Oil pastels are quite versatile and can be worked using a variety of different techniques.  You can thin them down with a paint thinner just like oil paints to create washes or you can apply them thickly as an Impasto.  Like any other medium however, they can be a bit tricky to work with in the beginning.  It is often helpful to observe other artists using oil pastels to help inspire you to develop your own unique style.

I found some really interesting videos today during a Google Video search.  In the following two videos, the artists demonstrates a really cool technique that I never thought to try myself.  She takes a regular digital photograph printed on paper and instead of using the photograph as a reference, she draws directly on the photograph, sort of  using it as a guide.

It really is an excellent way to gain immediate experience handling and using oil pastels.  Enjoy!

View these oil pastel video demonstrations here.

I found a couple of excellent videos today on how to draw realistic hair by artist Darrel Tank. Darrel is an amazing artist and author of the website: http://www.fivepencilmethod.com/.  Darrel has perfected a unique technique for drawing amazingly realistic portraits and I invite you to visit his website above to learn more about him and his portrait drawing techniques.

Below are two videos Darrel created that demonstrate his technique on how to draw realistic hair in your portraits.  I know his techniques are going to be a huge help for beginners who are struggling with portrait drawing, especially with drawing hair.  Enjoy !

View these portrait drawing lessons here.

By Ottorino de Lucchi

Watercolor drybrush is an unconventional artistic technique. It creates unique painting effects that are not produced by other methods. It requires practice and skill and a good deal of patience, perseverance and inclination to experiment .

I will explain the drybrush techniques that I developed by studying the works of Andrew Wyeth, a master of drybrush methods, that I had the opportunity to see in the original. Hence, what I am presenting is a kind of personal technique that may not be approved by academicians or other artists.

In essence, watercolor drybrush uses an oil brush technique with watercolor paints. The painter works with amounts of paint comparable to that used with the oil technique and proceeds to build up the painting the way oil painters do. I deem drybrush paintings to have superior brilliance: they appear with more vivid colors, higher color saturation and overall a better contrast of light and dark.

Watercolor paint offers several significant advantages over acrylic or oil paint. The watercolor vehicle does not polymerize when it dries, so the paint can be rewetted and reused. This allows the painter to reuse paint left on the palette and permits easier cleaning, a longer life of brushes and removal of adventitious spots and losses. Furthermore, water is the most easily available solvent, safe, non odorous and non flammable.

Drybrush paintings are even more durable than oil paintings as the binder (gum arabic) dries with no chemical transformations while the oil binder (linseed oil) undergoes polymerisation while drying promoted by oxygen and light. Such reaction basically never stops leading to a slow deterioration.

To counterbalance the high number of pros, there are a few cons. First, although watercolor paints contain relatively less binder (gum arabic), and there is a higher concentration of pigment and higher color purity, this does not necessarily mean the colors are more brilliant. In oil or acrylic painting, the pigment is surrounded by the vehicle, and this reduces the light scattering from the surface of the pigment particles that can make the color appear dull and faded. When watercolors are applied in the normal way, the binder sinks into the paper as the paint dries and the pigment particles are left naked on the paper, which increases the scattering of the incident light and results in an opaque appearance. However, the drybrush technique helps to counter this effect because the paint is applied at a very high concentration.

Another drawback is that the reversibility of watercolor paints creates a difficulty in working layer upon layer because the lower layer can dissolve when a new layer is applied. Later I will explain how these drawbacks can be overcome...

View the rest of this watercolor drybrush lesson here.

Just starting out with charcoal drawing? Looking for some good tips to help you get started? The following is a series of videos collected from YouTube that covers some of the basics, techniques and other great tips for beginners interested in getting started in the charcoal drawing medium. Enjoy!

View these beginner charcoal drawing video lessons here.

Geometrics” painted in acrylics over collage in August 2009

This is my first attempt at recording how a painting came to life! It wasn’t really difficult, but by next week l might have forgotten! I have lots of paintings which I must have painted in some kind of trance state since do not remember what I did and when! No I wasn’t drugged or drunk! Another omission means that I do not always know exactly when I painted something or how long it took, but mainly because I paint a lot in oils and the drying processes are fairly long. This painting was done in 5 days between 19th and 23rd August. I don’t claim either that this is a guide to abstract painting or that this painting is a work of art! But it was fun and someone might like to read about the “journey”.

After being consigned to recycling and given a good scouring, the canvas (60×80cm) was first painted all over with a thin lemon wash (no photo).

A sheet of tissue paper was painted with the three main colours chosen for the painting: lemon yellow (primary), bordeaux red (secondary) and olive green (tertiary) , then the paper was cut freely into squares and other geometric forms. The pieces of coloured paper were stuck onto the canvas. Since canvas is flexible, you can’t stick too much heavy stuff on it. Cement will eventually crumble! A thin wash of bordeaux and green was added. Sorry I forgot to switch the flash off. It was too late to rephotograph by the time I realized that....

View the rest of this step by step acrylic painting demo here.

By George Max

THE SUBJECT

For this second pastel drawing demo, I used the picture of two pink orchids highly sunlit from the top left. The two orchid flowers protrude from the background which is composed of elongated leaves rising from the ground. The lower background is shadowed and makes the orchids stand out even more with color and shape contrast.

THE MATERIALS

Again, for this demonstration I used a 64-color set of Mungyo soft pastels (27 mm x 8 mm) and a sheet of Strathmore Pastel paper (11” x 14”) of somehow pale yellow color. This type of paper requires at least 5 mm sticks or pastel pencils to be able to fill the texture more efficiently and render details in realistic drawings.

THE PALETTE

I did not find much problem matching the colors, tones and shades on this one with my Mungyo colors but a set with more color gradations and shades is recommended...

Follow this link to view the rest of this pastel drawing tutorial

How To Paint Roses : Tackling a Beautiful Yet Complicated Flower

Do you find the thought of learning how to paint roses a bit daunting? All those petals and subtle shades of color! On this page I’ll use a step-by-step oil painting demonstration to show you that the process of how to paint roses is very doable. The same procedure work with acrylics, too.

I took this picture of some roses on a beautiful summer day in my kitchen. I like the soft glow of the roses and the variety of colors. The focal point is obviously the deep red rose in the middle.

My intention here is to create a quick oil study that will convey a sense of spontaneity and freshness. I want to give the viewer an impression, but avoid overworking the canvas,

Let’s started to learn how to paint roses together.

First, I prepare two copies of the main image. In one, I used image processing software to blur the picture. Squinting at a subject is a great way to spot the main shapes and tones, but it gets tiring.

A blurred image allows me to do the same thing without getting a headache. Once I have the painting blocked in correctly, I find that details are either easier to paint or not necessary....

View the rest of this oil painting tutorial on roses here.

How to Shade Pencil Drawings

Understanding Light

In your drawings, you will generally have one light source, which determines the location of highlights and the direction of shadows. The spot where the light hits your subject directly is called the highlight, and is usually pure white. The side facing away from the light source will be in shadow. The midtones refer to the gradation of tones between the shadow and the highlight. Most objects will also have an area of reflected light. This reflection happens when light hits the surface next to your object and bounces back. You will notice that these values blend into each other smoothly, which communicates to us the shape of the object. The only time you will see a hard edge is when there is a cast shadow, otherwise the tones change gradually. The closer the cast shadow is to the object, the darker it will be, fading as it moves farther away.

Control Your Pencil

The key to smooth shading is learning how to control your pencil. You need to be aware of how you hold the pencil, how you apply your strokes, and how hard you press. For darker shadows, press slightly harder and slowly lessen the pressure as you work away. Keep in mind that you shouldn’t have to press very hard; if you want darker shadows, build them with layers of graphite. Your pencil strokes should be even and regular. You don’t want to be able to see the paper between your lines. Try to make your pencil strokes in the same direction to get smoother results. This is easier if you hold your pencil closer to the end and at an angle, using the side of the lead to shade...

Read the rest of this Lesson on Pencil Shading Techniques

Artist Statement

My work fits into two very different and unrelated categories: realism and abstract. Each style allows me to challenge different parts of my personality. Drawing realistically indulges the side of me that loves detail and is a perfectionist. It challenges me technically and I am always pushing to create more accurate drawings. The abstract works reflect my interest in color and form. I am able to work loosely and fluidly, reacting to the painting as I go. It is sometimes a relief to shift from the tight discipline of realistic drawing to this type of work, but it can be equally relieving to go from these open-ended paintings to getting lost in the details of a drawing.

Q: What medium or mediums do you work with?

A: I love working with traditional drawing media: graphite and charcoal. Graphite is great for tight, accurate drawing, but nothing beats charcoal for loose, gestural sketching!

For my paintings, I use mostly acrylics, but have been experimenting with oils lately as well. Each has its strengths and weaknesses. I enjoy the wonderful texture of oils and its ability to blend, but I love the immediacy of acrylics. In my paintings, I also incorporate other materials like pastels and oil sticks.

Q: How long have you been an artist? How did you get started?

A: I’ve always been creative and interested in making things, but it wasn’t until late high school that I really developed a passion for art. A friend of mine could draw amazingly well and I wanted to be as good as she was! I taught myself how to draw with a combination of library books and websites.

Q: Do you have any formal training or are you self taught?

A: I consider myself to be both self-taught and formally trained. I taught myself the technical side of drawing, practicing shading and proportions. When I went to school, I could already draw and had also experimented some with painting. While earning my degree in Fine Arts, I learned a great deal about theory. I also learned how to push myself creatively, and stepped out of my comfort zone and into the realm of abstract art. Both my own knowledge of drawing and my training is invaluable and informs the work I do today.

Q: Do you have any favorite art supplies that you would like to recommend?

A: One art supply that I really enjoy is willow charcoal. It’s a much softer charcoal with a velvety smooth texture. It won’t go as dark as other charcoal, or even graphite, but it’s lovely to work with and produces some great drawings....

Read the rest of this artist interview here.

This is a very informative watercolor pencil video lesson by artist Tim Fisher explaining the variety of techniques you can utilize while working with watercolor pencils.  In this video, the artist demonstrates techniques like cross hatching, burnishing, how to create highlights using and electric eraser, how to create washes using water or turpentine, and more. Enjoy!

View this Watercolor Pencil Tips Video