How to Paint Shrubbery Using Acrylic Paints

I am an artist, and my speciality is painting trees, shrubbery and flora. But my real passion is painting trees! Tress are an everyday sight, but are often overlooked as a source of inspiration for artists and photographers. But when painted, they can portray many different feelings. Depending on the composition, painting technique, texture, colour etc, the painting can render feelings from strength and energy to calm and peaceful.

One of the key elements when painting trees is to capture the strength and structure of the trunk and the irregularity of the branches. This is done by really working on the composition of the tree- exaggerating the contours of the branches in order to accentuate the overall shape. Play with the branches overlapping each other. Don't worry about drawing any leaves, shrubbery or flowers yet- the overall 'shapes' of the tree is so important. If your primary intention is to portray the strength of the tree, then make the out-line as angular as you dare. If you are wanting to create a more calm painting, then it is important to focus on the flora/fauna.

Once you have arranged and line drawn (in pencil) the overall composition of the trunk and branches, the next step is the paint the background- which usually in the case of painting trees will be the sky. This shouldn't be as textured as you will be painting the branch and leaves, as it is obviously in the background and should just be a subtle build-up of colour. Maybe a lovely blue, with white gently swirled in. Or a more dramatic blue/grey. The next step is to start layering your trunk and branches with paint. Go for the darkest brown that you want in your picture, and then you will build up with the lighter colours until you finish with streaks of silver and gold. The key factor here is TEXTURE!!!! Look closely at a tree trunk- it is all about texture and subtle colours. Trees are never just brown like you might think- there is often a subtle array of colours ranging from browns (obviously!), creams, moss green, bottle green, grey, lilac, white, black, silver, copper, gold.

So gradually build up the texture. I like to slap on the paint thickly, and then drag a comb that I have cut small, through the paint to create ridges. Experiment with this, you want to create as much texture as possible- think of the bark of a tree. And build it up slowly. If you know there are parts of the trunk/branches that will be covered with foliage or flowers, then don't build the texture up too much here otherwise it will be difficult to paint over.

Once you are happy with the above, move on to the flowers/leaves/foliage. Again, this is all about texture as well. But it is more haphazard than the trunk and branches. Paint with passion and don't worry about where you are necessarily putting the flowers or leaves. Nature is itself haphazard! I use a couple of paintbrushes here. A fan shaped one for the foliage background, then I build it up using a smaller rounded brush that I use to really 'splodge' the paint on thickly. Keep going till you are happy. Stand back and look long and hard at your painting. Look where, if any, you have painted the clouds in the background. Is there anywhere you think the sun should be shining on the trunk or foliage? If so, add specks of light to the foliage, and streaks of light to the trunk and branches. Finish off by adding a few streaks of silver and gold to the trunk and branches. Create as much depth to the painting as possible, by emphasizing the highlights and shadows.

Finally, always, always varnish. I like a satin finish, but the choice is yours. Above all else, don't be too rigid when painting trees and shrubbery- remember you are painting nature, and nature is unpredictable!

Original article

Tips for Painting Eyes Using Acrylics

The eyes are the window to the soul. In a painting of a human being, the look in the eyes can make a great impact to the message in the composition.

Artists are often occupied with just getting the eyes "right". Their main concerns are getting the features balanced and the painting as "realistic" as possible. In order to create really earth-shattering art with expressions that creeps up at the viewer, realism is not enough.

I am offering some tips for painting eyes with acrylic paints that would change the focus of the artist while he renders the eyes of his subjects in paint and canvas.

Rendering Realistic Eye Shapes

Unless the painting is stylistic, there are several 'rules' to understand in the structure of the eye.
The eyeball is a sphere. Always sketch the entire eyeball in the eye socket first, then enclose the eyeball in eyelid and lashes. This is an important step in ensuring that the shape of the eye is round and not the shape of an elliptical "fish".The iris is overlapped by the eyelids. If the iris is too small, the eyes will give the face a "shocked" open-eyed look.The right and left eye moves in tandem. It is important to get the balance right unless one is painting a cross-eyed monster or some species of frog.The eyelashes radiate outwards first then upwards. This is tricky when painting eyes that look straight into the viewer. Don't paint large eyelashes pointing just upwards like a child's painting of a blazing sun.

Painting Realistic Eye Colors
The eyeball is white, but not pure white. One can add a slight tinge of grey, blue, pink, brown to the white to make the eye white more believable.The iris can be any color, but not a solid color. Paint the irises by dappling 2 or 3 colors. Let the brushstrokes radiate from the pupil.The pupil is black, but is often interrupted by reflections to the eye.The eyelids and lashes cast shadows on the eyeball. Add a thin wash of grey on the eye near the lids.

Positioning of the Eyes and Center of Focus of the Painting

Eyes, unless in a surrealistic painting like that of Salvatore Dali, are found in paintings of living figure - be it animal or human. In most compositions, the eye takes the central position. If the eye is not the main focus, the direction at which the eyes look is the point of focus.

In a portrait, for example, there are 3 ways in which the eyes on a figure can be positioned:
Eyes looking straight at the viewer. This kind of painting makes the viewer part of the painting. Like speaking in the first person.Eyes looking away from the viewer. This composition puts the viewer as second person looking on. The viewer is directed to view another spot on the painting because the eyes of the subject directs to that location.Eyes not visible because the subject has head looking back or the eyes are covered. This painting leaves the viewer completely detached from the painting altogether.

It would be necessary to decide the message of the painting before deciding on which of the above eye positioning to adopt. There is, in every portrait relevance, of eye position to the position of the viewer.

Finishing Touches

Observe the eye. Its surface liquid and shiny. Add white highlights for the reflections made on the cornea and the tears.

The best way to fully understand the relevance of the eyes in a painting to observe paintings of the human figure. It will ultimately engage the viewer with appreciation of this subject.

Windows of the soul they are. Eyes are small areas in a figure, but they create and thus need the most attention.

Nik Helbig is an artist and art blogger living in Austria. She specializes in figurative paintings on canvas.

Original article

The Economical Exploitation of Artists After Their Death Using the Example of Gustav Klimt

People usually have pictures in their head if they think of Gustav Klimt (1862-1918). The most famous oil paintings of Klimt are "The Kiss", "Tree of Life" or "Adele Bloch Bauer" to name a few. All Klimt paintings sold for millions in art auctions. But Klimt did not only leave his astonishing oilpainting art, in fact he left a whole industry if you look at the Amazon catalogue - Exhibitions, books, art prints, cups, Barbie dolls, mouse pads, cell phone covers, Jewelry, games, etc. - in total you find 1,398 products for Klimt on Amazon. Usually the succession of a death artists are the beneficiaries of an economical exploitation but since Klimt died before 1920, his painting motives are in public domain already.

During his live Klimt did not achieve the status of a very wealthy person as he would by now but he secured financially stability for his family. Klimt's father was an engraver and could only barely feed his family. A proof for this is also the death of Klimt´s youngest sister Anna, who died of weakness because they couldn't afford enough food. It was the primary school teacher of Klimt who convinced the parents that Klimt shall go to art school and also helped him to receive a scholarship for his studies. During his studies Klimt got hired painting work which was common for that time. In the end Klimt's education, his hired work and scholarship helped the family to survive in times of economical crises.

In 2012 the city of Vienna is celebrating the 150th anniversary of Gustav Klimt. There will be several exhibitions in major museums in Vienna and the city is expecting thousands of tourists all over the world. In contrast to the grandiose celebration around Klimt people should keep in mind that several oil paintings of Klimt where seized by the Nazis during the second world war. Maria Altmann, one successor of the Klimt family, even needed to file a law suit against the city of Vienna in order to get back her paintings. Altmann successfully won her lawsuit but it took her till 2006 to achieve that success. Business is business but shouldn't we also keep in mind the intention of the artist who devoted all his life? Is a lawsuit with the shadows of the Nazis really necessary?

Gustav Klimt's primary subject of his paintings were the female body. Maybe all men in the world should start gifting a piece of art to women they are in love with, as a symbol of joy which was the primary intention of Gustav Klimt when he worked on his paintings.

If you want to get to know more about the life of Gustav Klimt, please visit the following links:

Gustav Klimt oilpainting art museum
Gustav Klimt oilpainting greeting cards

Original article

How to Make Gray and Brown Paint Using Primary Colors

This title was presented by the Editors as a challenge, so how could a painter resist it? My first reaction was to wonder why anyone would bother, when more subtle and compatible neutrals can be achieved in other ways. I could visualise how it might be done but I had not tried it in reality. So, still in my night-dress, I slipped out to the studio early this morning and experimented. See what you think of my results, below.

And for those readers who are taking the first steps on their journey towards becoming an artist, I will add some definitions as we go along.

Neutral hues: The Neutrals can be crudely classed as Grays or Browns. In experienced hands, they are a number of extremely subtle blends of the colours used throughout a painting. They can, however, be made by mixing the three Primaries. Here's how:

1) Making Grays

The simplest way to achieve Gray from mixing the three Primaries is this: Blend equal parts of Blue and Red, resulting in a crude Purple. Into that mix add small portions of Yellow until a dark Gray appears. To lighten its Chroma* you can - very carefully - add small quantities of White.

*What is Chroma?

This value refers to the darkness or lightness of a colour.

2) Making Browns

Blend equal parts of Blue and Yellow, resulting in a crude Green. Into that mix add small portions of Red until you achieve a suitable Brown. For example, you may want a Brown of less intensity or Chroma for your current painting.

It might seem obvious to add White to your new Brown mix. But this would be a huge mistake. Instead, add more Yellow.

All of this mixing should take place on your palette, using a palette knife. This is the one and only way to achieve 'clean' colour mixes, vital when you are using Gray or Brown. In the excitement of creating a new painting, it is fatally easy to reach for a brush and start mixing colour straight onto your canvas. Despite what you see in Hollywood movies about famous artists, you can never get all the pigment out of the bristles by wiping your brush on a rag or by rinsing it in turps. The residue of colour will end up in the new mixes and turn them into mud.

TIP. I urge you to get into the habit of using your brushes for laying on the paint, never for mixing it.

You can make far more subtle Neutrals from the colours you are using in your current painting. For example, if you are painting a landscape with storm clouds above, you have likely used Cobalt Blue mixed with White in the sky background. If you wish to make a Gray to define those clouds further, you can do this:

Take some of your Cobalt Blue, mix it with its Complement* - Burnt Sienna - and you will get a subtle gray tone that you can vary by mixing in some White.

*What is a Complement?

This is the colour which is opposite the Dominant* Hue on the Colour Wheel. For example, the Complement - or opposite - of Blue-Purple is Yellow-Green.

*What is a Dominant Hue?

You've guessed this one, right? It is the colour or Hue used most extensively in the painting you're working on. So, if your painting is a portrait and you need to enhance the subject's hair colour with a dark but neutral Brown, try this:

Mix the Red earth, such as Burnt Sienna - that you have already used for skin-tones in your portrait painting - with Ultramarine Blue to make a deep but neutral Brown.

When you want to make Neutrals, either from the Primaries or in other ways, experimenting is the only way to find the mixtures best suited to your personal style and chosen subject matter. A bonus is the fun you'll have doing it.(C)Dorothy Gauvin

Dorothy Gauvin is an internationally acclaimed Australian painter in oils who specialises in an epic theme of Australia's pioneers. See images of her 'Life-Story' portraits, an ABC of homemade tools for painters with arthritis, plus tips and advice for aspiring artists and collectors on her website at http://www.artgallerygauvin.com/

Original article