It's been a while since I last wrote here. I must apologise for not posting as much as I planned about my art classes, but I really have been learning a lot - and it's been exhausting to have other things going on at the same time.
Today, I thought to get in and take some serious photos of the class activities. Aaron Pocock has been doing some lessons for us at the beginning of the 3-hour classes on how we can use particular techniques. Last week, he showed us how to do a simple scene on canvasboard. This week, he showed us how to plan out a complex scene on paper.
Mainly it's using the KISS method - and worry about the details later on. He also told us that a lot of people work on the details first, getting lost in them, and never finish the painting. He'd rather have the bones laid out first, then fill it all in for details at the end. Of course, he made it look so easy - but really, he's been doing this kinda thing for so long, it's second nature to him.
So, today, I got in and glazed the background of my portrait.
The first thing I did was use the linseed oil on the area I was wanted to glaze. Laying the painting flat on the table, I opened the bottle of oil and grabbed a large square brush. Linseed oil has a slight smell to it and you don't really need much - as it's an oil and it will go a long way. But seeing it's going on an oil painting, make sure the painting is dry to touch before doing this otherwise the painting will smear.
Then, mix phthalo blue and burnt sienna together and then - using a fan brush - paint it onto the areas where the linseed oil has been used. For me, it got a little glucky, but I took my time and it worked out.
I did find that I had to rub some of the paint off because it looked a little thick in some places. All I did then was reapply more oil and it thinned it out, then grabbed a smaller fan brush and used less paint.
Once the effect is done, put the painting off to one side and let it dry. Aaron helped me define some of the books and other things in the background with a tissue by pulling at the oil and making the spins look rounded. There's still work to do on the painting; and I'll keep you updated on what I'll be doing with it.
Once I put the painting down, I pulled out a large, round canvas and on that. I decided a nice garden scene from one of my scrapbooks of magazine cuttings would be nice to do. So, working in some of what I've learned from Aaron, I started to transfer the gate and garden scene onto the Mont Mart canvas and got stuck on the archway. This always happens with me as I can't always see the picture in the way it's taken properly.
So, Aaron helped by photographing it, editing it by turning it black and white and then I could just work on the shading without worrying about the colours. He said people often have problems with how things are set out on pictures when transferring in the beginning and not to worry too much; that I'll get used to it. Then, he said he'll do a lesson on how to draw for us... seeing how bad I am at drawing. Well, that's my lesson for today (and yes I am seriously a horrible person when it comes to drawing; can't do it, but I can paint. I'm not putting myself down, I'm all stick figures in reality). Until my next post, keep creating!
Today, I thought to get in and take some serious photos of the class activities. Aaron Pocock has been doing some lessons for us at the beginning of the 3-hour classes on how we can use particular techniques. Last week, he showed us how to do a simple scene on canvasboard. This week, he showed us how to plan out a complex scene on paper.
Mainly it's using the KISS method - and worry about the details later on. He also told us that a lot of people work on the details first, getting lost in them, and never finish the painting. He'd rather have the bones laid out first, then fill it all in for details at the end. Of course, he made it look so easy - but really, he's been doing this kinda thing for so long, it's second nature to him.
So, today, I got in and glazed the background of my portrait.
The first thing I did was use the linseed oil on the area I was wanted to glaze. Laying the painting flat on the table, I opened the bottle of oil and grabbed a large square brush. Linseed oil has a slight smell to it and you don't really need much - as it's an oil and it will go a long way. But seeing it's going on an oil painting, make sure the painting is dry to touch before doing this otherwise the painting will smear.
Then, mix phthalo blue and burnt sienna together and then - using a fan brush - paint it onto the areas where the linseed oil has been used. For me, it got a little glucky, but I took my time and it worked out.
I did find that I had to rub some of the paint off because it looked a little thick in some places. All I did then was reapply more oil and it thinned it out, then grabbed a smaller fan brush and used less paint.
Once the effect is done, put the painting off to one side and let it dry. Aaron helped me define some of the books and other things in the background with a tissue by pulling at the oil and making the spins look rounded. There's still work to do on the painting; and I'll keep you updated on what I'll be doing with it.
Once I put the painting down, I pulled out a large, round canvas and on that. I decided a nice garden scene from one of my scrapbooks of magazine cuttings would be nice to do. So, working in some of what I've learned from Aaron, I started to transfer the gate and garden scene onto the Mont Mart canvas and got stuck on the archway. This always happens with me as I can't always see the picture in the way it's taken properly.
So, Aaron helped by photographing it, editing it by turning it black and white and then I could just work on the shading without worrying about the colours. He said people often have problems with how things are set out on pictures when transferring in the beginning and not to worry too much; that I'll get used to it. Then, he said he'll do a lesson on how to draw for us... seeing how bad I am at drawing. Well, that's my lesson for today (and yes I am seriously a horrible person when it comes to drawing; can't do it, but I can paint. I'm not putting myself down, I'm all stick figures in reality). Until my next post, keep creating!
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