I created a video about painting trees, sky holes and edges while doing a demo on a painting of a citrus grove below.

Edges are either soft, hard or lost in a painting.  We can use hard edges to draw the eye toward our center of interest or as part of the composition by using brushwork that shows the line between two values, light and dark in a painting.  This will draw the eye to that area.  Using softer edges with less contrast between values if we don't want to draw the eye there but it can be used to move the eye from one spot to another.  Lost edges are between two similar values and brushwork can be used  to wipe one similar value into another.   Edges all work together toward the composition success.

Sky holes have mostly soft edges and some hard edges inside the tree and make the tree look real.  If you look at a tree, you will see the sky peeking through mostly the top branches, but also the bottom larger trunks.  They can help separate the branches.  Sky holes should be slightly darker than the sky and I smudge the edges slightly to give a softer edge as you don't want them to stand out too much.

More about what I am up to:

I participated  in our local art show (FAFO) and had a good show.  I left a few hours early to take a Lori Putnam workshop in Tennessee and had a fabulous time!  It was a great group of artists and I learned a lot.  Lori was very entertaining and seemed like a nice person to boot.  We painted in Tennessee during fall color and it was my first time for me to do that.  I was in heaven!!  I am doing a five day intensive there next year.

It is the beginning of the year and I have put out some goals for my art career.  I have traded out art lessons for social media marketing and it is weird seeing someone else post stuff about me.  I have a hard time looking at it and have decided I won't look at it as it feels so self-focused.  I'm not too used to that.  Any way, I will try it for 6 months and see how it goes.

Myself and several sweet ladies are opening an art gallery called 'Studio B'!  We are  going to give it a few months and see if we want to continue.  So far I am having a blast!  But I need to keep painting!

Until next time,
Keep painting!
Laurie

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Successful Art Show

There is a point in your art career where you start to feel like all the work and growth is starting to go somewhere.  That time for me is now.  I have participated in about six art shows and some of my friends have seen my paintings and have encouraged me through the last few years.  There were times when I felt maybe I should just paint and enjoy it and not 'put it out there for others to either critique or enjoy'.  I had many times doubted if I even had any talent.  Going to shows can be hard on the ego, watching people go by your tent making a beeline for the guy next to you and feeling invisible.

So, for the next year I decided to grow as an artist.  I tried lots of new techniques and studied other art that I liked.  I read books and watched lots of you-tube tutorials and just decided to be brave and paint for the fun of it.  I loosened up deliberately and used a pallet knife and experimented.  It finally felt like play, like fun!

All of a sudden people are buying my art.  I finally decided to do some marketing and send an email to my contacts and tell them I would be at the local show.  Well, they showed up and the buying began.  Now, I am out of paintings and can't even keep up with the demand!  It's been a little stressful but I will take it any day.  On top of that, I did an exhibit and had an offer to be on an international website as a featured artist.

So, if you are an artist struggling to find your way, take it from me.  You can do it!
 

First Phase of Painting

Happy New Year!

I am finally back to beginner painting. This was for a friend that commissioned a painting over Christmas.  It was a painting of three children visiting cows on their Grandfathers cattle farm.  I actually completed it in 3 days! 

 

 I will guide you through my process.  The first thing I do is to paint a white canvas with a mixture of red and yellow acrylic of any hue you like with a little white gesso.  I slather it on with a 2" or wider brush.  The brighter the hue, the sunnier day you want to portray.

 

Then I 'draw' in the basic layout with darker paint and a round brush.  This doesn't have to look perfect.  It can be changed later.  It's just to give me a basic drawing to start from.  Learning to draw first with a pencil will help you to paint.  

Well, that's it for the first day.  See you for the next phase.

                                                             Finding A New Inspiration

I have to interrupt our beginning painting series to interject thoughts on an experience I had at my daughter's  conference this week.  I volunteered to run an art auction to raise money for her policy network.  These people were some of the most highly educated, selfless, kind people I have ever met.  The artist was donating 20 oil paintings that took him a year to complete.  He also told me he was donating a series of paintings to the local homeless shelter and some paintings for a small DC chapel.  All this while working full-time. 

Suddenly, I felt ashamed that I had done so little with my art for others.  I vowed that I would donate my paintings to the local shelter and hospital and set about other ways I could help others with my art.  I am excited to start my new projects!  

It's funny how God works.  I have been trying to sell my paintings with little success in the last few months.  As soon as I started to put others first, several people have reached out to me and wanted to buy paintings!

                                                                     Silver River Path

Begin Painting

Ok, so now you have your supplies.  I will do my best to help you along.  Of course, it is better to get instruction in person.  I can teach you personally if you live in the area or I know of some other artists that teach also.  Just contact me here.   Another resource that I have used that is free, is you tube.  Just search for that site and type in whatever kind of painting you are interested in and you can watch all kinds of painters for free.

Some would disagree, but in my opinion you should start with acrylics.  That is what I started in and it is very forgiving.  If you don't like what you painted, you can paint over it and start over.  Also, you can paint over it with oils later if you like.  You can't paint over oil with acrylic.  Eventually it will crack or peel.

You will need to decide what your subject will be.  What do you want to paint?  I paint landscapes because I love them.  Your subject should be something you love and makes you feel something.  I would recommend you paint from a photo, a still life (a simple grouping of fruit, blocks, balls, etc.), or another painting

So, with that said:

Here are some more things you will need:

You will need: A palette to mix your paints on.  Craft stores have many kinds.  I recommend the largest one they have that has a cover.  You can also use a paper plate or anything flat and glass, etc.

  You will also need: A plastic or glass container of water nearby to clean your brushes with that you don't mind getting dirty (I cut the top half off a gallon milk jug).

Place a drop cloth under you and your easel and cover any furniture nearby (paint splatters), it's also nice to have a small table next to you to put your paints on. 

To Start: 

Step one:  Place your canvas on the easel in a well-lit area facing a window preferably.  You can sit or stand.

Step two:  Place your subject where you can see it easily.

Step three:  We are going to put a tinted gesso on the canvas.  For a landscape on a sunny day, I use a warm tint.  Raw Umber or red and yellow mixed with gesso will do (for a cloudy day, blue and gesso mixed will do.

So, for a sunny day, squeeze a tablespoon or more of gesso and a teaspoon or more of raw umber or other warm mixture onto palette.  Using your palette knife or largest brush, mix together loosely.  Paint onto your canvas using side to side strokes and then up and down.  It doesn't have to be mixed perfectly.  A few streaks are fine.  Let dry (probably half to an hour).  If you would like, also paint sides for a wrapped canvas.

We will stop there for today.  I feel this is a lot to take in.  Make sure you rinse your brush right away and take it to the sink and wash bristles with soap and water.  Lay brush flat to dry.

Great job!  Until next time....Happy Painting!