creativespotlite’s blog

Landscape Drawing Demonstration by Diane Wright

nobody@vox.com(creativespotlite) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 21:41:21 -0800

Start by just looking up.

Ever since a fellow artist challenged me to include a sky in one of my drawings, I have been keeping my mind in the clouds. I am continually amazed at the beauty of just looking up in the sky! Over the past couple of years, I have been learning the importance of toning the sky and adding clouds as part of overall compositional improvement in my landscapes. I think I could spend hours and hours fiddling with each puff of white!

Start looking up to the sky and observe cloud formations. Take photos of clouds and you will be amazed at what you will start to “see”!

View the rest of this landscape drawing demonstration here.

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10 Watercolor Painting Demos To Spark Your Creativity

nobody@vox.com(creativespotlite) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 09:56:27 -0700

Over the years, we have accumulated a number of exceptional watercolor painting demonstrations both here at artinstructionblog.com and creativespotlite.com. I thought it would be a good idea to create a post that highlights some of the best demonstrations that have been submitted in the event you have not already viewed these during your stay here...

View these watercolor painting demos here.

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Learn and Master Painting - Artist's Review

nobody@vox.com(creativespotlite) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 15:57:43 -0700

There is a brand new home instruction course entitled Learn and Master Painting which is quite easily the best home instruction course available in teaching you how to paint with oils and acrylics.

Unlike most of the people promoting this course online, I am an artist and actually own this course, so rest assured you are getting an honest review..

The Learn and Master Painting course comes jam packed with 20 professionally produced DVD’s, 3 Music CD’s (you can listen to these while you are painting), a detailed lesson book with extra information, and a free support website.

Instructor Gaylee Levee will take you step by step through the process of becoming an accomplished painter. You will learn about perspective, how to organize your studio, how to care for your art materials, how to develop compositions….all of the foundational skills needed to become the artist you have always aspired to be.

I like to refer to Learn and Master Painting as an “Art School in a Box”, because it is quite literally like attending a professional Art School within the comfort of your own home, but at the fraction of the price. The folks over at Learn and Master Painting have made this course extremely affordable for any budget.

Not only is the course professional and affordable, but unlike attending an art school, you have the ability to watch these courses over and over again. So if something does not sink in right away, you can play the DVD’s again and practice something until it does. But the benefits do not stop there. Along with the 20 DVD’s and course book, you also have access to an entire community of artists who have also purchased the Learn and Master Painting Course. Here you will find support and encouragement from instructor Gaylee Levee as well as from other students from all over the world.

I recommend this course wholeheartedly to anyone wishing to learn how to become an accomplished artist. There is no other home study course in existence today of this caliber.

One last thing. Do not buy this course if you are not serious about devoting the time and energy into learning how to paint or if you do not have patience. Without patience and hard work, this course will do you no good.

Click here to Learn and Master Painting!

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Color Mixing Lessons and Resources for Oil Painters

nobody@vox.com(creativespotlite) — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 13:03:16 -0700

One of the biggest challenges for artists just starting out with oil painting is mixing colors. Color is a powerful tool. If handled improperly, things can become quite messy. Improperly mixed colors lead to muddy or unbalanced paintings. The good news is, with practice, you will become more skilled at mastering color in your oil paintings. I have collected a number of color mixing tutorials below including links to articles, videos and books. I hope you find these oil painting color mixing resources helpful...

Read these oil paint color mixing lessons here.

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Drawing Lesson - How to Draw Rocks

nobody@vox.com(creativespotlite) — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 21:28:28 -0700

Rock Drawing Tutorial by Diane Wright

While I haven’t had the opportunity to draw many rocks in my landscapes (yet), they can certainly add interest to any landscape. I consider them just one more opportunity to add a different texture to the scene.

There are different kinds of rock formations. From sandstone, shale, limestone, volcanic to boulders. Each one will hold different textures and ‘feel’ to them.

This lesson will be very specific and we are going to study the drawing of a close-up view of rocks. Our goal is two fold. 1) To understand the how to create the shape and depth of rocks, and 2) to learn how to create textured, realistic looking rocks....

Read the rest of this drawing lesson here.

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How to Paint Like Monet - Free Oil Painting Tutorial

nobody@vox.com(creativespotlite) — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 13:58:25 -0700

You Can Learn How to Paint Like Monet: His Techniques and Color Mixing Approach

Have you ever wondered how to paint like Monet or wanted to paint like he does?

When you see his works, like the huge water lily paintings in the Orangerie Museum in Paris, you know that he was truly a master colorist.

Those paintings made such an impression on me that to this day I’m still inspired to follow in his footsteps. I want to venture outdoors, see the natural world around me, and paint it the way that he did. It is an invigorating change from the studio painting approach I normally use.

Learning how to paint like Monet is easy. There are three aspects to keep in mind: how he mixed his colors, his technique of applying the paint, and his process for creating paintings...

Read the rest of this tutorial on how to paint like Monet here.

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Oil Painting Tips - Different Techniques For Starting an Oil Painting

nobody@vox.com(creativespotlite) — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 11:32:55 -0700

Oil paint is an exciting medium to work with. One will never become bored while painting with oil paints. There are a variety of materials and other mediums at your fingertips and when you combine these materials and mediums with the versatility of oil paints, you have a variety of interesting ways to begin an oil painting. There are certain drawing and painting mediums that are compatible with oil paints and when utilized, will make your painting experience more interesting and enjoyable.

CHARCOAL

Charcoal works beautifully as a preliminary step to oil painting. There are three main forms of charcoal used most often by artist’s and they are compressed, willow and vine charcoal. Willow and Vine charcoal tend to be more highly favored for preliminary drawings as they leave a lighter mark and are easier to erase. Compressed charcoal, because it leaves a much darker line, is more difficult to remove and not as widely used to start an oil painting. Some helpful tools to use for working with charcoal are kneaded erasers, stiff bristle brushes, blenders and tortillions. Whatever type of charcoal drawing you create, make certain not to go overboard with your application. Charcoal is very forgiving with oil paints, but too much, and it can effect the paint in adverse ways.

PAINTING ON A TONED GROUND

Depending on the type of final picture you are working towards, sometimes the white of the canvas can be too bright or have too much contrast which makes starting a painting rather difficult. Using a uniform toned ground on your support, will make it much easier to judge the values in your painting. You are welcome to use any color you like to tone your canvas. Some of the more popular tones are warm reds, yellow and browns.

Toning your canvas is pretty straight forward and will not require that much time. Here is an example using one of my favorite tones. First create a thin wash using Yellow Ochre and Burn Umber. Apply the wash to your support generously. Use a large bristle brush to spread and cover the support entirely. Allow the wash to dry for a couple of minutes and then wipe off the excess with a cloth. You don’t have to use oils to tone your canvas. You can tone your canvas with any of the water mediums described below.

ACRYLIC PAINT

Acrylic paint is an excellent choice for starting an oil painting and one of my favorites. One of the most attractive features of acrylic paint is its fast drying time. This property of acrylic paint makes blocking in your underpainting very easy. Ideas can be worked out quickly on your canvas and instead of waiting days for your underpainting to dry, you are ready to paint in mere minutes. This really does depend on the type of acrylic paint you are using and how thickly you apply it. Not only is the fast drying time attractive, but as in other water based mediums, there is no need to thin the paint with dangerous substances like turpentine....

Read the rest of these oil painting tips here.

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Portrait Drawing Lesson - Learn How To Draw People

nobody@vox.com(creativespotlite) — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 10:29:20 -0700

The human anatomy is a very complicated subject to draw. It has been said, that if one can master the human figure, one can draw anything. I believe there is definitely some truth to that.

So if you are passionate about learning how to draw the human body, specifically the face, then you are sure to find the following tutorial extremely helpful.

The following is a 6 part video lesson demonstrating step by step, the process of drawing a realistic portrait. It was created by the very talented portrait artist Ron Lemen.

Unfortunately, this drawing series has not been completed yet or the artist has not yet uploaded the final part. I wasn’t planning on posting this incomplete tutorial, but it is such a valuable lesson, that I just couldn’t pass it up. I hope you don’t mind. I promise to post the final part if and when it becomes available.

Grab your favorite pencils and paper and draw along...

Read the rest of this portrait drawing demo here...

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Acrylic Painting Tips & Techniques For Beginners

nobody@vox.com(creativespotlite) — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 06:54:40 -0700

Acrylic paint, when compared with other mediums like oil paint, is a fairly new addition to the world of painting. It has only been around since the 1950’s . It has been continually under development and refinement since that time. Just because acrylic paint has not been around as long as oils, does not make these paints less important or enjoyable.

Some of the wonderful benefits of using acrylic paints are their versatility, permanence and ease of use. These paints can be applied thickly as an impasto or in thin washes similar to watercolor. Acrylic paint does not yellow or harden with age like oils.

Another reason artists love to work with acrylics is their fast drying time. Since acrylic paint dries so quickly, colors can be applied and layered quicker than oil paints. But with this fast drying time comes a few disadvantages:

1) The paint will not remain workable for very long, so you have to work fast.

2) Brushes can be ruined if you do not clean them right away.

3) If you plan to paint outdoors, then acrylic paint is probably not the best medium to use, especially on a hot sunny day. When you lay out your colors on a palette or other surface, they will begin to dry quickly forming skins on the surface, making them quite difficult to work with.

ACRYLIC PAINTING TECHNIQUES

Watercolor Effects

Many artists like to use acrylics in a fluid state, similar to watercolor. There is a notable difference though. With acrylics, washes can be layered on top of one another without fear of disturbing the colors underneath. You must wait for one layer to dry completely before applying another of course. Once each layer dries it becomes insoluble in water. One disadvantage to using acrylics as a watercolor medium is the difficulty in modifying the color. Once acrylic paint begins to dry it becomes very difficult to modify and washes can sometime dry with unwanted hard edges. You can avoid this problem in one of two ways. You can either dampen the paper before the paint is applied or you can use an additional brush dampened with water. Use one brush to apply the paint and immediately soften the edge with the other brush that has been dampened with the water.

Pouring & Dripping Technique

This technique was made popular by the master painter Jackson Pollock in the late 1940’s and early 1950’s. You use a very fluid acrylic paint for this technique. You can pour it directly on the canvas or dip a brush into the paint and let it drip down onto the canvas. You can create some very interesting effects with this technique. Check out Jackson Pollocks work to see this technique in action.

Sgraffito Technique

Sgraffito is a scratching technique. It got its name from the Italian word graffiare which literally means to scratch. Just as the name implies it involves scratching into the surface of the wet paint which reveals either the ground or layer of dry color underneath. There are a number of different tools that can be used for this technique. Tools like screwdrivers or the sharpened end of an old paintbrush handle can work.

Using a Squeegee

A regular squeegee that you can buy at any hardware or auto store has the ability to create some interesting effects. First squeeze out some paint blobs directly along one edge of your support. You can layout whatever colors you wish. Then with one fluid motion drag the paint across the surface with your squeegee smearing and mixing the paint as you go....

View the rest of these acrylic painting tips and techniques on my main blog

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Landscape Painting Lesson - How To Paint Clouds

nobody@vox.com(creativespotlite) — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 08:00:01 -0700

One of the more difficult things to accomplish in landscape painting is creating realistic clouds. If you learn the right techniques and apply them correctly, painting clouds is actually quite easy as the following landscape painting tutorial will demonstrate. Grab some fresh paint, a new canvas, some clean brushes and try out the following tutorial. Don’t get discouraged if you aren’t able to create realistic clouds at first. Keep practicing and eventually it will become second nature. Enjoy!

Follow this link to view this landscape painting tutorial

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