10 Easy Painting Techniques for Beginners

1. Basically the first thing that I do is decide what spectrum of colors to use. Whether I want my painting to have a dark cold/warm theme, or a bright hopeful theme. When you have an understanding on how colors will look when painted together on canvas it will be much easier to begin.

2. Block out all of the colors that you think you will be using on the canvas. Just color them in as you see fit (you will be painting many layers here so don't worry). As you paint you will learn how certain colors look painted on top of black, or how the colors will "pop" off of the page.

3. Don't use just basic colors. Mix a little blue with your black, or some red to create a subtle red effect showing through once the black dries.

4. Go light at first. The more acrylic without water then the more glossy and less opaque your paint will dry. You can dilute the acrylic with water and have it work for you as a water color will.

5. Don't be afraid to try something new. No you can't erase, but you may always cover up sections and repaint it.

6. I know in my experience I will add to my painting until I either come up with something awesome or straight up ruin it. Know when to be content.

7. Never finish the painting in one sitting. After staring at any object for hours on end you start to look to deeply into it and will almost always get frustrated when you can't figure out what is missing. Work on it in stages. I always do my basic layer and a little more. Then I will set it in a place where I will see it in passing throughout the day. A day or two later I magically know what it is I need to add or remove. It is amazing and you can continue your painting with a clear un-biased mind.

8. If painting on a Canvas surface, use a gesso as a prime layer before you begin. Wait for it to dry and sand the surface down to be very smooth. This will give you a wonderful surface to work your acrylics into.

9. It's good to be critical of your own work, but understand that painting is not a skill you are just instantly a pro at. It takes time to learn how everything will look once it is dry, there are many brush techniques that I will cover in another post. Also be able to take criticism, it will only make you better.

The History of Art Forgery

Until the 14th century, nearly 1000 years of Christianity dominated the market with their own fighting arts standards. All art turned against Christian symbols, especially for the decoration of the church. In the 14-15th-century wealthy merchant and banker to the art buyer. Originally from Italy and then France, Britain, Spain, etc. followed. With the rise of the art market, as well as replica and forgery increased. Especially Michelangelo, Leonardo Da Vinci, Raphael and Albrecht Dürer became famous. However it is difficult to say if all the copies were made with the purpose of counterfeiting, because many artists such as Michelangelo has copied their masters students to learn and practice. Usually painters sell copies of her students to do as a way to pay off to teach them.

The first art gallery was built at the beginning of the 18th century in England. And also the famous auction house Christie's and Sotheby's was founded in the second half of this century in London. In the late 18th and early 19th-century art museum established throughout Europe and the people began painting professionally documented in the catalog.

Until the first world war, people do not really worry about the copy of the painting. This particular change with a new copyright law that better protects the artists at this time. But many old works in the public domain - such as a thumb rule all created before 1920 is in the public domain.

Among the most fake painting is the "Mona Lisa" by Michelangelo, Albrecht Dürer self-portrait of "The Kiss" by Gustav Klimt to name a few. But it also presents the art of fake art museum recently opened, usually with no other attractions. Strangely Vienna also has a museum of fake art as well, although it must attract tourists to the cultural richness as well. So it seems the art of counterfeiting is still a trend since the 4th century BC.

Currently there are weapons of forensic tools to determine whether a painting is the original or a modern copy. But if you are not a serious art investor with pockets full of money, probably a copy of an old masterpiece can also inspire you at home. Pablo Picasso once said "Everything you can imagine is real".

Tip on the Drying Time of Oil Paints

When ever anybody talks about the drying time for oil paints they always put it into the same context as we talk about the drying time of watercolours or acrylic paints, which is wrong really as the process is completely different. With watercolour and acrylics the paint dries through evaporation, which basically means the water in the paint is drawn out by spontaneously turning from a liquid into a gas, this process allows the paint to harden. The hotter it is, the faster this process happens, which is why it's a bad idea to paint outdoors with acrylic in the summer, as your paint dries almost immediately.

How many times have you heard someone say, "It takes nine months for an oil painting to dry" no wonder a lot of people won't touch oil's, especially beginner painters, I'm not surprised really, can you imagine having a wet canvas sat in your studio for nine months, well the good news is that this myth is actually untrue, well it's more of a misconception than an untruth, It's quite hard to say when a painting will be dry because there are various factors to consider, like the colour of the paint, as brighter colours don't dry as fast as the earthy colours, also how thick it has been applied, but as a general rule an oil painting will be tack dry the next day, for it to be completely dry it will take a few days, possibly up to a week. The nine months is true, but it's not for the paint to dry, it's what I like to call "Cure" it takes approximately nine months for an oil painting to cure, to properly harden, and this is where the confusion lies, it isn't nine months for the paint to dry, its nine months before you should varnish your painting. You shouldn't varnish until it is properly dry because oil paint dries through oxidisation.

With traditional oil paint, there isn't any water in the paint to evaporate away; the water element of the manufacture is replaced with an oil based substance, usually Linseed Oil which also doesn't evaporate away. What actually happens is when your painting is exposed to the elements, the oil reacts with oxygen in the air which causes the paint to harden through oxidisation? So as long as the oil paint is exposed to oxygen it will carry on with the curing process until it is completely dry. The problem with varnishing your oil painting before it has sufficiently cured, is you are cutting off the supply of oxygen to your painting so it can't carry on with the oxidising process. What would happen is your oil paint will eventually dry but it would take a very long time to finally harden and there's a very good chance the coat of varnish you have applied will crack, this is because the top layer of varnish will dry first, and the under layers of oil paint which will dry at a much slower rate, will move and contract so it breaks the hardened varnish as it dries, this is a possible reason why sometimes an oil painting has the look of snake skin, where there is cracks all over the painting.

How to Paint People

How to paint is a common question that people start looking for portraits of many artists on the Internet or in bookstores. Chances are that they have attempted to paint portraits of people 'and not happy with the results. There are several tricks and techniques that can be used to paint a portrait that is achieved can be produced. I will explain some of the easiest ways I found to learn how to paint people.

Get An Accurate Drawing On Your Canvas

If your image is to capture the form of a specific individual, you will want to sketch a portrait in pencil before painting. You can free hand if you are not good at drawing. Some of the easier method, but must use a grid and a duplicate image to the canvas by drawing a box or replicate individual boxes. And my other favorite method is to print a paper copy of black and white photographs, and then completely darken the back of the paper with soft charcoal. The next place on canvas and paper with a sharp pencil, draw more than enough pictures to print. Your sketch will appear on the canvas as if by magic!

Indication Of The Cat

One of the easiest ways to draw people is to keep things simple and only indicative of the paint. If you're confused than not. The easiest way to explain what I mean is for me to illustrate this with an example. Imagine a beach scene with a couple walking hand in hand away in the distance. If you were to examine the near future, you may notice that they are simply a form. Each head is only going to be a round shape on top of a triangular body, on top of two rectangular legs. Two rectangular sleeve quick connect body. Add highlights and you have some people that simple!

Cat Only Part Of The People

Many artists struggle with accuracy when painting people. It is true that one feature should be accurate in order to be successful portrait. If you choose a pose that describes the views or partial views you can cut your work and make a portrait of two attractive with only half of the face paint is actually seen. For example, try to paint a profile of children on the beach boy vs a straight face.

Cat Person Or Persons Unknown foreign

Another fun and easy way to paint is to paint the foreigners. The reason for this is that you're trying to get an exact likeness. If you have already made their nose is too big or too small, no one would know the difference! You can use magazines, books or other painting to get some ideas. Let's say that you are taking photos at the garden of an old woman sitting on a park bench and reading a book. You decide to change the images in the painting. The painting will still be attractive even if she did not resemble the actual picture at all, because nobody knows him anyways.

Do not Paint What You Can not Paint

A great technique for painting the human is to choose a pose that does not require a lot of detail. One way to do this is by painting a subject who was wearing sunglasses, if you are timid about painting the eyes. If you are not comfortable painting gear and then paint the mouth closed or drape the scarf around the face. A very funny pose for a portrait of a child is to have them peek out from behind something. You will only see part of the face and it was a sweet scene with only a portion of the show face.

How to Paint Hair

Painting portraits is a great hobby that gives both the artist and the model much pleasure. It is better for both however if the texture, color and flow of the hair closely matches the model. Follow these steps to obtain more realistic colors in your next portrait.

Before painting hair, you should always have the rest of the face finished first. The flesh color extend into the hairline. This is so that the flesh color shows through and the hair does not look unnatural. Remember that hair is much more than one layer, therefore, you need to paint it in layers. There are also hundreds of shades of hair color. To keep it as simple as possible try to base each portrait with, blonde, brown (this includes red), black or gray.

Under paint the entire hair area with a very light mixture of one of these colors. These are called undertones. This under painting will actually be the highlights because as you work you will not cover all of this. Notice where the dark or shadowed areas are and paint them in. Now use a darker color and start stroking in hair strands. Black is the opposite. Start with the darkest as the undertones, then add lighter layers. Continue until you are satisfied with the results. It is very easy to overdo hair. Know when to stop!

Here are the colors you will use for any hair tone. Remember to apply the undertones first

Blonde (Reds) Titanium White, Cadmium Yellow Medium, (Alizarin Crimson)

Use Burnt Umber to darken blonde and red hair

Brown Titanium White, Burnt Umber

Use Cadmium Red or Ivory Black for red or blackish tones

Black Ivory Black Undertones

Warm Black - Ivory Black & touch of Brown

Cool Black - Ivory Black & touch of Blue

Gray Titanium White, Ivory Black for a Gray Undertone

Warm Gray - Ivory Black & touch of Brown

Cool Gray - Ivory Black & touch of Blue

Start the first layer, or undertones with a very watery mixture of paint. Use a medium to large brush because you are not painting details. Don't try to paint in individual hair strands at this stage. Start adding more paint color to your brush and add some more layers. Pull the brush in the direction of the flow of hair. Use a liner brush to add some indications of individual strands. Add any deep pockets of color to really give the portrait depth. I added some deep shadow on the side of the neck.

Suggestions For Painting Sunlight

To be a good landscape artist, you have to be a student of nature. If you study the effect sunlight has on the trees, dirt, flowers, rivers, streams, oceans, snow, and everything else in sight, then you know the colors are in constant change with the time of day and the atmospheric conditions.

If you are painting your landscape from nature, you may find the hues changing as the sun crosses the sky. In many instances there is the need to finish the work in the studio. You should get in the habit of constantly making color swatches of what you see. If you do this, be certain to make good notes describing the time of day, the month (season), the atmospheric conditions at the time, and the exact color mixing formula. Always keep these filed and notated. It takes time, but you will eventually have hundreds of color swatches that gives you perfect reference material.

Here are some tips to consider when painting the sun into your landscape:

When the first light appears just before the sun rises, the landscape is flooded with shades of blue and purple. Apply these cool colors to your painting. The underpainting should be more of a lavender hue. This will create a comforting mood. However, to keep the painting from being too moody (as well as, keeping it more interesting), add a few touches of color, perhaps flowers or wild weeds or complement specks (tiny dabs of pigment of the opposite hue).

At sunrise, the temperature of the painting becomes warm and not cool. This is a completely different painting than the one started just a few minutes before when the first light was showing. The painting for this time of day should start with a Cadmium Yellow Light or Lemon Yellow wash. This color will dominate the painting and should be mixed with all the hues. However, as the sun continues to cross the sky, the cast of yellow becomes a deeper hue.

When the sun is directly overhead, a darker yellow should be dominant throughout the painting. Experiment with this but often yellow ochre and oranges will be a good place to start. Whatever mixture of colors selected, the value should be light because the sun washes out the darker tones. Trees, for example, should be lighter at the top than at the bottom. Be sure to notice that shadows are more harsh at this time of day.

As the sun falls into the western hemisphere, more oranges and reds and purples are evident. By sunset, the yellow hues have almost vanished. The closer to dusk, the cooler the temperature of the painting. These colors should be mixed into your foliage to make it appear as a natural sunset.

After sunset, your deep reds influence all the colors of nature. A Cadmium Red Deep should be mixed with all the hues in the painting. You need to experiment with this. What you are trying to do is tone down the green of the trees and the other foliage.

If the atmosphere has fog present, then a painting needs to accurately show this. Amidst the painted fog, an atmosphere of softness must prevail. With a mixture of white and the complement of the colors used to paint the scene that must be fogged over, use a dry-brush technique by overlapping strokes in different directions until the edges of the area are softened. This should be done very gently. If not satisfied with the results, wait until after the paint dries and repeat the process.

The One Essential Key to Drawing Portraits

When I set out to learn how to draw portraits I took a very unusual approach. Instead of buying myself a sketchbook and a few pencils I bought and read, one-by-one, every good book I could find about how to draw portraits and I made endless notes, illustrated with endless sketches. I love being an artist but I tend to approach things from a scientific perspective. I wanted to know exactly what was happening in the mind of a portrait artist when they sat in front of someone and magically made them appear, with their personality intact, on a piece of paper.

More often than not even the artist making this magic happen isn't aware of how they're doing it. They started young, they've been doing it their whole lives and now it's second nature to them. I wanted to take the most polished artists and 'reverse-engineer' them to find out exactly how they were seeing their subject, how they were processing that information, and technically how they were transferring the information onto paper so that the very soul and presence of the model seemed to settle into and around the picture.

Most of what has been written on the subject is vague at best, the result of someone who doesn't know how they do it trying to explain how they do it, and much of the advice is endlessly repeated, but every now and then you come across a gem that increases your understanding and takes you a little closer to the high ground, from where you know you'll be able to see the whole picture. The more I read the more obvious it became that everyone had their own approach, as you would expect, but there was a common thread, a recipe was beginning to emerge that perfectly combined all these separate ingredients.

I learnt about all sorts of different methods for measuring proportions and various techniques for rendering graphite but the single most important thing I learnt is that the secret of a great portrait is in the Big Picture. That's the most succinct way I can think of expressing it but I'll explain what I mean.

There are two aspects to a portrait; likeness to the model, and composition. The Big Picture is the secret to both. Let's deal with likeness to the model. We're all familiar with the school photograph, or any photograph of a large group of people where each face is no more than a few millimetres across. Despite the fact each face is so small we generally have no trouble at all recognizing faces we know. The whole shadow around the eye maybe no bigger than the head of a pin, we can see no detail whatsoever, and yet we can be totally confident of who the photograph is of.

The print quality may even be such that each of the facial features is described by only two or three dots or pixels and yet we know exactly who we're looking at. Not only do we know who the picture is of but we can be pretty sure they were actually there when the picture was taken, we can sense their presence, we know it's not some coincidence of shadows that happens to look like them - they're there! This makes it extremely clear that to draw a perfect likeness of someone, even to convey their character, requires absolutely no detail at all. There is a beautiful and captivating drawing in Conte crayon by Georges Seurat of his mother. There is only black and shades of grey.