Thursday, October 30, 2008

Watercolor Painting Technique

You can incorporate many different watercolor painting techniques into your works. One of the more basic watercolor painting techniques is called a flat wash, and is used to cover large areas of your oil painting on canvas. It is done by dampening your oil on canvas, and spreading your paint from the top to the bottom using a large brush to move the color quickly and in broad strokes. Another good watercolor painting technique is called the wet in wet, and requires wetting your canvas with a spray bottle before applying your watercolor. watercolor painting technique You can achieve the opposite effect with a dry brush technique that uses a dry surface and a pigment. This watercolor painting technique can actually add texture to your work. For best results, it is a good idea to combine a number of watercolor painting techniques into each work to add focal points and create maximum impact.

If you are thinking that watercolor painting might be a fun hobby for you to try, your next step should be into your local fine art gallery reproduction or craft store to find supplies and perhaps get advice from a professional as to how to get started. There are classes, books and instructional videos that can teach you the basic watercolor painting techniques. Unleash your artistic ability by creating a watercolor masterpiece today!

Friday, October 24, 2008

American Portraits of the Late 1700s and Early 1800s

Descended from the Mathers, a family of famous clergymen in colonial Massachusetts, Mather Brown moved permanently to England in 1781 at the age of twenty. Under the tutelage of Benjamin West, he began oil painting biblical subjects and scenes from Shakespeare. The greater influence on Brown's portraits, though, was the fluid style of Gilbert Stuart. If anything, Brown was even more flamboyant than Stuart in his application of richly colored, thickly textured paint. In William Vans Murray, for instance, Brown outlined the sitter's eyelids in bright red. The hair, cravat, and curtain were rendered with pirouettes of a dancing brush.

Murray studied law in London from 1784 to 1787 before returning to his farm near Cambridge, Maryland, on the Chesapeake Bay's Eastern Shore. He later served in Congress and as minister to France. In addition to other prominent Americans abroad, such as Thomas Jefferson, Brown's clientele included members of the royal family.

This patronage sparked sarcasm from an exasperated, anonymous English painter: "Mr. West paints for the Court and Mr. Copley for the City. Thus the artists of America are fostered in England, and to complete the wonder, a third American, Mr. Brown of the humblest pretences, is chosen portrait painter to the Duke of York. So much for the Thirteen Stripes—so much for the Duke of York's taste."

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Wall Painting Technique-Make Your Room Look New Again

Wall painting is a magnificent way to add rich tone to any room. Depending on the shade you choose, you can lighten, clean up or cozy up your room. You can make tiny rooms appear larger or ample rooms emerge more inviting. Paint is low-cost, easy to apply and can serve as a beautiful background to your space – provided that it is done right. Providentially, there are some simple steps to pursue that will ensure that your interior tinted space will look great and last for several years.

Wall Painting Technique -Selecting the Right Paint

The initial step is to find the finest paint for the wall you need to work with. If you are painting a workplace or dine room, your choice will be very different if you are looking at vinaigrette up a kitchen, lavatory or kids area. For rooms that do not suffer from as much wear or tear, you can have your predilection of a flood of variety and shades.

If you are functioning with a room that sees constant use, you will be better off if you decide a washable paint that is. In rooms that see plenty of wetness, like your lavatory, a paint that will oppose mildew is a good idea. If you have any queries about the finest wall painting for your job, you can check the sticker on the paint can or ask a professional at the home development store were you shop.

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Sponge Painting Technique

Sponging is one of the simplest painting techniques to learn. It requires a base coat of one color that is tinted above with another one. The second coat is applied with a sea sponge that is evenly dabbed at random over the entire wall. Depending on the colors that you utilize and the technique you handle your sponge, the effects that you can enjoy from this sponge Painting technique are nearly vast.

There is actually no right or wrong way to sponge paint, but there are a couple of rules of thumb to make your walls most pleasant to the eye. A good sponge painting technique requires you to keep the touch of the sponge fairly light, so your upshot is a subtle one. You also want to sustain an even tone to the walls, with no lighter and darker spots in areas. It is a fine idea to practice on a board or other sample material before taking the sponge to the bulwark of your room.

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Faux Wall Painting Technique

If you are looking for a way to jazz up your walls with a little bit of money and a lot of creativity, look no further than the faux wall painting technique available. With a little paint and some know-how from books, websites and home improvement stores, you can create effects on your walls that will add color and texture to your rooms. Many of these faux wall painting techniques are very easy to learn and simple to accomplish if you are willing to take the time to do so. Others will be more successful with the aid of a class that instructs students on proper faux wall painting technique.

Faux Wall Painting Technique the Finishing Touch

You can create a stencil border over your base coat using templates and stencil paint. You can even paint murals and stories across one wall that will serve as a focal point for a room. There are patterns available for murals as well. Decorating is no longer just about applying paint to walls. With the many faux finishes you can achieve through various faux wall painting techniques, you can give any room an artistic flair.

Monday, October 20, 2008

Comb Painting Technique

Another painting technique that requires a little more practice is combing. This technique is done with a squeegee that has teeth like a comb. Just like sponging, combing begins with a base coat of one color that is allowed to dry thoroughly. Next, a second color is applied and the comb is drawn through the paint while it is still wet. The effect is a textured appearance that can look like straight lines, zigzags or waves. The Comb Painting technique is usually very inexpensive, since the tools involved are simply two hues of paint and a squeegee comb.

Creative Comb Painting Technique

If this Comb Painting technique seem too basic for your artistic flair, there are many other comb painting techniques that involve multiple colors and additional tools for application. There are techniques that can give you a faux marble or granite look by using special paints in three or more colors and a sea sponge for blending, and a comb for addition texture.

You can create a stencil border over your base coat using templates and stencil paint, use your squeegee to add a unique texture. You can even paint murals and stories across one wall that will serve as a focal point for a room. This Comb Painting technique works especially well in children’s areas. There are patterns available for murals as well. Decorating is no longer just about applying paint to walls.

Friday, October 17, 2008

Flower Painting Technique

Many types of flowers have meanings that are normally connected with them. You may be familiar with the creative view that the rose of different colors indicates diverse things. For example, red roses tend to symbolize passion, while yellow roses typically mean longstanding friendship. Pink stands for young love and white often mean purity. Other flowers carry similar meanings, so when you consider adding a flower painting technique to your repertoire, think about the meaning that you want to convey through your oil paint.

Flower Painting Technique Stenciling

A number of techniques can be used to add flowers to your Oil painting. One of the easiest methods is through stenciling. Stenciled flowers can be painted on walls as a border, furniture as an accent, or even on articles of clothing using fabric paint. If you can't find a stencil that tickles your fancy, there are also numerous flower stamps available.

Stamping can be used in place of stenciling on just about any surface as well. For those who desire to become a bit more adventurous with their flower painting technique, you can learn many techniques for freehand projects. One of the most popular is One Stroke Oil Painting that offers instructions for creating many different types of flowers. This flower painting technique works extremely well on vases and flower pots, as well as walls and furniture. If you eventually wish to take freehand a step further, try covering a landscape painting with misty watercolor flowers or bright flowers painted with oils.

Thursday, October 9, 2008

Face Painting Idea

One should learn to imagine how the finished face painting idea would appear. Not experiment while face painting. One can also use awash bits of cotton wool to create a bumpy nose or big eyebrows and for an extra-ghostly effect, after the face painting idea has been completed, one may apply dusting of flour.

It is also a good idea to use a stencil if one is not good at freehand painting or is short of time. A quicker alternative would be to use temporary tattoos though some people may have skin that reacts badly to them and one may even use glitter to create a quick and dramatic effect, though it does spread too much and is also hard to remove.

One should also have a mirror on hand so that the people that have had their face painting work done can see the results and having a high stool on hand will save the artist (that is, you) from excessive bending for long periods, when painting many faces, and thus prevent back aches.

One should also have a ready stock of tissues on hand as face painting requires a lot of wiping of the hands as well as brushes. Also, face painting is often messy, though fun, and baby wipes work faster and is also useful to clean up any mistakes along the way.

It is always a great satisfaction to see the excited look of a child’s eyes when your face painting idea takes shape and comes to life.

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Self Portrait

A Self-portrait is a depiction of an artiste, haggard, tinted, or sculpt by the artist. Even though self-portraits have been made by artist since the earliest period, it is not until the Early resurgence in the mid 1400s that artists can be often identified portraying themselves as either the main issue, or as imperative characters in their art work.

With improved and cheaper mirror, and the advent of the panel portrayal, many painter, sculptors as well as printmakers tried a few self-portraiture. The plausible example by Jan van Eyck of 1433 is the first known panel self-portrait. He tinted a separate picture of his wife, and he belong to the public that had begun to commission portrait, already more general among rich Netherlanders when compared to south of the Alps. The genre is esteemed, but not until the resurgence, with improved wealth and curiosity in the entity as a subject, did it become really popular.

Monday, October 6, 2008

Portrait Painting

Portrait painting is a genus in painting, where the intention is to portray the visual manifestation of the subject, most frequently a person. A well executed picture is anticipated to illustrate the inner essence of the subject not just a physical image.

The phrase 'portrait painting' can also explain a painted portrait. Portraitists make their portraits by commission or are enthused by appreciation or fondness for the subject. If an artiste portrays him or herself, the end result is called a self-portrait.

Portraits can describe the subject 'full body', 'half span' or 'head and shoulder'. Beside human beings, flora and fauna, pets and even lifeless objects can be elected as the subject matter for a portrayal.