Christmas Gift or Personalised Present Idea

I like to try and think of slightly different things for Christmas gifts.  Ideally unusual things that don’t cost a lot of money are good.  I thought you might find this idea of interest. 

This time of year you can get photo books from the online suppliers at a very good price, before the Christmas rush I guess. 
Top Tip - Always check out the special offers section of their website.

I did a photo book for my son and for my daughter a couple of years ago.  I started with their baby photos and went through the rest of their growing up until they were young adults.  It’ll be a lovely keepsake for them.


How it works

Once you decided which company you are using (use an online search) then log on, choose the book style you want and add in your digital photos to the online formatted book.

I have bought both soft and hard covered books.  Both are very good quality and the photos looked clear.

The online format allows you to add your photos and text boxes so you can explain where the picture was taken, etc or make funny comments about the picture.  There’s a range of page styles and colours to choose from.

Most of my photos were pre-digital so I had to scan them into a jpg file and use this for the book.  But if you are using digital photos the whole process is quite quick to do.


You can make this a bit quirky

Most book formats allow you to add a photo on the front cover.  Instead of a standard photo you could use a drawing of the person receiving the book and include some of their interests.

If you are not too sure about drawing you can do most of the items on the computer.  Use a photo of the person and place clip art images of their interest in appropriate positions using a graphics program.  Print this out and trace off the lines you want from the print off. 

You can add extra details or simplify the whole thing – just use your creativity.  Once you are happy with the sketch then scan it, save as a jpg, and you can use this image as the front cover of the photo book.  Add some text using a text box too if you want.


An example

If I was doing this for me I would think about my interests – painting, gardening, liking a glass of wine with dinner, walking, reading, and so on.  Out of that I would choose a few things to make up my drawing.

One idea could be with me sitting at a table with a big plate of food and a glass of wine and lots of flowers coming in through an open window.  Below the table a pair of thin legs with large walking shoes.  You could make this fairly realistic or more like a cartoon.

For this one I would just use a photo for the face and clip art for the walking shoes and perhaps the flowers.  The rest of the shapes can be drawn with a ruler.

Be sure to consider the format of the front cover of the photo book and to make your sketch in the same format (usually landscape rather than portrait) for the best result. 

You also have the choice of whether to make the sketch black and white or perhaps to add colour.  Adding colour would be good for anyone who supports a particular sports team too.

The sketch can be as simple or elaborate as you like.


Group Gift

If you are a member of a group you could make up a photo book including photos of meeting, trips or special occasions. 

If you've been to a wedding you could get photos from other guests and make up an ‘unofficial wedding album’ using these snaps. 

Should you decide to do a ‘group book’ just order one to check that you are happy with the result and then you can order additional copies knowing that the book is good.  If you find that a photo is too dark/light you will be able to change it before you place the bigger order of copies.

I hope you can use some of these ideas.  Digital photos are nice but it's lovely to have a hard copy version too.

Light Boxes and LED light bulbs

I always plan to make up or buy a light box.  They're very handy when you need to trace a shape or image.  However I don't often need to trace things so lack the motivation to get one.

When I do need to trace something I tend to use the window on a bright or sunny day.  However this method has to be done standing up so it's not handy for complicated projects.

I am not recommending this but at night time I have used a sheet of glass over a table lamp.  This can get a bit hot depending on the bulb in the lamp. 

I recently changed the bulb to an LED one.  It is supposed to use less electricity and have a longer life.  Apparently it is the green alternative to the bulb that was replaced.

The definition from Wikipedia says -
“An LED lamp (or LED light bulb) is a solid-state lamp that uses light-emitting diodes (LEDs) as the source of light. LED lamps offer long service life and high energy efficiency, but initial costs are higher than those of fluorescent and incandescent lamps.”

It's nice to be good to the environment but another benefit is the lack of heat from the LED bulb.  Now when I am tracing over the top of the lamp the glass stays cool.  Much better!

If I ever get around to making a light box I think using LED bulbs will be a great idea.

Of course you can buy some very nice light boxes; you don't need to make your own.

Here's the sort of thing I mean

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Summer Sketching

Around this time of year I always think about how enjoyable it is to do some drawing.  It is the most convenient way to take your art with you when you’re out and about.

All you need is a small pad of paper and a pencil.  With just these two items you can sketch.

There is no need to produce a complete picture – unless you want to.  In just a couple of minutes you can enjoy your hobby and draw a small picture.

Practice makes perfect.  Every sketch will help you to improve your drawing.

This is a great way for passing the time when you have to wait, whether it is for an appointment or perhaps at the airport waiting for your plane.


What to Sketch?

You can draw things that you see.  I find that I notice more detail when I am sketching things.  This type of picture can be a good reference when you want to add details to the foreground of a painting.  Examples of this type of sketching could be benches, people, clocks, foliage of plants.

Concentrating on the light and shade will help to make your drawing more three dimensional.  Try looking at the way the light affects a particular scene, this can help to add an atmospheric look to your artwork.  This will help your sketch as well as giving you ideas about how to add a particular mood to a more detailed picture that can be painted later. 

You can sketch whatever you feel like, maybe even designing your own superhero comic character.  You don’t need to sketch just the things you can see.


You just need Basic Equipment

The basic items are just a pad of paper and a pencil.  If you find you enjoy sketching you may wish to take other drawing materials so that the sketches could have some extra elements.  Perhaps a hard and soft lead pencil so that you can smudge the soft lead areas for shadows and contrast.

Some people like to sketch with ballpoint pens or felt tipped coloured pens.  You can try a range of drawing equipment to see which ones you like the best.

Should you decide to add watercolour paints to your sketching equipment you’ll need to use thicker paper so that the water in the paints does not make the paper cockle (or buckle) too much.

When you are just starting out you’ll only need a pad of paper and a pencil.  There are small sketchpads that are available in art stores that usually have good quality paper in a range of sizes.  However when you are beginning all you really need is a pad of unlined paper and a pencil.

Even when the weather isn’t good enough for sitting outside to draw this is something you can do, inside or out, and with only some paper and a pencil.

This is a good way to improve your drawing skills in a quick and easy way.  And a great excuse for sitting out in the sunshine too.

Painting Technique - Texture Paste Tip

I've had a couple of queries about the use of texture paste.

The main question is whether you can use texture paste only in the foreground.  So I have a painting here that uses texture paste a bit further back in the picture.

As you can see it works just as well here.

This top photo shows the foreground stones.

Here are a couple of photos showing sections so that you can see how the paste has been applied and over-painted for the final effect.

(I adjusted the contrast in the lower photo so that the texture is more obvious.)

Top Tip – You can use texture paste ‘further back’ in a painting. 
Consider using a shallower texture in the further away section and then use a deeper texture in the foreground.  By using the paste more thickly in the foreground you will help to give the illusion of depth to your picture and it will provide a nice contrast to the other section of texture paste too.


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Using Texture Paste in a Seascape

I had a container of texture paste that's pretty old and starting to dry up a bit at the top. Rather than waste it I decided to use some for the foreground stone in a seascape.

I took a few photos of some of the stages so you could see how the final painting was achieved.

This seascape is painted on a canvas panel. I like canvas panels as they can be trimmed if you decide that a section of a painting isn’t working.



First I started with a rough sketch of where the stones and main wave would be. Using a palette knife the texture paste was applied. The local stone here has very definite layers in its structure. So it is fairly straight forward to apply the paste to give this effect.

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Once the paste was dry a strip of masking tape was positioned for the horizon. In a seascape it is important that this is level or the water looks like it could fall out of the picture. (Not what you’re trying for!)

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This area was painted with black acrylic and left to dry. The stone area can be painted quite roughly, with thin and thicker areas of paint to help with the stone shading.

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When the picture was painted in I didn’t like the section on the right so I added more texture paste to add some grassy texture to the top and some to improve the stone shape lower down. Once it was dry I carried on with the acrylic paints.

Adding white to the neutral colours gives good stone-like colours.

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This is the final painting. The paste made painting the stones a lot easier. Just darken the hollows and lighten the raised areas for an effective look. Adding some crack lines will make it look more interesting too.

Keep Your 'Test' Samples

I often shop at our local Lidl supermarket. It does a range of garden, hardware, clothing and craft items. They take in the different things, usually just for one week, depending on the time of year.

I like their stretched canvases; they are a good quality and a very good price. I’m not so keen on the paint brushes though.

They sometimes have acrylic paints and acrylic pastes. Recently they had some acrylic pastes that I hadn’t seen before so I bought a box to try.

Whenever I get new items I try them out on a piece of thick paper or thin card. Then I keep the card with the paint/paste, this helps when I consider using it at some time in the future. I just need to check how it looks to see if it will give me the effect I want.

Obviously once you’ve used an item a few times you know what to expect. However this is a handy tip for the times when you buy new items or for things you only use occasionally.

I have included a couple of photos of the samples I have with the paints and pastes.

As you can see I’m not too fussy about it being very neat!

The lower one is a box of acrylic pastes. It had gold satin, aluminium, crystal (clear), nacre (mother of pearl) and the standard white paste.

Looking for Inspiration?

These types of sample cards can be handy when you want to paint something but don’t know what. They can provide a starting point for a painting when you consider what you can use them for.

That’s what I did when painting this picture of Yoda, from Star Wars. I had bought some metallic paints and wanted to use them. The sheen from the gold and bronze paints made a good ‘alien world’ background.

(As I've mentioned in other posts it is a good idea to paint around the edge of the stretched canvas as it allows you to hang the picture unframed if you want, that is what I did with this one.)

How to Add Detail to the Foreground of your Picture

This posting is about one technique for adding detail to your painting. It is not something I use a lot, with acrylic paints you can easily paint over any details you want. However it is always good to be aware of painting options for achieving a particular result.


How to Add Detail to the Foreground of your Picture


Adding extra detail to the foreground of a painting helps to make the background look further away and can give depth to a picture.

The closer something is to the front of a picture the more detail you can see. So putting in extra details in this area is a good idea.

One painting technique to achieve this is to scrape out grassy things in a landscape. Or perhaps scratch out a texture in other subjects. For example, indicating the texture of the tablecloth in a still life.


Consider your painting surface

The amount of detail you can achieve will depend on the painting surface you are using. You will be able to add more detail when painting on a smooth surface than you can on a rough surface.


Damp is easier

When using acrylic paints I prefer to scrape out the shapes while the paint is still wet/damp. Although you can scratch the dried paint to make some shapes it is easy to dig too deeply and cut into the painting surface. This can be quite a problem on a paper surface.


What to use?

You can use a range of things to scrape out the shapes you want. With thicker paints it can be handy to use a palette knife. The palette knife can be used either flat or edge on depending on the effect you want.

I often use the end of a paint brush. This can be handy for thinner paints and smoother painting surfaces.

Of course you can always use a finger nail too!


Adding extra detail to the ‘detail’

Once the paint has dried you can also paint in further detail to the scraped out shapes for highlights and shadows. This can help to give the shapes extra definition too.

The amount of detail you put into a painting will depend on the subject matter and your style of painting.

As with any technique it is always worth experimenting on a spare piece of paper to make sure you like the effect before you use it on the final piece.

Packing Stretched Canvases for Sending

I thought it would be helpful to consider how to pack artwork that is painted onto a stretched canvas.

Holiday times are a good opportunity to look at this as chocolate boxes, especially the large flat ones are very handy packing materials. So if you receive any boxes of chocolates (particularly the ones with just one or two layers of chocolates as they tend to be a good size) you may want to save it for future packing material.

Materials

The way I package stretched canvases uses an appropriate size of box, lots of bubble wrap, a couple of sheets of cardboard with some extra cardboard to reinforce the edges and corners. Also some paper to wrap the box and parcel tape to keep it all secure.

My Method

I start by putting a couple of layers of bubble wrap in the gap at the rear of the stretched canvas. This will fill up the void at the back of the canvas. Then wrap the canvas in bubble wrap. It helps to both protect the painting and keeps any dampness away from the artwork too.

Next put a sheet of cardboard to the front and back of the stretched canvas. Cut these an inch or two larger than the size of the painting including the bubble wrap.

Roll up some lengths of bubble wrap strips to pack the edges around the canvas. Place in the gap between the 2 cardboard layers. Pack the bubble wrap strips out to approximately the edge of the cardboard layers. This will help to protect the edges.

Cut spacers of cardboard

Cut some lengths of cardboard wide enough for the gap between the two layers of cardboard (on the front and back of the canvas). Put these between the two layers. Be sure that the corners are well protected and put the lengths of cardboard the whole way around the artwork. Use the parcel tape or any wide tape to hold this in place.

If there is room add another layer of bubble wrap around all of this packaging, and then place it into the box.

If the box is not deep enough (the bubble wrap will make it quite a bit larger all around) you can add some more lengths of cardboard as a spacer between the top and bottom of the box.

Pack any spaces with more bubble wrap and tape the top and bottom of the box together. (The corners are the area most likely to get damaged. Be sure to check that they are well packed.)

To finish, wrap with paper and tape to secure.

I probably over-pack stretched canvases, but I‘d rather use too much packaging and have the artwork arrive in good condition.

Damaged stretched canvas?

If you are unlucky and the painting is damaged you may be able to repair it.

If the canvas and painting are intact it is possible to get some new stretchers and (having removed the canvas from the original damaged stretchers) re-stretch the canvas over them. However if the canvas or paint is damaged you will probably need to decide if it is worth the trouble of trying to get it repaired.

Should the paint be damaged you may find that you can repaint it successfully. However if the canvas is torn I wouldn’t bother trying to repair it. Perhaps you could cut it down to a good section and re-stretch it as a smaller picture.


Sending a few canvases?

If you have a few canvases to send and they are all about the same size you can buy boxes from sellers on eBay. There are some sellers on eBay that will sell boxes suitable for sending pictures. If you have a few to send this could be a good option for you.

But if you only have one picture to send it is probably easier to use the method described above.

How to Send an Artwork Gift

With Christmas fast approaching you may be thinking about making a personalised gift and sending it. If you decide to send some artwork you will need to package it fairly well so that it will arrive in good condition. This is even more important for a present.

If the artwork is painted onto paper or canvas panel it will be the more suitable for sending. Stretched canvases need a lot more packaging.

However if you are sending paper, canvas panel or even a picture with a mount the easiest way is to use a board backed envelope.

Board Backed Envelopes

These come in a range of sizes. My local newspaper shop sells them singly so I can buy just one.

Ideally you want the size of the envelope to be about one inch longer and one inch wider than your artwork. If it is too large the picture tends to move about too much and can be damaged.

A board backed envelope can be cut down to size and the cut edges sealed with tape, parcel tape works well for this.

There are different qualities of board backed envelopes. If the one you buy seems too thin and flexes a lot you can strength it with another piece of thin card. I find that a cereal box can be a good size and thickness for this.

Cut the cereal box to the size of the envelope and slide it in to make sure it fits well.

It is a good idea to put the picture into a plastic bag to keep it dry – just in case!

Put a piece of spare paper, then the picture (in its plastic bag), and then another piece of card in a stack. Next slide this stack into the envelope with the good side of the picture facing the board part of the envelope.


Tip

Place the artwork so that it is facing the board of the envelope, so the extra piece of card to the back of the picture. This ensures that if the rear of the envelope is written on it will not mark the painting.



No board backed envelope?

If you cannot get a board backed envelope you can use a large envelope and make up a sandwich of packing to protect your artwork.

In this case you need to have two pieces of strong card both slightly larger than the picture. The cardboard needs to be about one inch longer and one inch wider than the picture.

Place your artwork into a plastic bag to keep it dry and then sandwich the picture between the cardboard layers. Tape the two cardboard layers together to keep the artwork flat.

This can be placed into a normal large envelope for sending.


Tips

Check that the cardboard is both strong and not too heavy. If it is heavy it will really increase the price of sending the packet.

Mark the outside of the envelope as “Fragile Please Do Not Bend” in large letters, on the front and on the back too.

Acrylic Painting, How to buy the Right Equipment for using with Acrylic Paints [Kindle Edition]

I've just added this new report that you may be interested in if you have a Kindle.

It is a collection of articles and reports I have written. It covers acrylic paints, suitable brushes to use with acrylic paints, the best painting surfaces, acrylic mediums, and colour mixing tips too.

Here's the link if you want to check it out

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005LO6REI

You may need to copy and paste the link into your browser, however there is also a link on the right hand side of this page too.

Tips on Painting from a Photograph – Part 3

In this last part I wanted to mention a few points that are important if you are painting the picture for someone else.


If you are given a photo and asked to paint it then be sure to check what the other person expects.


Expections

1. Perhaps they really want a painting of the photo just as it is, in which case you will have to try and keep the picture fairly true to the photo.


2. They may say that the photo is just a starting point but they want the final piece to be recognisable as the photo. In this case you have a bit more flexibility with the composition and colour of the painting.


3. Or they may say that they are happy for you to paint your version of the photo. This will give you the most freedom with the choices you make.


It is always best to discuss what they expect the final painting to look like. This will avoid disappointment for you both!


An Example


I painted a pet portrait from a very small photo (the head in the photo was about half an inch by half an inch) and felt that the final painting was a good likeness. Although the client was happy with the painting she said that it was her partner’s dog and she had never seen it when it was younger. The dog was going grey and this was not apparent due to the size of the photo.


For myself - I prefer to remember pets in their prime, looking healthy and alert. But I should have discussed the painting more than I had. Maybe a painting of the dog looking older would have been more appreciated by the owner.

Tips on Painting from a Photograph – Part 2

Here is Part 2 of Tips on Painting from a Photograph. It looks at the composition of your final painting and considers some of the options you have.

You don't need to paint a picture to exactly match the photograph. In Part 1 we talked about choosing just a section of the original photo and not the whole of it. The composition of the final painting is the main subject of this article.

Although you're using the photo for your inspiration it's still necessary to consider the composition of the final painting.


Here are a few points to think about.

What is the focal point?
Where is it placed? (It is better to avoid putting it in the centre.)
You can move it to a better area if you want.

Are there objects to lead the eye into the painting?
These could be paths, branches, or shapes to lead the eye in.

What about the colours? You could change a landscape to a different time of day or a different time of year?
Instead of mid-day you could have a sunset, instead of the bare branches of winter you could have green leaves or even autumnal leaves.

Consider the contrast between the tones used in the different areas too.
Again you do not need to follow those in the photo.
Perhaps you want to highlight a contrast between some light and dark areas of the picture.

You can use the photo as a starting point for your painting.
But if the final painting is for someone else they may want and expect it to look like the photo.

However you still have the option to change things to improve the composition of the final picture. For example missing out a power line in a landscape or changing the background in a portrait.

Tips on Painting from a Photograph – Part 1

Photographs are very handy reference materials. When you decide to paint a picture you can use a photo and you don't need to worry about the weather or time of day. I don't like to paint when it is raining and obviously night time painting sessions can be a challenge. ;-)

However when you have photos to use you can paint whenever the mood takes you.

There are really two main ways to use photos.

1. Using just one photo and painting your version of the scene
2. Using several photos and choosing sections from them to compose a different scene altogether

One main photo

When you are using one main photo for the painting there are a few things you may want to consider.

You don't need to use all of the things from the photo. A photographer has no choice when he takes a picture, but you don't have this problem.

If your photo has a lot of detail you may choose to just use a section of the photo for the painting. You don't have to use the entire photo – just use your artistic licence and select a part of the scene to use.

Often less is more in a painting. If the foreground is complicated and detailed you might want to keep rest of the painting simple.

Simplify for impact.

Putting the majority of the detail in the foreground will help to give depth to your final piece. The further away a thing is the less detail you can see, so simplify the middle and distant areas in your painting to help give it depth.

Tips on Painting from a Photograph – Part 2 will discuss how the composition of the painting can be improved.

How to Make Your Own Rake or Comb Brushes

Rake or comb brushes are very handy when painting textured effects. These brushes have been cut with gaps between the bristles so that they produce grass like effects. They are really convenient when you want to paint rows of lines quickly and easily.

I find them useful for painting the fur in pet portraits.

However the rake brushes I have do have one problem. The spaces between the bristles are all the same size. This makes them excellent for parallel line areas, but not so good for grassy areas where you want some variety in the brush strokes.

I do have one rake brush that has irregular spaces but the majority of the rake brushes seem to have uniform spacing.






So I decided to experiment

I trimmed some old brushes to see how that would work. Don't use new brushes, but if you have some old brushes that are past their best this could be a good project.

As you can see from the photo I cut the bristles to give uneven spaces.


How to make your own

It is probably easier to do this with flat brushes rather than round brushes, although I tried both. Trim the brush across the width of the brush head. You are trying for a thin line of bristles across the width of the brush; this will avoid the final brush being overloaded with paint.

Then cut into the brush head to give the spaces between the bristles. This is a bit like when a hairdresser is making choppy layers in a hair style.

Test your newly trimmed brush to check that you are happy with the effect. If you aren't pleased with it then dry the brush on a piece of paper towel and re-cut it. Repeat this stage until you have a successful rake brush.


When to use them

If you're only painting a small area of texture it'll be easier to just paint it in using a small brush. However when you want to texture a large area it'll be quicker to use this type of brush and you can add several lines with just one brush stroke.

Having made your own brush you will have a more random look to the texture too.

Using Glow in the Dark Paint in a Painting

The last posting mentioned that the landscape painting had another secret. As you now know from the title of this post – it included some glow-in-the-dark paint.

I bought a small container from eBay and didn’t know quite what to expect.

However I like to experiment with new materials…


My first try

My first project was to use it on a lighthouse window in a picture I had previously painted. I thought that if the lighthouse window would glow in the dark it would add an interesting dimension to the picture.






The picture is displayed in quite a dark hallway and I was disappointed that there was no glow. I applied several layers of the paint but there wasn’t any improvement.


I have it so I will use it!

Seeing as I had most of the paint left I decided to give it another try. The hallway is fairly dark and maybe the paint wasn’t getting enough light in that position.

This time I applied the paint to the landscape so that the glow would look like a shimmer in the sky that was reflected on the watery section in the centre of the picture, indicated by the marked area in the photo.




As in my first attempt, I applied a few layers of the glow-in-the-dark paint. This is recommended in the instructions that came with it.


Display and Glow

I hung the painting and forgot about it. But this time it worked. :-)
As soon as the lights were out the areas that I used the glow in the dark paint on gave off a slight glow – enough for me to see even without my glasses on!

The picture is displayed on the wall on the same side of the bedroom as the digital clock. I don’t know if this gives enough light to make a difference or not, I only know that it works there.


Green Might be Better?

According to the website the brightest glow comes from the green paint. The one I have is white, which is second in their table.

I can imagine painting a sunset with over hanging trees and using the green on the leaves for an interesting glow look. I might get around to that some time.


For the Full Range

You don't need to look on eBay for this paint supplier. They have a website at www.kilabitzzz.co.uk with their full range.

They also sell some other interesting paints. There is one for UV lights and a temperature changing one too. If you're looking for something different it may be worth a look.

How You can Paint Your Own Colour Matched Artwork (Part 2)

This is the second part of painting artwork which includes the colours used in your home furnishings.

This topic is covered in the free report that I give away (the link is above). However I always think that it's clearer to see some actual examples.

As in the previous post the colours used in this painting match the bed cover in our bedroom. This post looks at another style of painting using the same colours as before.





Recap on the Colours in the Furnishings

As you can see from the photo the bed cover is a checked design with stone and dark red in the pattern. Trying to buy artwork with these particular colours in it would be very awkward to find.

I used a couple of small pots of pre-mixed colour. As I was going to paint a couple of pictures it was easier to use pre-mixed colours.

The Style of this Picture

As before this picture was painted onto a stretched canvas. The style of this picture is a fairly traditional landscape style.

And as previously the sky was painted using the stone colour with some white for a cloud effect.

The furthest away hills were a mix of the stone and red colours and painted with quite a lot of water for a pale tone.

TOP TIP - If the tone isn't pale enough you can always add some white to the mix, or paint over the dried section with watery white to make it lighter.

The layers of hills coming towards the foreground used more of the red, as well as darker tones to give a feeling of depth.


In the Foreground

The foreground was straight red and some areas were painted with thicker paint (you can use several coats) to give extra detail to this area.

The area in the centre had some of the white and a little of the stone colour added to give the indication of water.

I added a little blue to the red in a few of the foreground areas to give some darker tones which give a nice contrast to the rest of the picture.

Limited Palette

This picture is an example of painting with a limited number of colours or a limited palette. I really like these types of pictures and find the final effect is very pleasing and harmonious.


Surprise Element

However that's not the full story of this picture. There is a surprise element to this painting that I’ll tell you about in next month’s posting.

How You can Paint Your Own Colour Matched Artwork (Part 1)

Painting artwork that includes the colours used in your home furnishings is a popular project.

It is covered in the free report that I give away (the link is above). However it is always interesting to see some actual examples.

I'm going to show you a couple of examples of pictures I've painted to match the bed cover in our bedroom. This post looks at one style of painting and the next post, which will be in about a month, will show a different style of painting. Both will be using the same colours to paint the pictures. These colours have been chosen to match the fabric of the bed cover.







The Colours in the Furnishings

As you can see from the photo the bed cover is a checked design with stone and dark red in the pattern. Trying to buy artwork with these particular colours in it would be fairly difficult. Also I wanted to keep the colours in the bedroom limited as I find that more restful.

Rather than mix up the colours myself I decided to buy a couple of small pots of pre-mixed acrylic colour. There are a couple of reasons for this.

Firstly I was going to paint a couple of pictures, so mixing up exactly matching colours for both of the pictures was going to be a challenge. (I wasn’t going to be painting them at the same time.)

Secondly when I was looking at the range of stone colours I realised that some shades looked a lot better with the dark red than others. So it was easier to buy my favourite shade.

The Style of the Picture

When using more unusual colour combinations it is often easier to go for a more graphic style of painting rather than something that it too realistic looking. Therefore for the first picture I decided to do a simple sunset, or moon set :-) , picture with some palm trees. This was painted on a stretched canvas.


How to Paint It

I started with a rough sketch to place the sun and trees where I wanted them.

Then I drew around a large plate for a circle for the sun. The rest of the picture was lightly drawn on.

Top Tip - Remember that once you paint over the surface with acrylics you will not be able to erase the pencil marks. Remove any unwanted marks before you start to paint.

I painted in the sun with Cadmium Yellow and Titanium White. Once it had dried I painted in the sky with the stone colour, adding white to give some cloud effect areas.

The edge between the sun and sky can be repainted to tidy it up once both sections are completely dry.

I used the dark red to paint in the palm trees and foreground. This can be painted in several layers. Extra layers will make the colour look a bit darker too.

Adding additional details to the foreground area helps to add interest and depth to the picture.


Other Ideas

The contrast between the light area of the sky and the darker silhouette of the trees and foreground is handy for this type of colour matched artwork.

Of course you can use other subjects in a similar way. You could use the silhouette shape of anything you like. For example a bridge, city skyline, hills, and so on. Perhaps even a shape taken from the patterns in your furnishings.


Part 2

Next time I will be talking about the other painting which uses the same colours but with a different style and look.

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Newsletter Readers

If you are one of my newsletter readers you may be wondering why you haven't received a newsletter for June.

Unfortunately I am having problems with my provider for this. I'm going to need to find another supplier for this service.

I intend to find a good one and then restart the newsletter. You will eventually receive another Acrylic Painting Course Newsletter.

I appreciate your patience. :-)

Painting on an Oval Stretched Canvas - Painting Tip

I've had an e-mail about painting on oval stretched canvases so I thought it would be a good subject for this blog post.

Painting on an Oval Stretched Canvas

Oval stretches canvases used to be quite rare but I see that they're a lot more common now.

They give a different look to your painting and many people prefer it.

I got one as a Christmas present last year. I painted a collie picture on it and I think it looks pretty good. :-) It would look pleasing in a traditional style of décor.


What about Framing?

However there may be a drawback if you want to have a framed picture. I spoke to my local picture framer and she said that framing oval pictures was a specialist job. Obviously the frame needs to be the same curved shape as the canvas.

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Side Note – An oval canvas could be framed into a rectangular picture. The oval shape would be put behind a mount or matt, so the final mounted picture would be a rectangle, and easy to frame.

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When framing a square or rectangular canvas the framing is sold in straight lengths. The lengths are cut to the correct size for the canvas. The corners are cut at 45 degrees for a tidy finish and the frame assembled.

For an oval canvas to be framed as an oval shape the framing has to match the curve of the canvas which is much more complicated.

This can make getting your oval artwork fairly expensive to frame. A few years ago I saw an oval canvas with a matching frame sold as a kit, but I haven't seen any of these recently.


Any Options?

If you decide to buy an oval canvas look for one with the canvas fixed on the back the picture. This means that the artwork can be displayed without the need for a frame.

I like to paint the background colour around and onto the sides to tidy them up. The photo shows how this looks on the collie painting.

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Portraits and Caricature as a Second Income?

I recently had a query about drawing and painting portraits, perhaps as a second income. As you probably know I don't paint a lot of portraits but I have done a few.

One of the projects in Part Three of the Acrylic Painting Course is a portrait. I chose painting a portrait as I was trying to cover a wide range of subjects. Also, the painting is about working the whole of the picture at the same time. Usually in landscapes I paint in layers from the distance to the foreground. But in the portrait painting the whole of the subject is worked at the same time.


Top Portrait Tip

However one important tip I can give you is to make your subject look good. Pretty much everyone would prefer to have a portrait that flatters them. Don't go too far but make them look nice.

I was watching a program on the television about a famous portrait painter of the 18th century (whose name I cannot remember) and the commentator said that his portraits were sought after because he always made the sitter look a little better than they really did appear.

As the advert says - "You but on a really good day!"

If you want to do portraits as a business you may want to take this into consideration.


Caricature Video Clip

A variation on portrait painting is drawing caricatures of people. These are often a lot quicker to do and you can produce one for sale in a fairly short timescale compared to painting a portrait.

This is something I haven't done. I rather paint than draw! However if you're interested you can have a look at this short video.

It is an interesting video clip of Graeme Biddle drawing a caricature that you may find worth watching, I enjoyed it! He sells a course on how to draw them and has this video on his website. It's only about 6½ minutes long.

Here is the link so you can see it too

http://72c7adq0sfkhh4q2zabc1o7ya2.hop.clickbank.net/


I can imagine that once you master this skill that you'll be a very popular person with all your friends and family asking you to draw one for them.

I also signed up and received the free first part of his course. It has a further video link in it where he draws a more realistic face. This video runs for about 7 minutes and makes the whole process look quite straight forward.

You get further chapters at no cost too. I just received a video on using cartoon software to help with looking at the proportions of the face. I haven't tried it yet but it looks like it will be fun.





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