Painting rocks

If you paint landscapes, you probably have painted rocks. Rocks come in many different shapes and sizes. Not all of them are famous, but they are nevertheless beautiful and vary in shapes, size and with the material that compose them.

There are many different ways to create texture on rocks, here are a few options:

• lift wet paint with a crumbled tissue paper;
• dry brush irregular shapes;
• use a water bottle, spray dry paint and scrub some of the paint off;
• drop water into wet paint;
• splatter darker colours;
• add cracks by painting irregular lines;
• scrape the paint with an old credit card; or
• paint in some details.

This doesn't mean that anyone should use all of these options in one painting. Only one or two should be adopted. This may be the easy part to do.  The greater challenge comes in the use of colours and values:

• define rocks by contouring them with darker colours which are the shadows behind the rocks;
• distinguish some of the rocks by applying a glaze of a slightly different colours;
• emphasize how light reflects on the rocks with reflected light;
• Gradate the colours of the rocks with warmer colours at the front and cooler at the back; and
• Adding shadows from surrounding objects.

This week's artist find is Ann Pember, I'm a huge fan of her rocks and waterfalls.

Have a great week,
Danielle

Painting still life and David Poxen

I used to think that a still life was limited to a table setting with a grouping of items as the focal point. In these cases, artists spend time setting-up the items, the lighting to create a mood they want to convey. Although I've seen some beautiful still lives, most of these don't look like natural to me and hence I have never been drawn to them.

Only recently did I also associate still life to other things than the "traditional" still life. This opens up a whole world of possibilities and interesting subjects.

Today, Diana-B (from ArtTutor) mentioned David Poxon to me, as I have been painting old rusted tools. I had never heard of him and looked him up online. What a pleasant surprise that was. I am grateful that Diana mentioned him to me.

David is a British watercolour artist who paints old items using traditional multi glazing techniques. His paintings are photo realist.

Although he lives in the countryside, he regularly visits old Industrial sites and Farmyards where there is an integrity and honesty in the daily struggle of working men and their machines. As nature reclaims these man made items for itself it creates its own beauty that could not be constructed other than through the passage of time.

I encourage you to visit his web site. I've also subscribed to his Facebook page. I couldn't choose one photo, therefore, here is a small collage.

Still lives like these are so so beautiful in my eyes. They are so real.

Have a great week,
Danielle

Loose painting vs. Tight painting (including realism)

Is there a rise of super-realism?

I've noticed that the prize winners of many recent art contests  are almost indistinguishable from photographs. Even the runners-up appear quite photographic.  It seems like both artists and collectors are attracted to works where they think they see evidence of skill and craftsmanship -- and this is too often defined as photorealism.

Strangely enough, I see a greater number of discussions about painting looser.  Many books will tell you that most watercolorist start out tight and loosen up over time. However, when I look at the number of "likes" on Facebook, it does appear that tight paintings receive more "likes" from other artists.

I'm not sure if there is a disconnect with what I see in discussion groups and overt signs of what is "popular".

It's unfortunate that too many new artists are sucked into trying to paint to match a style, and satisfaction is reached once the elements match a preconceived idiom regardless of the individuals thought or ideas. Art is not reached by becoming proficient in a style, it comes from being truthful to what you see.

Do we consciously paint tight or loose? many have different styles based on subject. Also some paintings look very realistic from a distance, but if you look at them more closely, they are actually quite "loose".

I don't think that one way is better than another.  We all have our own opinions on what we find visually pleasing and mentally stimulating, therefore, we will all have our own opinions on what we consider to be "art at it's highest level."

I think it would be a shame if the artistic community decided to snub one style as more worthy than another.

Today's artist find is Adam Juraszek

Have a great week,
Danielle

Tempting Fall Colours

It's official that summer is over.  At this time of the year, many are interested in painting fall landscapes.

Fall scenes are not the easiest to paint. It's not easy to notice and identify the nuances  with so many bright warm colours. This is necessary to create amongst other things - depth.  A keen sense of observation is required.

• through the brightest colours, look for complementary colours.
• in some areas, it's important to use muted colours.¨Play with different degrees of muted for variety. Muted colours can take the shape of earth colours
• consider that the brightest foliage will be that that is backlit.

In addition to a good sense of observation, it's important to practice and experiment.

This is such a magical time of the year with gold and bright red leaves.  We are fortunate to be able to enjoy it.

This week's artist find is Connie Berberian.

Have a great week
Danielle