As I was trying to teach my 5 year old grand daughter to paint I realized
what a tremendous challenge it is sometimes to be able to convey a
thought or instruction to someone else, especially if that someone
else is 5. This picture was just thrown in for the fun of it.
First I paint mostly in acrylic. I love this medium because of it's fast drying time
and easy cleanup. I have found a few things which make painting easier, some of which I have learned from other artist along the way. As with any thing in our lives we learn from doing. I have been painting daily for almost a year. As I look back to past paintings I can tell the progression of my success. I felt that to post these few tips may just be helpful to those out there who are looking to improve. I know that I have certainly searched the Internet and other resources for all of the information I could glean. So enough rambling here is a small list of valuable things I have learned.
1. Never give up
2. Search Artist sites, Art blogs, And Art, Art, Art.
3. Study other artist paintings, notice shadow and light, value and chroma.
Define what it is in a painting which appeals to you.
4. Ask for critiques from other artist and put your feelings aside. Listen and
realize you can paint a better composition by allowing someone else who sees
things you may be missing to help point out areas of improvement.
5. Study the golden mean.
6. Take the time to do a value study when you first arrange your palette before
starting a painting.
7. Try to set aside an hour or two several times a week to paint.
8. Join art challenges as often as possible even when you think you are
not good enough. Some I have found very helpful and fun are as follows
9. When using acrylic paint invest in artist grade paints. I prefer heavy body.
10. I use an atomizer to finely mist my paints while painting in order to prevent
them from drying out.
11. I prefer a glass panel for a palette. The one I use is approx 11x14. I place it
standing on my easel when painting small works when possible. I secure it
by placing foam board behind and extending out to stabilize the glass. Clips
can be used.
12. I keep two jars of water. The first is a quart jar with a plastic dish washing
disc in the bottom for gently cleaning brushes and the second to rest my
brushes in while painting. This is extremely important in keeping your
brushes in good shape. Only put approx 1-1.5 inches of water in the 2nd jar
so the silver ferrel will be above the water level. This keeps the brushes from
becoming loose and wobbly.
13. Finally when ready to store my paints I simply give them a final mist. I
place a small cut wet sponge in the Mastersons wet palette box. I place
the glass palette inside and seal. This will keep for several days. Wash
the box occasionally to prevent mold from occurring.
14. Last but not least I use a razor blade type paint scraper to clean the glass.
A wipe with a wet paper towel and your ready to paint another masterpiece.
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