spirit of its author.
7.Intrigue- a characteristic of a certain artwork that has something left to a viewer’s imagination. That “absent quality” in a canvas that makes an onlooker wonder and think.
8.Significance- quality of an artwork that makes an impression or some worthy statement that broadens a viewer’s understanding of the world.
9.Vitality- the emotional quality of the artwork and the feelings it evokes.
The above may be considered as evaluating artworks aesthetically or it may also be viewed in some ways from a technical point of view. There are other ways that judges may also consider in trying to evaluate artworks. Judges may look at the lines of the painting. Lines may show how the subject and the figures surrounding it are being articulated. How these lines are used may have an effect on how the artwork may come out.
Form is another point that art judges consider. How the subject is being depicted, the coherence of the different bits in the painting to the whole as well as the individual characters of the different elements in the painting are also some things that judges try to consider. Color and tone in a painting and how they are creatively used also are also points that judges consider in evaluating paintings.
September 12th, 2007
Composition has always been an important aspect of oil painting. It is defined as the selective arrangement of the different elements that make up an oil painting. The aim of good composition is to help guide the eyes of an onlooker in a certain oil painting and keep up his or her interest in the subject matter. The main aim is to create a certain arrangement through preparatory planning and sketching in order to create a balance between the different oil painting elements and come out pleasing and interesting to the eye.
Composition is more than just a simple arrangement of a bowl of fruit or adjusting to a certain position to see a subject at a better light. There are other elements to consider when it comes to achieving ideal composition for an oil painting. Here are some of them:
Space
This is an important element in formulating an ideal composition for an oil painting. It can be done in several ways. A painter can make use of different perspectives that can better show a subject in an interesting light. A painter may plan on using space in a two dimensional where the subject of the painting can be seen as if being deformed to blend with the flat surface of the canvas. Space can also be used in a primitive form where objects are randomly distributed and seemingly without any controlling feature. Space can also be utilized in an illusionist aspect which can be created with linear perspective or in a way where distant objects appear to be smaller, lose contrast and detail or even obscured by nearer objects.
Line
Lines can be used in a number of ways to help come up with an ideal composition for a certain painting. They can enclose forms or mark the bounding contours of an object. Lines can help create movement, define a painting’s texture or integrate the other elements an oil painting.
Tone
Employing a good composition for an oil painting also requires the creative use of tone. Tone can help create the mood, drama or emphasis on oils paintings.
Hue
The specific wavelength for a certain color, a hue can be used as a primary means of creating certain psychological effects and provide emotional impact to an oil painting.
Texture
Objects can be visually patterned in order to create a pleasing diversity to an oil painting composition. It is an element that may be of help, especially in trying to instill some focus or even arrange some sort of unity on the painting. It is texture that may help (for example) make smooth silk appear different from satin on an oil painting.
Color Purity
In composition, this element refers to the intensity or brightness of a hue. Pure colors are those that come from a single wavelength and have more dazzling clarity. Pure colors can be quite unreal and should be used with the greatest caution. For a better effect on composition, pure colors are usually used together with the other elements such as hue and tone in order to make an oil painting come out.
August 22nd, 2007
Many artists have become famous for painting oil portraits. The most renowned painters in the past were made famous by their wonderful portraits that aimed to capture the exact likeness of its subject. At a time when photography was not yet invented, it became a more popular way of getting one’s likeness preserved and shown for future generations. This might have made them quite popular then.
But up until now, portrait painting in oil still comes as quite a challenging task to master and to become an expert at. For one, painting a portrait in oil may be quite more complex than what others may have expected since using oils usually require patience. Not only that, it also takes the artist’s expertise with visualizing a subject in order to transfer its likeness into the canvas. Each artist may do it in a number of ways, each depending on how well they serve to achieve the artist’s own standards.
Even though there is not one correct approach to the perfect portrait painting in oil, there are some ways that artists should be able to follow in order to make their work look spectacular. Here are some simple and general hints that may be of help to artists doing portraits in oil:
1.The first step is always to make an accurate sketch in charcoal and make sure that the features of the subject in question are correct and accurate. This sketch would become the guide that would be followed as the artist try to build up a mixture of colors and paints to come up with a masterpiece.
2.During the actual painting, artists should remember to paint shadows in order to define a broad structure. This can usually be achieved by starting with the nose which is often at the central portion of the painting.
3.Artists should also try to add some color in areas where the shadows meet with the light.
4.It is also important for artist to make the shadows similar to the background colors of the painting.
5.In painting the face, artists should try to break them into planes. One hue tones should also be assigned to these planes and should be painted in the simplest manner possible.
6.One may be able to create warm backgrounds for the portrait by taking the shadow color lighten its value a bit as well as weaken its intensity.
7.Remember not to let the background overpower the central subject which is the face. Use neutral colors for the backgrounds in order to make the subject come forward.
There are other oil portrait painting hints that may be able to help every artist come out with better artworks. Getting better at oil painting, just like any other hobby or skill, takes a lot of practice. So do not worry if you do not get it the first time. Practice after practice would allow you to master the different methods used in painting portraits in oil.
August 8th, 2007
When applied to the art of painting, the color theory is the field of practical guidance to aid in color mixing and determining the visual impact of different color combinations. The principles used in color theory were first recognized and probably established sometime in the 1400’s and became more developed sometime during the 18th century. The color theory aims to help people understand why some colors work well together while some do not. Color theory also helps on how painters are able to come up with designs for their paintings as color is an important element of composition. And most of all, the use of color theory will greatly help painters on how to properly mix colors to come up with the type of color desired.
In painting, the color theory is usually used for its principles on color harmony. Artists try to follow a certain method to create a certain type of realistic picture in their paintings. Different painters from history try to experiment and come up with different color harmony approaches in order to create the type of painting that they have in mind. This usually involved color schemes that today have largely been classified in order to help guide the modern artist.
Approaches to color harmony may vary depending on what the artist aim to achieve. There are quite a number that artists can make use for their compositions. The most basic approach would be the monochrome where the whole painting composition is based on a single hue. The subtle differences in the composition can be achieved by adjusting the purity and the tones of that certain hue.
Another way would be through the complementary approach where the painting composition makes use of one hue and its complementary- blue and orange for example. The hues created using them can be mixed in various ways and can also be used with black or white. A composition that makes use of just three hues follows the analogous approach. The 12-color wheel is usually used to determine the three hues. This color harmony scheme can either make use of one pure hue and two other semi-neutral hues. Another would be using three high key pure hues or they can also be of one dominant, one subordinate, and one minor hue. The hues being used can be adjusted for tone.
Another color harmony approach would be the split complementary where three hues are used in addition to a complementary hue of the mid-hue being chosen. With this approach, paintings may be able to achieve a warm or cool balance more easily. The triadic approach on the other hand makes use of three hues that are equidistant on the color wheel. They can either be composed of the primary colors only or they can also be made up of secondary colors. The hues may vary by adjusting the purity and the tone. Achieving color harmony in paintings is important for creating remarkable artistic masterpieces and might not be that easy to master in such a short time. Getting better comes with experience and a lot of painting practice.
August 1st, 2007
Quite a number of excellent works of art have truly been considered as prized possessions by many art collectors from all over the world. This holds true to a number of notable paintings by a number of well known painters throughout history. There are some paintings that are so highly valued that some avid art collectors may even come to certain extremes just to get them. And getting them usually involves a great deal of money. Here are five of the most valued paintings today in terms of monetary value as of 2006.
5. Bal au moulin de la Galette, Montmartre by Pierre-Auguste Renoir
This 1876 Impressionist masterpiece by Renoir is the fifth most expensive painting to date. The Au Moulin de la Galette is actually a smaller version of Renoir’s painting of the same name that can be found at the Musee d’ Orsay in Paris. It was bought by a Japanese collector at Sothesby’s for 78.1 million in US dollars. It was recently believed to be sold to an undisclosed buyer to the tune of 113.4 million US dollars, putting it fifth in the list of the most expensive paintings.
4. Portrait of Dr. Gachet by Vincent Van Gogh
Once considered as the most expensive painting in the 1990’s, this painting by Van Gogh once fetched for a price of 82.5 million US dollars to the same Japanese collector who bought Bal au moulin de la Galette by Renoir. Both painting have since changed ownership. It was recently reported that the Portrait of Dr. Gachet has been sold to an undisclosed party at a price of 129.7 million US dollars, enough to make it place fourth in the most expensive paintings list.
3. Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I by Gustav Klimt
This 1907 oil, silver and gold on canvas masterpiece was reportedly sold to a tune of 135 million US dollars to Ronald Lauder of New York City in June of 2006 to become a part of his Neue Galerie. Its adjusted price today would fetch 137.6 million US dollars.
2. Woman III by Willem de Kooning
This painting done by noted abstract expressionist painter Willem de Kooning was completed in 1953 and is one of six painting made by Kooning with the woman as the central theme. The painting was sold to billionaire Steven A. Cohen sometime in November of 2006 to the tune of 137.5 million US dollars, making it the second most expensive painting to date. Its adjusted price today would be somewhere at 140 million dollars.
1. No. 5, 1948 by Jackson Pollock
This abstract masterpiece by noted American painter Jackson Pollock is said to be the most expensive painting to date. It was reportedly sold by its previous owner, David Geffen to a still unconfirmed buyer to a tune of 140 million US dollars. If adjusted for inflation, its value today would reach as much as 142.7 million US dollars, making it the most expensive painting to date.
July 25th, 2007
Oil painting has been considered as one of the most popular methods of art. It is the process of painting using pigments that are mixed with a medium of drying oil. In the past, the most popular drying oil used by most painters was linseed oil which was boiled with a resin. This was then called as varnish and was highly valued for their excellent gloss and finish. Other types of drying oils used include poppyseed, walnut, and safflower oil. Different oils provide different properties to the oil paint and may depend on the painter to which one to use in order to create the type of artwork that the painter has in mind.
Linseed oil is taken from the seeds of the flax plant. It is usually the drying oil of choice because of its excellent properties. Pigments added to the oils are made glossier and they dry very thoroughly when used. This makes linseed oil great for underpainting the initial layers of an artwork. A more refined linseed oil variety is usually an all purpose oil that is pale or yellowish and color and dries within three to five days. There is also the cold-pressed linseed oil variety that can dry slightly faster and is considered today as the best linseed oil to use in terms of quality.
Stand oil, on the other hand, is a thicker kind of linseed oil with a slower drying time. It may take a week for the stand oil to dry. It is most ideal for use as a glaze when mixed with a solvent such as turpentine. It produces a smooth and enamel like finish to artworks absent of visible brush marks. There is also the sun thickened linseed oil which is made by exposing the linseed oil under the sun in order to make a thick and syrupy type of bleached oil. The sun thickened linseed oil may have the same brushing quality as that experienced in using stand oil. The advantage of stand oil and sun thickened linseed oil is that they have a slight tendency to turn to yellow in time as compared to other types of linseed oils.
Another type of oil painting medium being used is the poppyseed oil. It is usually a very pale oil and is less likely to turn yellow than the popular linseed oil. That is why it is usually the oil medium used for white and other pale colors. The only drawback is that poppyseed oil may take longer to dry than linseed oil. As this medium can dry for a week or more, it is ideal for use when the painter is working “wet on wet”.
Walnut oil is another drying oil medium used in oil paintings and is characterized by its pale yellow-brown color. It is also known for its distinctive smell and is a thinner type of oil than the other drying oil mediums. Walnut oils are usually used to make some oil paints become more fluid. It also has a lesser tendency to yellow than linseed oil and is therefore also good for use with pale colors. It can dry for about four to five days. Its only drawback is that it can be quite expensive and may require a different method of storage, otherwise it might go sour. Other known oil painting drying oils include safflower and sunflower oil which may have the same characteristics as poppyseed oils
July 18th, 2007
Painting, specifically oil painting, can be a very work-intensive and time consuming process. It requires more than just transferring your ideas into canvas and everything is done. There are certain processes that each oil painting undergo before they come out as a finished product. Here’s a simple guide to help introduce you to the general process that each oil painting goes through.
Although the process that each oil painting go may vary from artist to artist, there are general steps that most of them usually follow. The first step is usually focused on preparing the surface to be painted on. There are a number of different surfaces being used in oil paintings which include, linoleum, wood panels, and cardboard. But the most popular surface being used even since ancient times has been on canvas. Linen has been the traditional choice as material for the canvas, although the use of cotton fabric is preferred by some artists because they are less expensive. Preparing the canvas takes a number of steps. First of all a wooden frame is used in order to firmly stretch the canvas where it will be pulled across and tightly stapled.
The next step in preparing the canvas is by applying a “size” in order to prevent the paint from eventually seeping into the canvas fabric. Sizing involves coating the canvas with a layer of animal glue which is then primed with lead white paint. Gesso is then applied for priming a canvas for painting. Gesso, which is usually a mixture of calcium carbonate and animal glue, is used on surfaces in order to increase the absorbing properties of the primer coat when oil paints are already being applied to the canvas. Most artists usually try to apply several layers of gesso to their canvas. Each layer is sanded after drying before the next layer is applied.
After the canvas has been primed, artists now will start on drawing outlines of their compositions into the surface. Sketching an outline on the canvas surface serves as the guide for the artist as he or she applies the color pigments. Underpainting is first applied which consist of an initial layer of paint that will serve as the base for the subsequent layers that will be painted on the canvas. The initial layer need not be just of one color, depending on the preference of the artist. But it should be able to help tone the subsequent layers painted on the canvas. Oil paintings are built up as layers upon layers of paint with each layer being made to dry before applying the next layer. This process is what may make an oil painting take some time before the final composition is done. After all the colors have set, a layer of glaze is applied to provide a seal to the surface. The finished painting is then dried for a time that may take as long as a year. After that, it may then apply a coat of varnish to provide some protection to the finished product.
May 7th, 2007
Watercolor painting can be a very interesting hobby. As a matter of fact, any type of art as a hobby can be fulfilling, considering that you are trying to create something out of a blank white sheet of paper or canvas or whatever material you wish to use. On a hobby such as watercolor painting, you can be able to create wonderful works with practice. And with practice, you would require a bit of discipline, patience and creativity. Your interest in your hobby would ensure that you have all these ingredients put in place and that will make you excel better at the craft in time.
What makes watercolor painting so interesting as well as challenging is that the paint used is not the only factor in creating the best watercolor paintings. The use of quality brushes as well as quality paper all work in order to allow you to make the best results for your creations. Even the best colors may not be as vibrant when used on poor quality paper and vice versa. Poor quality brushes may not help in creating the desired composition on paper. A good combination between the three- the watercolor pigment, the paper and the brush- should be achieved in order to get the best results. Here are some watercolor basics that you may need to know as you get into watercolor painting as a hobby.
Choosing The Right Materials
Watercolor makes use of different materials from other painting techniques. The paint used is water-based. There are watercolor paints that show different levels of transparency. These paints are available in either tubes or in pans. Pan watercolors are hard cakes and are less expensive. It allows greater control for mixing but may wear the watercolor brush faster. Tube colors on the other hand are softer and can be used direct from the tube and into the paper.
In watercoloring, there are different paint brushes being used in order to achieve the different effects on paper. Watercolor brushes are made in order to hold water and are fairly softer compared to brushes being used in acrylic and oil painting. Watercolor brushes can come in flat, round, mop or fan. There are also several specialty brushes that are used in order to create special lines or effects. Good quality brushes are those that retain a consistent pointed tip (for round brushes) even after being used a number of times. The best watercolor brushes are those that can absorb a sufficient amount of water. The softer natural hair brushes are often preferred although they can be quite expensive. There are also synthetic as well as mixed brushes to choose from.
The paper used being used in watercolor painting can properly support the paint as well as tough enough to withstand continuous painting action. Lesser quality paper may break down since watercolor paints make use of water that may weaken ordinary paper easily when it becomes wet. That is why watercolor paper is usually thicker that your ordinary paper in order to be able to hold the color without breaking down.
April 26th, 2007
Dadaism was an art and cultural movement that developed in 1916 through an agreement between a group of young artists in Zurich, Switzerland. It was the time of war. In fact, the first World War was ongoing during those times. The movement started with that fateful gathering of poets, writers, painters and other young artists who protested to the ongoing war around the world. These young artists believed that the war started because of the rationalization, intellectual rigidity, reason and logic, aside from bourgeois interests led to the horrors of war. They believed that rejecting logic and embracing irrationality would bring about the change in the situation of the ongoing war. With this belief, the Dada movement was born.
Dadaism in art was actually considered by its proponents as “anti-art”. Dadaists protested against accepted conventions and the academic and cultured aspects of art. What traditional art tried to represent, Dadaists tried to represent the opposite. If traditional artists strived for putting some air of meaning in their art works, Dadaists made artworks with no perceptible meaning or, at least, didn’t convey any particular message. Dadaist artworks can be interpreted differently by different people, depending entirely on the perceptions of the viewer.
What helped in the rapid spreading of the Dadaist movement is the fact that it was formed by artists from different nationalities. Switzerland was a neutral country to the ongoing war which became the ideal location for exiles of other countries affected by the war. This included the young artists who came from different European countries affected by the war. After the war ended sometime during 1918 that the Zurich Dadaists went back to their home countries and spread the philosophies and beliefs of the movement to others. The movement eventually spread into other European countries such as France, Germany, The Netherlands and eventually found its way into the US via New York.
It the way that Dadaism tried to approach its art- that of rejecting traditional aesthetics and culture- it became a big influence in the development of future art movements such as Surrealism and other forms of Modernism art. Among its influential members include Marcel Duchamp who was a French artist who became an American citizen and helped shaped the development of post-WWII Western art. He is best known for exhibiting a urinal as art and named it “Fountain”. Max Ernst was another artist that was a noted Dadaist. He was known as a mixed media artists and was also known to have developed the art technique called frottage in which a pencil or other drawing tool is being used to capture an a textured image on paper by rubbing the said tool into the textured surface of the image.
Man Ray is also a noted Dadaist. Even though he considered himself first and foremost as a painter, he was more famous for his contributions in avant-garde photography most notably for his fashion and portrait photographs. His works in film, painting, sculpture, assemblage among other media were also known to be the the first examples of what became known as in the art circles as performance or conceptual art.
April 17th, 2007
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