Accomplished Drawing Skills - Five Great Strategies to Improve Them!

1. Go somewhere nice and quiet, draw your chosen spot of nature and after that draw it again. Repetition!

If you want to see improvement you have to put lots of hard work and effort. Nothing comes easy. Do not expect great result from the very first sketch of Art. You won't be a good artist unless you deeply engage with this intimate art activity. The more you observe the better topic you will choose. The better topic you choose the more good results will come soon.

2. Go to exhibition halls regularly! Look at plenty of drawings! Get interested in what other artists do!

Whether in your own town of living or some other city, get every simple chance to have a look at some good pieces of art! If you have the resources, do not miss visitations at the best exhibition art halls in the county and abroad. Every art piece of paper, whether only with simple lines or made with exquisite meticulously detailed forms and shades would be a great example of the variety of Art and its lovely reincarnations.

3. Choose some masterpieces and draw from them! Copy art shapes and forms from photographs!
It might seem strange to do such thing but it would be really helpful to draw from other drawings. Observe carefully lines and spots, shades and hatches! What you can learn from such art activity is just priceless. Tons of knowledge for many years of improving your own art in future. Master artists won't mind indeed! How did they use the lines? How did they shade their art forms? It's crucial to achieve some good basics so to be able to go further in the right direction.

4. Draw and paint from life.
Start with something simple and pick ordinary objects or spot of nature. You will work your way up to the complex ones later when you accomplish successfully your art skills. Draw even your sofa, dining table or a cup of coffee. Just try to free your hand. Don't be afraid of being wrong somewhere. Sketches allow to do many not so precise lines. Just try to feel it right and to enjoy the whole art activity. If you don't like it in the end you'll just throw it out and start again. Remember - nothing comes easy!

5. And last but not least - take your time and try to attend a professional class.
A teacher is very important part of your Art training process. He/She will correct your mistakes and weaknesses. And what is most crucial here - having 'competition' and observing the works of art of other students will definitely increase your own personal benefits. The class sessions would be very helpful if a model actually attends it so you can observe and draw at the same time. You can also receive some personal instructions from your teacher.

And for those who think they can't draw at all, sometimes even a professional artist can't as well... just keep trying because as everything else in this world sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't.

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5 Practical Tips For Plein Air Painting

1. Don't take too much
Only bring what you know you're going to need. Keep your supplies light. You don't want to be weighed down by things you're not going to use. How many paintbrushes do you really need? Will you definitely need ten, or will you manage with one or two? What about colours? Do you have to bring every colour under the sun? Surely you won't use them all? Limit your palette and experiment with mixing colours on site - you never know what colours you might end up using.

2. Use a portable case
If you have a portable case, use it. If you don't have one, buy one. Having all your supplies in one case will make things a lot easier. Pochade boxes, which you can carry things in, can also act as easels. Many portable easels are lightweight and even have storage boxes built-in. You don't want to be carrying lots of supplies about. It's much easier having everything easily accessible in one place. Having a case will also encourage you to bring fewer supplies with you.

3. Avoid wearing sunglasses
Even if it's really sunny, you shouldn't wear sunglasses. The reason? Wearing sunglasses gives you an inaccurate impression of light. Sunglasses change colour balance, so what you paint won't necessarily be accurate in terms of colour. If you want an accurate and completely realistic painting, complete it without wearing sunglasses. If you want to shield your eyes from the sun while painting, wear a hat instead.

4. Take photos for future reference
Many artists like adding finishing touches to plein air paintings at home. To help with this, take your smartphone or camera with you when you paint outdoors. Photographs capture everything about a landscape, from the smallest to the largest details. Using photographs can help you add finishing touches without compromising on quality and accuracy. They can also help you while you work on your painting on-site.

5. Start small
If you're new to plein air painting, it's worth starting off small. Make your first few paintings on smaller canvases. This way, you get to practice and hone your skills. One of the main aspects of plein air painting is that light changes, so sometimes you might have to work with time against you. Once you've got used to changing light and have mastered the skill of making adjustments, then you should be able to complete larger paintings on-site without encountering problems.

Joanne Perkins is a Berkshire-based artist with a BA (Hons) in Fine Art. She specialises in painting Berkshire landscapes and loves capturing the natural beauty of her local countryside. She is happy to accept all queries and questions. For more information about Joanne, her work and her current projects visit: http://joannesberkshirescenes.com/default.aspx Joanne can be found on Facebook

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11 Painting Terms Explained

Background - The background of a painting is the area that appears to be the furthest away from the viewer. This part of the painting isn't usually the focus of the painting and is there to add more substance to the work.

Binder - This refers to the part of paint that holds the pigment together and helps it stick to the support. The binder helps to add consistency and cohesion to paint.

Drier - A drier is added to slow-drying paints, mainly oils, in order to make them dry more quickly. Many artists use these as oils are particularly slow to dry.

Ground - A ground is a thin layer of paint which can be applied to a support to make it more ready to accept paint. Grounds can be any colour, though whites and creamy colours tend to be the most popular colours used in this way.

Medium - A medium is whatever substance you add to paint to change its properties. You can add substances to change paint's consistency, working properties, ability to mix with other paints, drying time and more. This term can also refer to the substances an artist uses for their painting.

Palette - The word 'palette' can mean two things. Firstly, it can mean the wooden or plastic board that an artist uses to keep paint on and mix it while working on a painting. Secondly, it can refer to the range of colours an artist uses for a painting.

Pigment - The pigment is what produces the colour of paint. Pigments are usually ground into a fine powder and mixed with a fluid, such as water or oil, to become paint.

Subject matter - The subject matter of a painting is simply whatever it depicts. It is the focus of the work and the part of the painting that usually has the most meaning and significance.

Support - The support is simply whatever the paint is applied to. Supports are usually canvases, though many artists choose to apply their paint to different surfaces, such as wood panels and paper.

Underpainting - Different from a ground, an underpainting is the first layer of an oil painting. It's used as a sort of base for the painting and is usually done in a single, dull colour.

Varnish - A varnish is a substance that is applied to a painting as the final layer once it's complete. The role of varnish is to protect it from dirt and dust.

Joanne Perkins is a Berkshire-based artist with a BA (Hons) in Fine Art. She specialises in painting Berkshire landscapes and loves capturing the natural beauty of her local countryside. She is happy to accept all queries and questions. For more information about Joanne, her work and her current projects visit: http://joannesberkshirescenes.com/default.aspx Joanne can be found on Facebook

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4 Questions About Painting Supports Answered

What is a support?
A support is simply the surface you apply your paint to. Artists apply paint to pretty much any surface. Cave walls and animal skins were used as the very first supports. Wooden panels and plaster frescoes became popular for many centuries, before giving way to canvases made of cotton or linen. The supports that are the most commonly used today include polyester canvases, aluminium, wood panels, cotton canvases, linen canvases and acid-free papers. Other supports include PVC, glass, copper and gypsum.

What are the main types of support?
While there are loads of different supports, they can be grouped into two categories: rigid supports and flexible supports. Rigid supports are the easiest to paint on because they're hard, sturdy surfaces that can be trusted not to make it difficult to paint. Some examples of rigid supports include plywood, fibreboards, wood panels and metals. Flexible supports are easy to paint on, so long as they're stretched and held in place. Some examples of flexible supports include paper and canvases, which can be made from materials such as linen, flax and synthetic materials.

Which one should I choose for my painting?
Choosing a support is a difficult task, simply because there's so much choice available. One thing to consider is that different supports give different effects: for example, using a linen support, you'll be able to make out the weave; using a support like aluminium, for example, will give your painting's transparent colours a more metallic feel to them. Generally speaking, if you want to be able to easily transport your painting, you should consider a flexible support that can be rolled up. If you're doing a painting with many layers, a thicker and sturdier support would be ideal. Bear in mind that paintings that are done on flexible supports can be damaged by the bend and flexibility of the material as it starts to sag and strain over time, whereas paintings that are done on rigid supports won't have this problem.

Which is the best support for me?
The best support you can use is one that will suit your needs, though you may need to do a bit of research to find the right one. It's a good idea for you to decide what you want from a support; once you know what you want, it will be easier to sift through the many different options to make your search a bit easier.

Joanne Perkins is a Berkshire-based artist with a BA (Hons) in Fine Art. She specialises in painting Berkshire landscapes and loves capturing the natural beauty of her local countryside. She is happy to accept all queries and questions. For more information about Joanne, her work and her current projects visit: http://joannesberkshirescenes.com/default.aspx Joanne can be found on Facebook

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3 Things To Consider About Viewpoints

Why is a viewpoint important?
Viewpoints are very important because they determine what's going to be in a painting. When it comes to landscape painting, you have to select a viewpoint that includes everything that you want to feature in your painting. Think of photographers: they're accustomed to taking time to find a great viewpoint because the better the viewpoint, the better the photo will be. A photographer pointing his camera anywhere without looking at the view won't produce a good photo. Painting landscapes is all capturing a snapshot of the landscape; you want to include features that will make your painting good. Having a good viewpoint that includes lots of good features will help you to produce a better painting.

Do a bit of exploring
When you find somewhere really nice that you want to paint, don't just dive straight into painting. Even if you've got a really good viewpoint, you don't want to get started straight away because there might well be other viewpoints that remain undiscovered. Whenever you get to the place you want to paint, it's definitely worth doing a bit of exploring to see if there are any other viewpoints you could use for your painting. Many artists go for the first good viewpoint they find instead of taking the time to scout the area for alternative viewpoints that might be better for them to use. When you go exploring, you never know what you might find, so it's definitely worth spending a bit of extra time wandering around.

Use a viewfinder
When you've got a great scene all around you, it can be hard to find that great viewpoint. On the other hand, it can be very easy and tempting to go ahead and paint the first view you see. This may well be the best view you can get, but you're not going to know that for certain until you've explored the area. To help you find the best viewpoint, it's a good idea to use a viewfinder or binoculars so you can zoom in on different parts of the landscape. As well as taking time to explore the area, take time to look at it in detail, whether up close or from afar using your viewfinder or binoculars. Only once you've got a thorough understanding of what the landscape is like can you make the best decision about what viewpoint you should go for when it comes to creating your painting.

Joanne Perkins is a Berkshire-based artist with a BA (Hons) in Fine Art. She specialises in painting Berkshire landscapes and loves capturing the natural beauty of her local countryside. She is happy to accept all queries and questions. For more information about Joanne, her work and her current projects visit: http://joannesberkshirescenes.com/default.aspx Joanne can be found on Facebook

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/9156412

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How Long Should You Spend On A Painting?

Painting size
Generally speaking, the larger the painting, the more time it should take you to complete. It goes without saying that larger paintings require a lot more effort to complete because of the amount of painting that has to be done. Even though you can cut corners by using larger brushes in areas that don't have much detail, you should aim to spend more time on a larger painting than a smaller one.

Details
Intricate paintings with lots of fine details should have more time spent on them than paintings that don't have as much detail in them. When it comes to details, you want to spend time focusing on them so you get the must right. Spending time on the finer aspects of a painting can add a lot of quality and appeal to it. Add your own artistic touches to your work.

Time doesn't really matter
When it comes to judging paintings on their quality, people don't even consider how long it took for the painting to be completed. Painting time simply doesn't matter to most people; what matters is the final product. You may, for example, have two paintings that you think are equally good, one of which took a few weeks to complete, the other a few hours. Does it really matter if you spent a lot longer on one than the other? No - what matters is the finished piece and how satisfied you are with the result of your hard work.

Though it can to some
If you're a professional painter, it helps to be prolific. If you sell paintings for a living, you should aim to produce finished paintings regularly. The more paintings you have to sell, the more money you potentially stand to make. If you're in it for the money, it definitely helps to be prolific and not to spend too long producing paintings that you're going to sell. However, some very successful artists have been able to earn a living by selling paintings very rarely. Instead of being prolific, they're the opposite; they've managed to create a demand for their work by producing so little of their work.

Your satisfaction
What ultimately matters is how satisfied you are with your painting. It doesn't really matter how long you spend on a piece, just as long as you're happy with the end result. Some paintings should have more time spent on them than others, but there's no set rule. Every artist is different and every artist produces paintings in different amounts of time.

Joanne Perkins is a Berkshire-based artist with a BA (Hons) in Fine Art. She specialises in painting Berkshire landscapes and loves capturing the natural beauty of her local countryside. She is happy to accept all queries and questions. For more information about Joanne, her work and her current projects visit: http://joannesberkshirescenes.com/default.aspx Joanne can be found on Facebook

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How Do You Tell When A Painting's Finished?

Have you run out of ideas?
One of the simplest ways to tell if your painting's finished is if you've run out of ideas. Paintings are visual displays of your creative talent and ideas. If you can't think of anything else to add to your painting, it's time to move on to another project, to put it simply. If you're stuck for ideas, the best thing to do is to accept that your work is complete. If you don't accept your work is complete, you could end up adding things to your work that aren't really necessary; in other words, you could be coming up with ideas that aren't so good and adding them to your work just for the sake of it. Once you've run out of ideas, don't be tempted to go back and add more to your work, instead just leave it as it is.

Are you bored with your painting?
Artists put a lot of passion and dedication into their works. Paintings can take a long time to complete and it's the artists' motivation that keeps them painting. However, it's perfectly possible to become bored with a painting, even if you started off being completely passionate about it. Sometimes as you get into completing a painting, the enthusiasm goes down. If you find yourself less enthusiastic about your painting - if you find yourself bored with it, let's say - then you should consider it finished, for now at least. Move on to something else - there's no point working on something if you're not passionate about it.

Does it look finished?
Try to see your painting from another person's perspective. Would they consider it finished? If you're unsure whether your work is complete or not, simply ask other people what they think. If they don't think it's complete, ask them what's missing from the painting. If, on the other hand, they do think it's complete, then as long as you're happy with it as it is, you've got a finished painting on your hands. Of course, deciding whether your painting's complete is ultimately up to you and you alone, though it can be helpful to get opinions from other people. When deciding on whether your painting looks finished, ask yourself these questions: does it have a clear subject matter? Are the shades and tones done effectively? Do the colours match the tone of the painting? Does everything tie in with the message I want viewers to pick up on?

Revisiting a painting
Remember there's no hard and fast rule that once you leave a painting, you can't go back to it. Loads of artists regularly put works to one side for a while and revisit them at a later stage. You may well consider a painting finished, only to revisit it a few months or so later to add some extra details you think would enhance its appeal.

Joanne Perkins is a Berkshire-based artist with a BA (Hons) in Fine Art. She specialises in painting Berkshire landscapes and loves capturing the natural beauty of her local countryside. She is happy to accept all queries and questions. For more information about Joanne, her work and her current projects visit: http://joannesberkshirescenes.com/default.aspx Joanne can be found on Facebook

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