Category: Painting Tips
Painting the Autumn’s Changing Colors
| August 4, 2011 | Posted by Jacob Devies under Painting Tips |
Autumn is here in the Northern Hemisphere and those of us in the northern regions will see the forests and hills transformed into brilliant reds, oranges and yellows. For many painters, it means that the days of plein air painting are limited before the cold weather really sets in – so take advantage of these…
Creating Perspective: Establish a Sense of Depth Within Your Work, by Understanding Eye Tricks
| June 23, 2011 | Posted by Jacob Devies under Painting Tips |
Ever wonder how artists create a sense of depth within their work? How do they get the proportions right? How do they make it look so realistic? There are many integrating techniques used to create perspective within a drawing. Here are a few things to keep in mind when attempting to create a sense of…
Basics of Color Perspective
| June 9, 2011 | Posted by Jacob Devies under Painting Tips |
The principles of color perspective are as simple to remember as those of linear perspective. In linear perspective, objects become smaller the farther they are away from you – to apply color perspective, all objects get hazier and lighter as the distance increases. Objects, such as hills, will become smaller as they recede into the…
Painting Tricks and Techniques
| June 8, 2011 | Posted by Jacob Devies under Painting Tips |
Painting Straight Lines One of the most frequently asked questions is how to paint straight lines. I’m a firm believer in using mechanical aids such as rulers, straight edges, compasses and triangles at the composition stage of a painting. Painting thin lines are relatively easy because it’s rare that the straight line will actually be…
Painting Believable Hair
| June 8, 2011 | Posted by Jacob Devies under Painting Tips |
One of the keys to a successful animal painting is layering the color and brushstrokes to depict realistic fur. This minute detail rarely works when depicting human hair. The most common problem when depicting human hair is over-rendering of individual hairs. This technique can actually have the reverse effect, flattening the hair into a “helmet-like…
A Painting’s Final Touches
| June 8, 2011 | Posted by Jacob Devies under Painting Tips |
Signatures are one of the most overlooked aspect of a piece of art. Artists often scribble a signature without realizing that, in many cases, their work will be unidentifiable in the future. Consider these famous signatures: Paul Gauguin’s signature isn’t perfect but it’s close. It is relatively legible, includes an initial and last name and…
Perspective in Painting: Tips on Size and Two-point Perspective
| June 8, 2011 | Posted by Jacob Devies under Painting Tips |
Horizon line: A level line which separates where the water or land (or foreground and background in a still life). This line is always at eye level. The horizon line creates a point of reference for all components in the painting – e.g., horizontal lines are generally parallel with the horizon while vertical lines are…
Mixing Media in Paintings: Learn Some of the Precautions You Should Take
| June 8, 2011 | Posted by Jacob Devies under Painting Tips |
I’m not a purist. I believe in adding pigments and materials to a painting to achieve an effect or deliver a message. Experimenting can an an added dimension to you work. Archival Quality Materials: The piece pictured above is a combination of papers, graphite, watercolor and colored pencil. The key to having your work last…
How to Paint the Human Body: Principles of the Body’s Measurements and Basic Differences Between the Sexes
| June 8, 2011 | Posted by Jacob Devies under Painting Tips |
Leonardo da Vinci studied the human body scientifically and calculated the average size of the parts of the human body using the head as a unit of measurement. He used the length of the face while Dürer used the entire head. The standard body length is equal to 7 1/2 head lengths as confirmed by…
Putting the Wind in Your Painting’s Sails: A Brief History of Maritime Painting
| June 7, 2011 | Posted by Jacob Devies under Painting Tips |
Hendrick Cornelisz Vroom, 1617, Dutch Ships Ramming Spanish Galleys off the Flemish Coast in October 1602 The sea and the ships that ride their waves have fascinated artists since Egyptian times. The glory days of maritime art occurred during the 18th and 19th centuries in Britain. It was during that time that Britain led the…
