The Art of Painting

Have you ever wondered what it takes? To create a work of art? Is it artistic genius, talent? Or can it be taught? Some people like to believe that it can, but let's be honest: a real work of art can only spring from the artist herself. Painting is just another form of art, but the talent it requires is unfathomable. From the moment an artist carefully picks up their brush to that last stroke of color... that is what creates that unique piece... that is what art is all about: creation. Anyone can copy a drawing, attempt a painting but only the artiste can pull it off. Only she can bring her thoughts and her emotions together to form a whole. Whether it is decorative abstract art, original landscape paintings or original flower paintings, these are just labels but they are still paintings and works of art. Artists aren't made, they are born. Paintings are a piece of their soul and their history laid out on canvas... they tell a story and are shared with the world. Any work of art needs to be appreciated for what it truly is: a unique masterpiece.

And then we come to the second part of the process: selling the art. For centuries, artists starved themselves to death before receiving a good enough price for their art. They were looked up to for their talent, but they barely survived from day to day. Portraits were the kind of paintings that were recognized for their valor; the rest seemed to be merely tossed aside. The beauty of many artists' works was recognized merely after their death: it is a sad, but true fact. As time passed, art progressed. It started creating form, imagination was unleashed. Art stopped being about conformity and started expanding the limits of one's imagination. Modern artists came along such as Picasso, Matisse and Derain. They lived like true artists but recently more people are discovering such new beginnings in the field of art. Middle class citizens that want to provide for their family. A painter or an artist from humble beginnings whose art is still not widely recognized is emerging day by day. Their talent is obvious but is still in the starting stages of it being formed. Creating the art becomes like a second nature to them, they are so absorbed in the process of creating. It is all very difficult, from making the art to selling to shipping it and to making profit. It's as stressful as any other job. In today's times, art has become something that can be easily bought and created, real artists are few but true talent can still be found.

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How To Make A Beautiful Candy Paint Job

Close your eyes and imagine a radiant candy orange sports car glimmering at a car show. Now picture yourself in a gallery and you open your eyes to see the most beautiful sunset painting with a silhouette of palm trees in the background. Today I'm going to tell you how you can make a beautiful candy paint job. I've painted radiant red candy racing stripes on a dodge truck, blazing realistic fire, awe inspiring silhouette on tail gates, and relaxing beach sunset paintings on canvas. The one thing these all have in common is I used candy colors.

You will need a small list of art workshop supplies depending on what you want to paint. First with candy paint you need a base color. There is an unlimited combination of base colors but the three most popular are white silver and gold. For instance I mix white with a little yellow to make real flames, and if I want a light metallic candy color I use silver as a base and if I want a dark metallic candy color I use gold as my base. Candy colors and candy concentrates can be mixed with a transparent base, integrated clear coat or even regular clear coat. I don't recommend using a regular clear coat because it is mixed with a catalyst or hardener which will shorten the life of the candy and must be used right away. House Of Kolor uses an integrated clear called SG100 which when mixed with the candy will still have a very long pot life because it does not use a hardener. House Of Kolor uses solvent based materials that work well but are toxic. If you want a similar product that is non toxic or a waterborne paint you should use Auto Air Colors products. Auto air colors uses a non toxic transparent base. When mixing your paints you will need to add a reducer to thin the paint to a desired level. Reducer usually comes in either fast medium or slow. Fast is a quick drying reducer that should be used when it is cold painting conditions. Medium is an average drying reducer approximately 70 degrees in painting area. Slow is a slow drying reducer that works well in hot painting conditions. Well now that you have a base color, candy colors, integrated clear, and reducer you can prepare for the next project.

You can paint on anything from t-shirts to canvases to automobiles. Candy colors can darken with more coats of candy so you will want to spray as consistent as possible to avoid a cloudy or blotchy look. When candy is sprayed correctly your beautiful paint jobs will stand out like a sore thumb. Almost any clear coat can be sprayed over your candy paint job. Can just anyone make a great candy paint job? No!, I'm just kidding. Anyone who is willing to put in enough time to read this article has the determination to to create an amazing candy paint job. Do you know what always makes me want to do something? When people tell me I can't do that. It makes me want to prove that I can even more whether I originally wanted to or not. My only problem I have now is convincing people I'm the one who painted it. I remember shortly after I graduated high school I told my friend I want to paint a car and you know what he said?" You can't paint a car." After that I went to Sears bought an air compressor, a paint gun, bought a 1981 Z28 Camero project car, and some paint. Well unfortunately that project didn't go so well but it did motivate me to go to college and learn the right way to paint cars and since then I've taken custom painting classes and now I teach custom painting.

Its my turn to teach you its never too late to learn. I'm telling you to get off your computer get some candy paint and lets go paint something. I love painting. In fact this week I 'm going to paint a 1984 Toyota p/u. I wish it was a custom or a candy paint job but sometimes people want plain paint jobs too. For $25 per hour I teach airbrushing, painting or just about anything auto body related you want to learn.So if you have questions you can always e-mail me or come visit my shop. In just a few sentences I'm going to teach some tricks to help you along the road to your artistic side. I don't care if you have never painted at all because now is the time you start and your going to be great.

Lets paint a nice sunset or beautiful silhouette. I'm going to paint a tailgate but you can start with a canvas or a piece of sheet metal if you want. first paint your background black or use a really dark color. second cut out a stencil or a paper of a tree, some grass, or even a elk or deer. There should be just an outline but no inside detail of these. Third place your stencils over the bottom of your project and spray a white over the sky area of the stencils. Fourth spray the painting with candy yellow followed by candy sunset leaving some traces of candy yellow. Finally spray some candy apple red leaving some traces of both the candy yellow and candy sunset. Protect your picture with a clear coat. Another tip to help you avoid runs is to paint with your project flat and help keep gravity on your side.With these 3 candy colors and white you can also paint some flaming hot realistic flames. If you would like to paint a complete vehicle keep your spray patterns consistent and evenly overlapped as possible. Painters make mistakes or sometimes get a run but with a little knowledge any of these can be fixed. Never be scared of a challenge but hit it head on and if you ever get asked "How can I make a beautiful candy paint job?" Tell them with candy paint, a base color, some transparent base to mix with the candy, reducer, a clear coat to protect it, and a little bit of knowledge to help you along the way.

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Vermeer the Boy From Delft

Vermeer was born in Delft in the south of what is today Holland in 1632. He stayed and lived and worked in Delft for his entire life, marrying Catharina Bolenes there and having 14 children with her. His ties to Delft are documented in works like View of Delft. However, on the topics that are today of more interest, his artistic career, not that much is known. It is for instance not known whether he was an apprentice of a local painter of whether he was self-taught. A number of theories have been presented, ranging from him having been the apprentice of local painters from Carel Fabritius to Abraham Bloemaert, but nothing has been firmly established. We do know that he became a member of a local painters trade organization, the Guild of Saint Luke, in 1653. He was furthermore elected head of this guild in 1663, 1670 and 1671, which is a clear indication that he was not just a local painter but actually well respected and established among his peers. However, with a financially strained small family business, a very slow pace of painting (about three paintings per year) and time spend raising a large family, he was never a financial success.

Vermeer was also not well known beyond Delft and The Hague. This can probably in part be attributed to the fact that local patron Pieter van Ruijven bought up most of his paintings. While that of course helped him financially by giving him direct income from his art, it also kept that art from spreading. As such, by his death in 1675 he was only a small local celebrity and that soon made room for obscurity as local painter Johannes Vermeer was quickly forgotten. As such, Vermeer was not even included in source books on the art of Holland for the next two centuries.

This however changed in the 19th century when Théophile Thoré-Bürger and Gustav Friedrich Waagen wrote an essay which attributed 66 paintings to Vermeer (63 of which are today recognized as being his work). This led to an increased interest in the works of Vermeer and the mastery behind them. Following this increased interest, the reputation of Vermeer as a master painter has only increased, to the point that he is today considered one of the greatest of the Dutch masters. It is quite a change for the local painter from Delft who led a local life and was never much known beyond his immediate surroundings. Today, Vermeer's works have inspired novels by Proust and artwork by Dali, just like both a novel and a movie has been made around the painting The Girl with a Pearl Earring. The boy from Delft has indeed arrived on the world scene.

Fine art oil painting reproductions with an online gallery showing all the great art from the ages including great Jan Vermeer Paintings.

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