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Lesson – How To Begin An Oil Painting

It is very hard for many painters and students to initially begin making a new painting. Your canvas or panel (depending what you use) is blank! and this blankness is very intimidating, especially when you do not have a procedure for beginning

The thing you are painting is sitting there all complete and you have to start from scratch – blank canvas.

Yes, the first step usually is the hardest and biggest, and the first step is – “How do I begin?”

Let us say, for this example, you are painting a still-life that you have set up.

Maybe some apples in a bowl with flowers in back of them. And, let’s assume all of this is against a background of dark green cloth. That will be your subject to paint.

You have red apples, colorful flowers, a green background, maybe on a wooden table. All of these colors and objects that you see before you, yet, when you turn to look at your painting surface, it is blank!

How do you begin to put what you see in front of you, on your canvas or panel? The problem is that you see a finished product and you are painting on something totally blank.

Well, let me cover first, what should be going on in your mind. When you have a process, you don’t feel overwhelmed and you can focus on 1 thing at a time. The mind works at it’s most efficient when it is concentrating on 1 thing at a time.

Going on in your mind should be…”What I see before me will act as a “model” that I can use to reconstruct what I see before me in terms of paint.”

You should not be thinking ”I have to make my painting look exactly like that.”

It is important to change your thinking. I must get you to change your thought process. My instruction always goes into that…your pre-conceived ideas you have about painting – as far as techniques, and how you are supposed to paint your picture is hurting your progress.

Let me ask you something? If you keep going along, with the same thought processes you currently have when you paint your pictures, do you expect things to ever change? They won’t.

Have you ever seen a fit young amateur golfer try to drive a golf ball further? They just take a club and swing harder and harder and they get nowhere. They are lucky if 1 out of 10 drives is any father than their normal drive.

And then some 65 year old woman comes along who has learned the proper way to swing a club ( the proper techniques, what to think about, etc) and she drives the ball 40 yards farther then the strong young man. And can do it over and over again.

Do you think the young guy will someone magically drive the gold ball as far as the older woman if he keeps doing what he is currently doing? Or would it be smarter to learn the procedures and techniques and thinking processes the older owman uses?

Ok, back to beginning your painting.

Of course you have prepared your surface properly, haven’t you? This is of the utmost importance! Rembrandt, Rubens, Titian, Monet, Ingres, Corot, I can go on and on with names…all prepared their surface correctly. This means, they prepared their surface so that it would HELP them achieve the effect they were after…

…And you should do the same to really jumpstart your way to better techniques and better paintings.

Now, I can’t go into exactly how to prepare your surface in this article, but let me just give as a short example: if you want your paint to be a little glossy, it would be of advantage to prepare your surface differently than if you wanted your paint to dry matte – with a more pastel type of a look.

I hope you have not decided to just buy a canvas from your local art supply store, rip open the packaging, and begin.

If you have done this, you are only making things SO MUCH harder for you.

Proper preparation of your painting surface is SO important I cannot begin to tell you.

If you are painting on a store bought canvas, you might as well paint on a sponge, it is almost the same effect! Yes this is how bad these surfaces are to paint on.

Remember, everything we do is done to make the process of painting easier!

Ok…So the main way to begin is - we must start with some type of drawing.

This acts as your base or skeleton. It is your foundation for the paint that will come later. But, this “drawing”  is only a foundation!

You are not painting by numbers. You are not carefully filling in your lines of a completed drawing. You are making a foundation for the layers of paint that will follow.

This goes back to changing your thinking. Most people think – “I will draw in everything carefully and just fill it in” and then do you know what you get? A colored drawing…

With hard edges, very cold looking, it looks like a paint by number picture.

Let me show you something…

Here is a close up of a painting of a head.

You can see all of the detail. The eyes, the highlights on the nose, the patches of reflected light in the eye sockets. But, this is not at all how this painting looked when it was started. Would you believe it looked something like the image you see below?

This is a painting in it’s beginning stages. Not much detail is there?

There are indications of the eyes, and nose, but this is only put there so I have a foundation to work with. Like the word says, these are only indications…not final eyes, nose, mouth etc.

This is the purpose of your “drawing”. You can do this drawing with other materials as well. You do not have to use paint straight away like I do. I am comfortable using paint, so I use it. You may be more comfortable using charcoal, pencil or even india ink.

All are fine. But be sure to “fix” your drawing with fixative so it does not smudge when you begin to add paint over it.

What I have just covered is just a very beginning introduction as to how to begin a painting. But this is knowledge that you can use for every painting you make from now on.

Proper preparation of your painting surface – the most underrated part that not many beginners pay ANY attention to.

Changing your mindset to not think “drawing”, but instead to think “skeleton”, “foundation” or “base”. Similar in the way a house is constructed.

There will be some people that read this article and think “I already know this” or ”You didn’t tell me what brush to use or what paint to use”

If you already know this…are you sure you are actually doing it?

And as far as telling you which brush to use – that does not matter if you are not thinking the right way when you begin. If you want a formula and are looking for information such as, when you begin you take your number 2 brush and dip into burnt umber – then my info is not for you.

You can buy a paint by numbers set for that.

If you do not begin your painting properly, you are only adding to your chances of becoming frustrated and confused while you go along in the painting process. And frankly, you do not have much of a chance at making a good finished painting.

If the foundation of a house is not prepared correctly, is it more likely the house will be built correctly or that it will fall over during the building process?

Posted via web from emio’s posterous

Interview with Ee Venn Soh Posted: 14 Jun 2009 06:09 AM PDT Ee Venn Soh has one of the most unique design styles I have ever seen, and it all roots from his passion and devotion to art. He designs in the purest form and you can see he has a genuine love for creating illustrations by having a conversation with him. In this interview, we discuss his style, one of his best illustrations “Silver Maiden,” and a lot more. So check this one out! 1. Welcome to Psdtuts+, please introduce yourself. Could you tell us where you’re from and how you got started in the field? Hi, my name is Ee Venn Soh. I am the person behind the creative identity of EIII. I am a 1986b graphic designer and illustrator originally hailing from Malaysia. Currently I am doing my final year studies majoring in Computer Science at the University of Auckland, New Zealand. I am focusing on software/mobile applications, web development and motion/data visualization. I do not have any formal training in all these, but it just happens to be something that I am good at. I got into designing many years back when I saw cool artworks published in a local magazine. I was inspired to create my own space and experiment around with it. Things weren’t that good that time and I only got serious into designing two years back. The first tool I used was Adobe Fireworks if I’m remembering correctly. Hardbass 2. You have an extremely distinct and original style of designing, so in a few words could you describe your view on the appearance of your art?  My works are a saturated mixed media of colors, balance, shapes, 3D perspective, drawings, airbrushing and photo manipulation. Orion 3. Your latest illustrations have featured 3D shapes that look like they were created from scratch. What element do you feel they bring to your art that can not be filled with anything else. The candor and openness in designs with regards to my life as a whole have made me keep trying new techniques and experiment with new styles. As I am not an art student, I constantly study how leading creatives craft their works. Currently, I am trying to incorporate perspective shapes and objects into my illustration. It brings up the artwork into a whole new dimension by projecting it from different directions. I am learning new 3D software at the moment to further emphasis on perspective in my art. Slashthree 4. You are very talented at using simple 2D and 3D shapes and manipulating their color to fit into your designs, now this is a very original style that you do not see a lot, so how long did it take you to get a hang of creating art with this technique? I can’t vividly remember how I started loving this kind of approach for my art. But definitely it is what I have slowly accumulated throughout my entire designing life. I love how colors, shapes and patterns blend themselves together. Creating arts in a harmonious, accord and melodious atmosphere will be most pleasingly appropriate for my works. Space Oprea 5. “Silver Maiden” is an illustration that you created with the photographer Pitor. Now can you walk us through the whole concept and a brief summary of what was involved in creating this piece? This is my 2nd collaboration efforts with Piotr. The first was Asyluym. He is a very talented photographer from Poland. His photos have successfully captured the essences and emotions I have always wanted. Basically, I will spend a large amount of time studying a photo. Brain-storming about what I should and shouldn’t do with that photo. I have a huge database of images on my computer where I can take a quick glance and get the flow moving. Very often, I will start by doing photo manipulation. Placing and creating elements that blend with the photo itself without overpowered it. I try to compose my artworks in a way that uniquely define my style but yet remain balanced. Next, I will work on the details of the whole image. Adding bits and parts around. I create my elements by either painting or drawing them with a mouse, or getting stocks from around the internet. Finally, I will do some color adjustments to the overall piece. Silver Madien 6. You are currently in a University perfecting a wide variety of skills including motion arts, and image processing. How do you plan on binding what you already know in Photoshop with what you are learning now in the University? Technology is one thing you can never catch up with. There are just so many things to learn. I am passionate in many things but eventually to excel in your field, you have to specialize in what you are doing. The future trend of designing has changed and evolved. It is about blending programming and designing. Designing alone won’t benefit you in the long run. Studying, designing, and experimenting with arts are just parts of the initial effort in helping me learning human computer interaction. It has helped me creating user interfaces that are causable and effective. With the knowledge of computer graphics and image processing, I am hoping to create something that will eventually change how people visualize an image. It is a whole new experience and dimension. Easter 7. Throughout your experiences in graphic design, and other studies, what is the most important lesson you have learned? Why do you find it so important? And how do you apply it now to your art? Be resourceful, be informative, and be in love with what you are doing. You have to always participate actively in the international art scene, while keeping a close watch on the market leading inspiring creatives. Every single day, I will take a bit of my time reading through articles and visiting design news portals. Designing has definitely taken up a substantial amount of time from my life. To remain showing high level of interests and vigorous excitement for arts all you need is a “passionate in what you love.” It is the most powerful tool in everything and all aspects of life. Tiger Beer 8. Thanks again for providing Psdtuts+ with this opportunity to interview you. Any final thoughts for our readers? Stay in love in with what you believe. Hold on to your ineffable feeling of affection towards arts. Stay hungry for knowledge. Thanks. Versus Where to find Ee Venn Soh on the Web Ee Venn Soh’s DeviantArt Ee Venn Soh’s Behance The Hidden Identity

Posted via email from emio’s posterous

Pakcik kurang pasti mengapa ini terjadi. openCanvas antara program grafik untuk catan yang menarik. Pakcik percaya ramai yang kecewa dengan tindakan ini.
Walaupun pakcik belum menguasai penuh kemahiran program catan ini, percayalah ia antara program yang menarik untuk pasaran ‘digital painting’ dalam kelas yang tersendiri.
Orang-orang Jepun yang merekacipta program kreatif ini pasti ada sebab tersendiri meneruskan versi bahasa ibunda dan menolak versi English.

Salam..

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Last-last pakcik dapat http://facebook.com/Emio.Oraet

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