I need some pointers...

[thetimesgoneby]

ok... decided to ask my favorite group to help me out a bit...especially since I've seen such beautiful work by all of you. Now, I'm not much of a "painter".... I've always been able to draw things, but I truly need to be looking at them to draw them properly. I notice how so many kind of develop their own little character faces... and all of mine look completely different...does that make sense? I'm thinking I've not developed my own style or something yet, I don't know. I would like to be able to paint better... although, I don't really have the necessary supplies probably. I usually use watercolor pencils if I have to paint something in... but I always draw it out first with pencil. (regular pencil I mean)... Mine don't blend well... what am I doing wrong? They're grainy, liney... that make sense? I'm using watercolor paper...and I've blended with both alcohol and q-tips.. and just with water on my brush, but they never look like everyone else's. I must be doing something wrong. I love altered art aceos.... but I would still like to see some of my "drawings" sell.. or be able to paint them with a little skill. I've never had art classes, so I may be a little art ignorant. I've just always had sketch pad and did lots of doodling...etc. I can't seem to draw a decent man... because he always looks like a woman without breasts. LOL Anyway, any tips would be appreciated!

[drawdog5]

Sue's idea about checking out kids' books is great - they really simplify the steps. And I can't stress enough how important it is to spend time studying your subject, whether it's a photo or a real object. Don't render it the way you THINK it should be, render what you're actually seeing. A caveat is that photographs tend to distort and give everything equal importance, so be careful there. What I mean by "equal importance" is that often the whole photo is in focus and everything has detail - you don't always want to draw/paint that. Generally, it's best to pick your center of interest and draw attention to that. Cropping in a unique manner also makes a piece more interesting - as you did, Penny, in your portrait. I work primarily from photos, but I've also spent a lot of time (since I was young) studying my primary subjects (animals) so I have a good understanding of how fur, feathers or scales flow over the underlying structure. Ask me to draw a person though and I'll balk!!! Haven't spent the time really studying the human form, and would rather be drawing critters anyway :) -Ann

[lightxposure]

Hi Sky.... what you said about drawing in a sketch book..I agree with you, if I do it in pencil, I'm forever rubbing out and redrawing, but doing it in pen and ink really really makes me LOOK and SEE, cos rubbing out isn't an option! :D I'm not a 'natural' when it comes to using colour..I can agonise for ever over which colour to put next to another colour or to mix together but i've become very adept at quickly lifting a colour back off the paper when it isn't right ... I live with a 'thirsty brush' clamped between my teeth! Hee hee :D sue

[jenntreasures]

Sue, that's how I use watercolour pencils too, and sometimes have 3 or 4 pencils in left hand and keep touching the brush to them for mixed/ next to each other colours.. times, if you want to have fun with watercolour, just wet your paper heaps and flow colour in randomly, you'll create such lovely 'backgrounds' that way. Jen

[lightxposure]

And TGB... and not everything has to be figurative or realistic! personally I'm crazy about abstract art, impressionism, expressionism, and meditative art. Try Googling for Rothko, Kandinsky, Klee, Mondrian. And abstract art sells even at aceo size..I sold two abstract aceos to the same person at $15 each 😄 And no-one was more suprised than me!! :D And as Anne said, if you keep doing it (Art) you get better ...practice makes perfect..like driving a car... we're not born knowing how to co-ordinate two hands and two feet simultaneously and safely enough in a car not to kill someone! But after enough time doing it, we don't even have to think about it..it becomes second nature! So practice practice practice is what it takes :) :D

[lightxposure]

Thank you Jen.... 🙂 lol i'm very clumsy, it takes me all my time to hold onto just one watercolour pencil and a brush at the same time! I have to paint in my living room (I live in an upstairs one bed appartment,) which is (was) all white walls (now mottled with colour after I had a big Jackson Pollock few weeks 😞 ) And I exposed the original compressed chipwood flooring which is rather gross anyway, and put down two big cream 100% wool rugs which so I could roll them out of the way if I'm on a mission to paint anything bigger than 6x4. And I have two sofas covered in huge big cream throws which I take off when I'm on a big mission or using pastels. When I had my own house I put down cushionfloor vinyl flooring which was brilliant...dead easy to get paint off, I even used to use my airbrush back then. But here if I had all vinyl it would be too noisey for the apartment downstairs. 😞 She already doesn't like me cos I work nights and when I'm home I stay up nearly all night anyway, she complained for four years she can hear the flooring creaking!! 😞 She tests my buddhist ethics to the limits! I did have a fit of pique once and told her if she could supply me with a working broomstick, I'd be happy to fly around my place on it. She never took me up on my offer...... ( 🙂 )

[thetimesgoneby]

Sue, Ann, & Jen, WOW! That is ALOT of information!!!! ::printing it:: Thank you... I never thought about using the colored pencils that way either. And I just read Dare 86 and I got the ABSTRACT! So, now I HAVE to work on it. LOL Thank you all so much!

[cricketdiane]

There is such great information here that I had to add one little thing - of course. When I started listing my art on Ebay, scans and photos had to be made which were immediately put into my computer. Since I could suddenly see my work large on the computer screen within the same week, the clarity of feedback available to me was unbelievable. As we all know, comments from people who see our work isn't always technically helpful. Until I was able to see the painting I was just doing on the computer screen, I had no practical feedback about what I painted. On the computer, I can see if effects in the paint are working the way I want them to or not. More often than not, it shows me whether the whole piece has the depth and definition I'm trying to achieve - or if my bunny looks more like a cat and other strange accidents. If I were to ever teach painting or share what I know about it with anyone - I would include this one thing that Ebay has taught me. It is this: Scan or make a digital photo of a piece as you go along and really look at it on the monitor. Does it "read" the way you intended? If not, set it aside and do another one with some drastic differences, scan it and take a look. I've learned more about how to convey what I'm wanting to convey by doing this than any other one thing. And, although it seems a little time-consuming at first, after awhile - you know what the paint is going to do in different effects and colors and contrasts - so it is a process used mainly to try new things to see how they work. Thanks for sharing all the great info here - it sure helps me today as I start finishing these mermaid aceos in progress forever. - Cricket Diane

[lightxposure]

Thanks Diane! :D sue

[thetimesgoneby]

Thank you, Diane...great input!

[bonesbglowin]

Penny I just use inexpensive watercolor palettes and good brushes/acrylic or heavy wc paper-I do have a couple pallettes of more expensive wc's and they feel pretty much the same to me during application---Michaels and Joanns both have 24 color watercolor palettes that are very inexpensive and work really well--Michae's has a whole endcap of $4.99 art supplies that work pretty well--I don't use tube watercolor other than my titanium white or china white. I love my smaller brushes for detail and a flat or tongue shaped one for washes and backgrounds--I have watercolor pencils but I usually end up wetting the end of the pencil and the brush and taking color directly from the pencil with the paintbrush instead of trying to apply color from the pencil directly---so that's my input. :)Amanda

[thetimesgoneby]

Thank you Amanda! I'll check in Michael's.... we don't have a joann's here anymore though. 🙂 Great input!

[indooryardsales]

About watercolors: I prefer tube paint: I use pencils but never washed with water (layered instead like pastels) and I have used cake paint (pans) but I love tube colors. Re prices: It only pays to buy good paint as it has more pigment content. I found however that Cheap Joes (dot com) has their own line which is really DaVinci relabeled as "American Journey.) The paints come in 15 or 37 ml tubes and have a gel-like texture that is pleasant to work with. The colors are very strong and there is a good line of quinacridone pigments, which are the golds, reds and magentas from a pigment used in the auto industry that is not made anymore. I love their blues and yellows as well. There are some paints with semi-opaque that are interesting to work with. Normally I paint with Daniel Smith (not cheap) but in ACEO's you use so little paint that you can afford the very best. Holbein, a Japanese line, makes smooth, deep colors. Pricey and in smallish tubes. Maimeri Blu is also very good. I love good paint. It's a joy to work with.

[indooryardsales]

I want to add that a "flower" porcelain palette (the little seven-pan dish) is great for aceo. The paint blends wonderfully in this kind of palette and the small size works well. They aren't expensive. I also buy gold gouache powder paint (Schmincke and Daniel Smith make it) in gold, copper and silver to add embellishment. You pour out a tiny amount of powder and wet it with a brush. One thing I like in ACEO is more detail, so I use #2, #1 and #0 brushes, and again, cheap brushes are not fun, so buy the best you can afford. Fortunately, the small sizes are not as pricey as the big #20 size brushes.

[thetimesgoneby]

Thank you Joanna.... wow, everyone has so much great advice! Thanks all!

[drawdog5]

I really like the Dan Smith watercolors too. Their quinacridone colors are wonderful. They also have some really neat irridiscent paints.