Summer 2010 Acrylic Class

Glass and Metal – Acrylic Week 4

Now that we have practiced painting metal and glass, we are going to put what we have learned to practical use by organizing our elements and adding a simple third element into a pleasing simple composition. How ever, the first place we start is not by drawing on our design but with the background.

I know just how tempting it is to jump right in and get started on the things that matter most in a painting and worry about the background later, the thing is the background is like the stage set. Yes, you can act out the play without the set but it is very difficult to move the stage in or get the props on once the play has begun, I know, been there done that and had to be physically held back from running on stage with forgotten props =-O (I still have nightmares). While you may not have nightmares if you don't get the background in first, you are going to have trouble trying to get the background to look like it belongs as you try to paint around your subjects leaving halos and hard lines and odd colors you may never get rid of, so trust me when I say" Do the background first, it will make your painting a lot simpler.

If you come from an oil background you may have been taught a different way, the thing with oil is you can blend oil weeks after it has been applied and smooth out hard lines or blend edges. Acrylics dry so fast even with extenders that we don't have those kinds of options, we need to start with what is furthest away first and work forward. In this case it means the background.

The first thing I look for is my light source and which way the light will be traveling. In this case the light was in the front right so it will hit the upper left third of my background. I went over the "the rule of thirds" in class and if you do a search on the Internet, you will find a lot of sites that can give you more examples and explanations so I won't go into it here except to say that it is important to my composition to use the third lines when I am designing my painting and that includes the background.

Now that I have determined where my light source will be the brightest on my canvas, I can start painting. First I use some gesso in the brightest area getting it pretty well covered then, while the gesso is still wet, I pick up a little yellow to tint the area. A little yellow will go a long way so don't get too much on your brush (I was using a #12 flat bristle) and brush mix on the canvas using a scumbling or crisscross stroke to move it out from the center.

This moves pretty fast so don't stop between steps.

Next, pick up a bit of orange and gesso and on the outside edge of your pale yellow work the orange out a bit more making another ring of color. Blend the two areas together either with light strokes from your brush or with your finger, you want a nice gentle blend. Keep working.

Next, pick up red, sienna and gesso and repeat what you did with the orange. You may find that on the left side you have run out of room for a complete ring, that's okay, just get your canvas covered and be sure to blend the area where the two rings come together so you have a nice transition.

The lest step to the background will probably be mostly the corners and down the right side and bottom, use sienna and purple without using gesso to create a dark color in the corners. Again blend the touching areas so you don't have a hard dividing line. Now it must dry before you can put on your design.

Before you start drawing your still life, check your composition. First and foremost, you want to fill up your canvas with your subjects. If you are have something tall like my wine bottle and you go with a horizontal (landscape) placement of your canvas, you are probably going to have a lot of wasted space around your subjects when you get finished so a vertical format will probably be better for tall things. Also overlap your objects so they become a unit, not separate thing competing for attention.

Again, rule of thirds. I placed the bottle close to the left vertical third line as well as the candle and the bell of the snuffer very near the bottom third intersection and the handle running near the bottom horizontal third line. This I usually do in my head but if you need to, divide your canvas into thirds before you start drawing. You should be using soft vine charcoal or chalk because both of those will wipe off with a wet paper towel. Don't use a pencil at this point or you can leave marks in your under painting that won't go away.

Add as much information as you need or want to create the elements of your design just don't be so committed to them that you are afraid to improvise when you need to. I look at my subjects as my guide once I've gotten my basic drawing on my canvas.

I started with the wine bottle because it was the thing that was furthest back in my composition. I based it in with sap green and I overlapped the area where the candle will be to be sure that the bottle will look like it continues behind the candle. Looking at my bottle I added in yellow in the lighter areas, and sap with blue or just Hooker's green into the dark areas. I was using a #6 Filbert which is similar to a #6 flat bristle brush and I was basically scrubbing the color on. This is just the first layer of under painting for the bottle, there is some more work to be done next week.

Depending on how fast the class works – and I am by no means trying to rush you – we may get done with the painting next week and for sure the following week so please start looking for something you would like to paint. It can be any subject you want. Also, think about what you might like to do next semester so I can plan for something you want to learn or feel you need more instruction.

Summer 2010 Week 3 Acrylic Class

ACRYLIC CLASS – Glass and Metal

http://picasaweb.google.com/artclasspics/Summer10#

There are similarities between glass and metal that will be apparent when you really look at the two, glass has the added element of being transparent for the most part, in both cases it is good to know where you are going with them and that requires a good road map.

You will hear me almost every time talking about drawing skills, my hope is to get a few of you to take it to heart. Like anything else you have to learn, the more practice you get the better you will become and if you concentrate on creating shapes rather than the thing you are drawing you will see improvement. Shapes are important in creating a road map for your glass or metal.

First, draw the basic shape of the glass or metal you want to paint. The outline and some basic "road signs" like a label or a corner is all you need to start. When that is done now look at your object and look for all the shapes that are reflected that are reflected. Don't worry about what is causing the reflection it is truly unimportant even if it is you that is reflected, just draw what you see. If it is glass you may see the shapes of things behind the glass such as the table and that will have its own shape. You may even see shapes within shapes, depending on how detailed you are going to make your drawing/painting will determine what you put in. Remember you do need to suggest enough of what you see to tell your viewer that it is glass or metal, beyond that is up to you as an artist.

If your subject is burnished metal or glass that is not as transparent you still to look at your subject carefully. Whether it is a tarnished copper pot or a ruby glass vase, it you look close, you will see that the things around them do reflect into them, maybe not as strong as something highly polished or transparent, but it is there and you need to be able to see it.

Once you have your "road map" – it could be a simple as a few basic shapes to note the most prominent things you see or it can be highly detailed, your choice – now you have to fill in the map. It doesn't matter where you start just hold off on your highlights until the very end. Even light shapes in a very reflective object aren't pure white so you will want to gray them down with a bit of mud from your palette or a touch of blue and sienna – teeny tiny touches – you just want to take the white down a bit.

If you are painting clear glass, really look at your glass. There is very little actual white, in the thickest parts it could be green or blue or gray and the overall color will be a very thin glaze of that color so start off with that color and keep it handy you will need it. Save the whites for the very last.

If you are painting a highly polished metal object, remember to soften the edges between your shapes with your finger or lightly with a clean sable brush. If you have a very soft small blender (an old blush brush works great) that is perfect, if not a sable brush or your finger will not leave brush marks.

Because these are suppose to be tests or "thumbnails" if you need to test a color before you add it, go right ahead and place a bit next to where you want to put it to see if it is what you want. Have your object where you can see it and check your color against what you see in the glass or metal. Don't be afraid to make mistakes because this is why we are doing thumbnails so we can work out our problem areas. There are times when what seems like a "mistake" turns out to be more what we want than what we had planned so don't be afraid to play or experiment with these practice paintings, that's what they were meant for.

If you are doing a highly reflective metal or transparent glass, after you have finished adding all the shapes you see in them to finish them off you can add some final glazes to add some overall color and to add some shadows or brightness before you add your final highlights. If you are working on silver or polished steel a light glaze of white will give it a sheen. Remember to follow the shape of your object, if it is round, your brush strokes should be either "U" shapes that go around the object or curvy lines that follow the vertical shape of the object. If you are painting brass add a touch of yellow to your glaze, if it is copper add a touch or red or orange or sienna the exact color may be a combination depending on how much patina it has.

Only when you are satisfied that the thing is as done as you would like it to be is when you will look for your final highlights. For that you can use pure white or white with a touch or yellow or orange if you are working on a colored metal. Look at your subject and look for the sparkles, that is where you will add your final touches. If you need to get out a smaller brush, now is the time.

We are going to put these objects all together this week and create a simple still life so you will need a fresh canvas (don't paint out the test canvas just yet, have it for reference) and bring in your glass and metal along with one other thing for your set-up. It can be a piece of fruit real or not, a silk flower but keep it simple, your glasses if you don't need them to paint, a book…What ever you think would go with the other two objects that isn't a project in itself. I want it simple for your sakes, this third item will help you compose your painting easier than with just two but it should be something you are familiar with painting-wise.

Acrylic Class Summer 2010

Getting into Our Right Mind. Glass and Metal

I know that most of my students thought that I had lost what little mind I had left with our first assignment of the semester, but as you later found out, there is method to my madness.

As a teacher it is my job to help you along your artistic journey. I watch as I see my students struggle with even simplified scenes, I know what they are going through because I've been there myself, but until they understand on their own, the struggle will continue.

Most of that struggle comes from how our brains work. Students who have been with me for a while will get tired of hearing me mentioning Betty Edwards' "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain" but it is an excellent book on how we see things and how our brain processes the information dividing it up into the left and right sides of the brain. It is the right side we need to tap into as artists but more often than not, the left side just won't let go of the brush so we can get closer to our artistic goals. This is the struggle and we need to find ways to convince ourselves that it is okay to let that creative side take control, which was the purpose of the exercise.

The left side of your brain has a very short attention span, if you will. It wants to name things and move on. If it looks like a chair or a flower or a car or whatever, that is what it is now let's move on! It is your right side that sees the difference between a delicate rose bud and a wilting daisy; or a beat up old Vega and a hot new Porsche. It sees the beauty and nuance of the world around you but with the left brain in charge, it is like driving on the freeway with someone with a lead foot and you are trying to look at the scenery. You need to find a way to make it stop.

Fortunately, we do have ways to slow that side down and the more you feel that shift in your mind, the easier it will become. One of the best ways to slow your brain down is to turn your picture upside down adding the element of the opposite hand brings it to a stand still! What you are left with are shapes and color, the very thing that interests your creative side. When you get right down to it that is what all painting is about: Shapes and color.

You will hear me say quite often that it is just shapes: Shapes of the highlights, shapes of the shadows, shapes within shapes. If when you get done putting those shapes together and those shapes are similar to the original shapes you will have a painting that looks close to what you pictured in your minds eye, the picture will be there.

All in all, I think all of my classes did a great job. It was different and a challenge but in the end what we had surprised everyone and that is a good thing. It is also good to know that if you do have problems with a painting, turn it upside down. You don't have to paint it with your opposite hand unless you want to but it gives you that option to tap into your creative side.

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We started a bit on what we will be doing for the next couple of weeks and that is working to create glass and metal. I want to just do some studies to begin with because it is an important step to understanding how everything goes together.

As I mentioned in class, most beginning and intermediate artists want to get right to the business of painting their masterpiece but more often than not, there are elements in that masterpiece they are at a total loss as to how to proceed. Rather than stopping and doing a few studies to work out the problem, they will work and re-work the areas that cause them problems until the rest of the painting suffers and there goes the masterpiece.

I just did a quick demo on focusing in on certain areas of the subject like a glass bottle or polished metal vase, neither are as they seem. Glass in particular can be reflective, transparent and have its own color, things you need to deal with if you want a convincing piece of glass in your painting. Even if you are doing a more impressionistic rendering, you need to see what is going on in that glass so what you have will look transparent instead of solid. Glass and water have a lot in common so this is good practice for both.

Metal is much the same with out being transparent. Metal has its own color but it also picks up the color of things around it, even burnished metal or tarnished metal, they will still reflect the things around them.

We will work on this more in the next class so don't forget to bring something glass and something metal, I say this because it helps to have it in front of you rather than going by a photo alone.

Spring Acrylic Class Week 7

Acrylic Class – Week 7: Borax Wagon

This week we start on some of the detail of our wagon, first we need to make sure that the wagon is bright enough especially in the sun-bleached areas of the wood planks, it should be very bright, if it isn't do some more dry brush with white and the tiniest amount of yellow, it will be mostly white (titanium or gesso). Remember to dry brush with the grain of the wood (horizontal).

Next, we put in the dark shadows under the wagon. Please do not worry about the streaks of light right now just the shadow, those streaks will come later. When you are doing large areas, remember to use a larger brush. I was using at least a #10 or 12 to get the area covered quickly and it will look less labored. If you need to, you can draw the back edge of the shadow so you know how far up to paint, Look at the photo and note that it comes up just below that structure under the wagon and that it is not straight. This shadow is going over uneven ground so it will follow the depressions and rises on the ground. Don't get out your rulers!

The shadow color is the one we have been using and is my standard shadow color: blue, purple and burnt sienna, keeping it to the cool (blue/purple) side but it should be a dark color and watch how much water you mix in, if you have too much water the paint won't cover well and you will have to go over the area again at least once, maybe more to get the look you need so keep the water to a minimum. Remember that there is water in your brush especially if you just rinsed it out.

With this dark color cover the whole area that is in shadow. Don't paint around where the wheel will be. Don't paint around the spokes or light streaks, just paint the whole area for now and you can use a scumbling stroke (every which way) to scrub this color in remembering to keep the back edge soft, smudge it with your finger if you have to, no hard lines.

While your shadow is drying, you can draw in where that iron bar that attaches to that wood beam that comes out from under the wagon (see photo). It isn't necessary to have an exact drawing just a curved line that attaches to the beam and please note that it is curved, not straight. Some people have trouble seeing it isn't straight, that would be the left brain kicking in. Also, if you want, while you are placing things in with the charcoal, you can draw in some of the other detail under the wagon.

This is one of the few times I will suggest a smaller brush and it can be either bristle or sable at least a ¼" wide, this is for the metal bar. With just burnt sienna on your brush, paint in the shape of the bar. Kinda dab the paint on rather than draw a smooth line. This is an old, rusted, hand-made iron bar that has seen much better days, the rougher the better. After you have the bar in, pick up some blue (ultra marine) on the end of your brush and just touch and dab it to the shadowed side of the bar. Rinse your brush and dry it well, then pick up some orange and do the same thing on the sunny side of the bar, these are quick simple strokes don't take a lot of time worrying this poor bar to death, just do it and it's done!

At this time you can also block in some of the things that are in shadow with your dark color. There are bolts and bars and blocks and…All in shadow, they are just shapes but they will make that area under the wagon more interesting.

We are finally getting to the wheel, so now is the time to use your charcoal or chalk and draw in where you think the wheel needs to be. You can start with the hub or the outside rim, just keep your reference handy so you can refer to it as you draw. Keep in mind that I didn't draw all the spokes in the drawing I provided, however, if you want it to look more like the real thing, you can put them in, it is up to you.

Even though it is hard to see, the wheel is slightly canted in so it isn't completely round. That is part of the reason you can see a lot of the inside rim on the right side but not on the left. This is called "foreshortening" and it is something you need to be aware of when you are drawing and painting. That said, after class I noticed that my wheel is really not the shape it should be, unfortunately because the next time will be our last, I will correct my painting but will explain what I did on the blog at a later time so we can get as much done before the end of class.

The outside wooden rim of the wheel is under painted much the same as we did for the wagon. Using that blue, purple, sienna mix, I added gesso (or white) to get a dark warm grey color. If your color is too cool (blue) you can add some sienna to warm it up. Again, if you have a brush that is about a ¼" wide, you can use that brush to paint in the parts of the wheel, it might make you feel more in control. There are also some part on the hub that can be under painted with this color so while you have it on your brush, you might as well get it in, just refer to your photo.

The spokes of the wagon are painted with what mud you may have on your brush and sienna with touches of red and orange. The inside area of the wheel rim starts out with this sienna/red color then becomes more orange. It doesn't need to be the final bright orange, this just gets the process started.

When you get to the hub, you will be using sienna, orange and red but it will work out better if you "brush mix". What this means is pick up one or two of the colors and mix them on the canvas. The center of the hub is made with wedges so start from the outside and pull your colors into the center. Once again I am not concerned with the lug nut in the center, that will come later, right now I just want to get a mottled sienna/orange/ red thing going in the center.

The bands around the hub are done much like the bar you did earlier, use sienna to base it in then pick up some blue and tap it in an uneven way. Your wheel should be based in and if everyone can get there on time on the 7^th we may be able to get this finished.

I also want to remind you to bring something in for critique on our last day. It can be something you have done at class or at home or any other medium you may be working with and you want some feed back. It can be your best work or a "problem child", critique is a good way to get a second opinion on your work.

Also, registration starts on Tuesday, so if you are a Torrance resident you can register for classes this week if you aren't a resident registrations starts the following Tuesday, June 1^st. See you soon and enjoy your holiday.

Spring 2010 Week 6

Acrylic Class – Borax Wagon Week 2

You often hear me telling you and other students to get up and look at your painting from a distance – at least 6 feet. You cannot evaluate your painting when your nose if literally inches away from the canvas so it is a very good habit to get into to step away from your painting to assess your progress. I say this because more often than not, when I put my paintings up so I can write these blogs, I see things that I feel need correction. Such was the case when I looked at my wagon when I started last weeks blog but rather than fixing it at home, I saved my corrections for class. I think it is important for you to understand that things can be fixed without major upset.

First off, I thought that my sand hills just behind the wagon were a bit to big and therefore visually too close. All I did was mix a color similar to my desert floor color and with flat "u" shaped strokes extended the desert floor about half way up what I had for the sand hills. The color doesn't have to be exact to what was there, just similar. This helps push the mountains and hills back by creating more distance.

Another thing I did to create distance was to dry brush on a thin layer of "dust". This was a mix of my gesso and the mud on my brush and water to thin in, then after wiping my brush and making sure that I had all excess water removed from my brush, I very lightly dry brushed this color on using a small circular motion. Aside from using very little paint, the key to this is a light touch, the harder you press on your brush the more paint will come off so just barely touch the canvas. I used this mostly in the distant mountains but did over lap the sand hills down to the desert floor.

My next fix was the wagon. I felt that it wasn't quite long enough or deep enough so using my soft vine charcoal I sketched in where I thought I needed to make corrections. This was more for the visual confirmation so I could make other corrections without being committed by using paint.

When I had the additions to the wagon the way I liked them, I mixed paint similar in value to what was there. The color doesn't really concern me as much as the value does, any dark color will do. Keeping in mind that I was painting long boards, I filled in the areas where I was extending the wagon but I didn't stop where the new met the old, I dry brushed into the existing color that was there, not only does it blend the two areas together seamlessly, it also prevents any hard lines from being created. When it is done, it will look like it had always been there and no one will see your correction.

While the wagon was drying, I based in the shadows under the wagon and some of the structure I see under the wagon. Remember, I don't care about what all that stuff is because all it is to me as an artist are shapes. Using my blue, purple and touches of sienna, I made a very dark color. If you need to, sketch in these shapes before painting, just avoid detail for now. In some places I used a bit more sienna where I see some of the beams come out into the light, but any highlighting will be done later, this is under painting. Don't take too much time filling this in, a lot of it will be covered when we put in the wheel.

If your wagon is dry and it really needs to be dry for this next step, you will start making them look like old wood planks by using the dry brush technique and a bristle brush at least a #10 flat bristle. Look at the reference photo before you start. Notice that there are some darker areas that have yellows and oranges and well as sienna and some blues. The lighter areas are shades of gray to an almost white where the wood has been sun bleached. You don't have to exactly match the photo, just use it as a guide and work between your dark areas and your lighter ones. Keep your brush dry, your touch light and your strokes horizontal, the rougher this step looks the better the outcome. Use the side of your brush and/or the end of your brush just keep your strokes light and horizontal, let some of the under painting show through and each layer of color you add, this is what creates texture.

When you are satisfied with you wagon, you can sketch in where the planks actually are so you can paint them in next. I showed 3 ways of creating these separation lines, first I used my knife. I mixed a dark color of blue, purple and sienna and pulled some of it flat with my knife, then in that flat area, I cut across with the edge of my knife to create a little ridge of paint on the under side. On my canvas I cut across the line where I want the separation and moved the knife back and forth to create my line. It doesn't need to be perfectly straight or even so don't even try.

The next method I demonstrated was using the end of my brush. I loaded my brush with the same dark color making sure I ran both sides through the paint to bring the end to a cleaner edge. I used a flat bristle brush but you can use a flat sable if you want. Along the charcoal line I had drawn, I just touched the edge of the brush along the whole line moving down not quite a full brush length with each touch.

The third method I got out my liner brush and added enough water to that dark color to give it an ink like consistency then painted the next line with the liner brush. Experiment with your equipment because there are many ways to do similar things and you may find that you either like one over the other or you have more control, the choice is yours.

Next I sketched the support boards that run vertically on the wagon and the beam that comes out from under the wagon and part of it is in the light. I under painted these with sienna, blue and purple and when they were dry, I added the texture much like I did for the side of the wagon only using vertical dry brush strokes. They are much more bleached out than the wagon so they can be lighter just don't paint them solid.

That beam that sticks out is slightly rounded on the end so when you dry brush the end, use little "u" shapes and on it's side there is some reflected light just before it goes under the wagon. Use sienna and maybe a touch of red on the front part, thenif it isn't dark enough already, used a dark mix of sienna, blue and purple to finish.

Last I started putting in the shadows next to the upright boards on the wagon using a mix of blue, purple and a touch of sienna and a little water so it will flow and painted the shadows behind each.

Next week we will continue adding more detail and maybe get close to finishing though I do think we will be working on this on our last day. See you soon.

Spring 2010 Acrylic Class

Acrylic Class – Borax Wagon Week 1

This week we started a project that will take until the end of the semester to finish so I don't want you to rush per say, I also don't want you to linger in one area and over work you painting, so if you get caught up in class you might want to work on something else until we pick it back up in class.

The only thing you need to draw at this point is the corner of the wagon, the distant mountain range and the sand hills in front of the mountains. DO NOT draw a detailed drawing at this point. No matter how often I say this, I don't think you believe me. We have a lot of painting to do before we ever get into detail, you are just going to be going over those areas and wiping out all that hard work so wait until you are to that point before doing more drawing than I suggest.

The reason is one I keep repeating: We need to get in what is behind first so the things in front don't look like they were cut out and stuck on. Please trust me on this, it will work out.

In the upper right corner is the only sky in the picture but we will treat it like a full sky. First I covered the area with gesso so that I had a nice base to work in to, I applied the gesso down into the distant mountain area so I knew that I had enough coverage. I then picked up blue and a touch of sienna and applied it to the top of the sky area, wiped my brush and worked it down about half way down the gessoed area using big "x's". I cleaned my brush and picked up a touch of sienna and a touch of red on my brush then starting just below the top of the mountain range, I applied these colors, wiped out my brush and again with big "x's" blended this pinkish color up almost to the blue. I wiped my brush out again to get all excess paint from it again using an "x" stroke (this is using a very light touch btw), blended the pink with the blue. Doesn't need to be perfect, variation in color will work for you.

Next I mixed a stronger pink color similar to the sky color – sienna and red – with just a touch of white added, it should be just slightly darker than the sky and using the edge of my brush and puling down created a soft edge for the distant mountains and then scumbled the color to fill in the rest of the mountains. Avoid making hard lines in the background, it is a distant mountain with lots of dust between it and you so it won't be sharp so don't outline and then fill in. Using the edge of the brush and pulling down creates a nice soft edge.

When painting both the mountains and the hills, be sure that you continue their shapes well into the area that will be wagon, you can paint over it, this makes sure that you have enough canvas covered with background stuff when you put your wagon in.

The sand hills are created using that same mountain color on your brush but adding white and maybe a tiny touch of yellow to make a pink color about the same color as the sky. Again, using the edge of your bristle brush, pull down to create the top edge of the hills, then scumble the color to fill in the bottom part of the hills. This area needs to dry.

The desert floor is a jumble of colors from browns, blues, yellows, oranges… you really can't go wrong with any or all the colors on your palette, another good reason to have all your paints out when you start, putting out what your think you will be using is going to limit you and if you think that you will put it out when you are painting, think again. It is very human to try and cut corners. If it isn't out on your palette when you start, you won't put it out even if you think you need it, you will try to work around not having the other colors and your painting will suffer.

Using my #12 flat bristle brush, I picked up color and occasionally gesso and applied it to my canvas using over lapping shallow "u" shaped strokes. While I used mostly sienna and blue along with the gesso – I used the gesso to keep it lighter – I did pick up all the colors on my palette and worked them into my ground area by "brush mixing" the paint on the canvas and covered the entire ground area. This is the under painting. I did not do any shadows yet, those will come later.

If the distant mountains are dry, you can add some faint shadows into the hills. I just found a grayish color on my palette and added a touch of white. These mountains are way off in the distance all the colors are going to be soft the gray should be just slightly darker in value than what is there and just add it where you want to suggest the terrain using a dry brush on the mountains.

Wipe your brush out so most of the paint is out of it and pick up some gesso or white and with the mud on your brush, add highlights to the hills below the mountains. These are quick simple strokes that and should be very dry brush suggest the tops and form of the hills. Don't belabor this, it is just a suggestion.

When you have highlighted the hills, wipe your brush and pick up some sap green and a touch of orange and with the lithe mud on your brush create a soft green color and just tap it on the very tops of the hills, not on all of it, just along the tops of some of the hills.

If you need to, re-sketch in the area that will be the wagon – NOT THE DETAIL – just the box of the wagon.

You will be brush mixing again, picking up sienna, blue purple and touches of white, but you can also throw in any other color your want the key here is to keep your strokes horizontal to follow the grain of the wood of the wagon. You should have a medium dark color with streaks of color showing, don't over mix. Also keep the edges of the wagon rough. This is an old beat up, weather worn, OLD wagon, there are no sharp, crisp lines on it, the rougher your edges the better it will look in the long run.

We will continue on this next week. Please download the photo from the picture page so you have something to look at.

Spring Acrylic Classes 2010

Week 4 – Acrylic: Demo Creating Form

When I walk around my classes to observe what my students are working on, there are things that stand out and tell me we need to work of some basics still. Most students want to paint things that look reasonably real as opposed to impressionistic or abstract, yet there is a lack of understanding about how to create a 3D look on a 2D surface, e.g. canvas or paper. That was the basis for the lesson but it was more than just creating the shapes it was also how to see them in everything around you.

As an artist, your first job is to become very observant. You will hear me say this time and again but it is very important to understand what you are painting before you can actually start painting. Whether you are working from a photograph or plein aire being able to see the detail will bring a sense of life to your paintings and a sense of light.

Highlights, form shadows, reflected highlights and cast shadows work in concert to bring form and substance to your subject matter and your painting in general, you need to learn to see them in real life so you can use them in your paintings. We start with the light source.

We live on a planet with only one sun, keep this in mind when you are working from a photo or if you set up a still life at home. A photo, even ones you take yourself, can have what is called "fill light". It comes from the flash on your camera. Professional photographers may use several fill lights to create an image, while not wrong, too much light can take out the drama of the light and out of your painting. With a still life, most people will over light their subject because they want to be able to see every detail, which is fine so long as you take a photo with only one light source as your primary reference, use the others only if you need some clarification. If you are working directly from the set-up, resist adding more than one light source, it will work to your advantage.

Another thing to keep in mind is where the light is coming from. As a photographer I know that the time to get the best photos is early morning before 10 or 11 a.m. or after 2 p.m. and try to get the light to come from the sides of the subject. This will create form and cast shadows as well as highlights for a much more interesting photo. This principal also works in paintings.

Look at how the light falls on your subject, in this instance a roll of paper towels. The top of the roll and the top of the side closest to the light will be your brightest areas, everything else will be shades of gray. Now look at the corner on the table opposite the brightest corner for the roll (you may have to set up a roll next to a window or other single light source to see this). You should notice a couple of things one is the cast shadow and the other is that the form shadow on the towels is just slightly lighter than the cast shadow.

First the form shadow: Notice how as it goes around the roll it changes from a dark blue gray to lighter grays and finally to white in the upper corner, this is how you need to paint the roll or any subject for that matter. Start with a darker blue/gray (blue, purple and sienna) on your brush put it on the darkest part of the towels then add white or gesso lightening the color as you get to the lightest areas. Another thing to keep in mind is your strokes should reflect the surface you are painting. The towels are round so you should use curved strokes to help create the illusion of roundness.

Now the cast shadow: Notice how the shadow moves away from the roll, it is very dark near the roll and right under the roll and as it moves away from the roll it becomes softer and the edges more diffused the further it is from the towels. Keep this in mind as you paint, you can start near the towels with some thicker paint and as you move away from the towels do more dry brush to lighten and soften the color.

On the inside of the towel roll the highlights and shadows are reversed since the towels are blocking the light from the light source. This will be true on anything that is hollow such as bowl, buckets or rotted tree trunks. See it first before you paint.

The last thing is the reflected highlight. This is probably the most challenging thing for you to see though once you finally do see them, it will be easier to see in all things. Reflected highlights occur when light bounces off of one thing and back into the form shadows of another. It is usually a cooler color such as a blue purple but it can also be a reflected color of something around the thing you are painting, it won't be as bright as its origin and it will be just slightly lighter than the form shadow. Adding these soft purple or cooler colors to your shadows will give them life and bring a sense of reality to your paintings.

You can create form whether you are working wet into wet or wet on to dry, either one is going to take practice and knowledge. You need to look for these things I've been talking about, they are all around you. Once you see them you will understand how important they are to your paintings so please don't just take my word for it start looking for these things.

It is also good to practice your techniques on a scrape canvas or paper (use watercolor paper it's tougher). The more familiar you are with how your paints and brushes work the better off you will be when you are working on your masterpiece.

I'm still working on finding something for class but I hope to have it up by Sunday.

Here are a couple of Google links to Rembrant and Van Gogh so you can see how the masters used light and shadow. You may have to find the "saner" paintings of Van Gogh but his use of light was beautiful.

Rembrant

Van Gogh