Any artists out there??

[somethingshiny]

I''d like to try my hand at painting. Mostly because we got a new house and I''ve decided to completely change all of my decorating. Basically, I want some large abstract canvases for a big wall. I figure I should give it a shot.

So, any tips or advice?? I plan on getting just a couple brushes so I''d like to know what kind, and some oil paints. I want to try on paper so I don''t waste canvases. Is painting on paper going to be any where near the same as painting on canvas??

TIA!

 

[Linda W]

Tacori is an artist. Check out the mommy''s thread. She posted a picture of her painting. It is beautiful.



Linda

 

[Hera]

I wouldn''t really try to paint on paper with oil paint. It can''t hold up the medium and will get oily. For oil painting, you will need linseed oil, the oil paints, and turpentine( to clean the brushes). What you could do is to either do a smaller mock up on a small canvas or just go ahead and try on the canvas. Oil paint is a very forgiving medium and you can paint over it once it''s dry. Just remember to paint in a well insulated area because the fumes can make you sick. First pencil the design or what you''re painting and then add the color, it''s easiest that way. If you''re shooting for more abstract then just start painting.

Another option is to try acrylic paints. It doesn''t need many other things except paint and brushes. If I wasn''t really going to pick it up for a hobby, I would be more inclined to paint with acrylics versus oil. You only need water and the paints colors are very vibrant.

Good luck and have fun!

 

[somethingshiny]

Thanks, Linda. I will go check out Tacori''s pic.

Hera~ I already have the linseed oil and turpentine from my wood working. But, maybe I''ll try the acrylics. I intended on doing this in the garage, but it would be nice if my little one could be with me and not woozy from the fumes!

Can acrylic be used on paper for the test run? Can you paint over it once it''s dry?

 

[Tacori E-ring]

Linda, I am honored you thought of me

SS, hera gave you good advice. I used oil paints in college but I hate them

Smelly, hard to clean, and take FOREVER to dry. Plus they do give you nice texture and you can rework stuff. Now I work with acrylics. Just not work having oil around the baby. I would suggest getting cheap, thin board canvases to practice. Def. have a plan of attack. Make some sketches. My favorite place to get art supplies is here. MUCH cheaper than Michaels or smaller art stores. Good luck. And please post a pic when you are done!

ETA: you CAN paint over any mistakes but depending on the thickness of your brush strokes you much see the "Texture" bleed through. Since you want something modern this might not be an issue for you. I think it is much easier to paint over acrylics than oils b/c it is a "flatter" paint.

 

[somethingshiny]

Thanks, Tacori! I just went through the mommy thread and found your pics. The circle one is really cool, but I love the way the train pic looks "lit" from the inside.

I''m trying to add some modern pieces to my eclectic collection. I''ve always decorated on the formal side, just trying to get away from the country look I grew up with. Now, I love the way an abstract painting looks next to a vintage beaded lamp.

Thanks for the tips and the link.

Oh, can I use "oil brushes" with acrylics or do they require a different kind??

 

[Tacori E-ring]

I have so many different kind of brushes (watercolor, oil, etc) and I NEVER pay attention to what medium I am using. I just use the size and shape I need. Do you have any idea what you want them to look like? Saw something that inspired you?


ETA: thanks for the compliments

 

[somethingshiny]

Tacori~ I love impressionism, esp Monet (of course). I pretty sure I can''t do anything along those lines (ha!) so I thought something more abstract could give a little bit of that feeling and I could probably do it myself.

THIS is one of my favorites, and while I don''t think I could get the scene to look like this, I think I could achieve something abstract that feels like the sky or hills. I also like the way you see individual brush strokes. I''m going with reds, chocolates, golds, grays so it should feel warm and enveloping (if I can do it right.)

 

[Tacori E-ring]

Sounds like oil paint might be a better option for you if you like seeing brush strokes. It''s easier to build up IMHO. I never felt sick from painting (even in an art class with 20 other people using oil) but I would not want your little boy around it for sure.

 

[somethingshiny]

Wow! Have you seen this???

Colorful Camouflage, Marla

Wish I could do that....it's pretty much what I was going for!!!


eta- That's the main page. Look at page 4, third from last painting.

 

[Linda W]

SS, do you have any photos of your work? I would love to see them.


Linda

 

[Skippy123]

Date: 9/7/2008 2:03:14 PM
Author: Linda W
SS, do you have any photos of your work? I would love to see them.


Linda

Me too!

 

[LtlFirecracker]

I found that oils were too frustrating for me, I like acrylics much better. Some basic rules about making any good piece of art

Color - pick a color theme and stick to it. Get to know the color wheel. When learning to do abstract art, it is easier to do different shades of one color, or a few colors next to each other on the color wheel. As you get better, you will want to start learning how to use colors on the opposite end of the color wheel together.

composition: probably the most important element to any picture. You have to figure out what your focal point is, that is, what you want people to really notice, and work the picture around that, the same goes for decorating a room.

I have read several books and taken several classes on this, and can''t explain it all here. One place to start is to learn the basic principles, and than look at pieces of art you like and figure out how they applied those principles. Than start doing you own stuff and trying to use the basic stuff.

 

[Tacori E-ring]

ss, I have faith in you and think you can pull off something similar to your "inspiration" piece.

 

[somethingshiny]

Linda and Skippy~ thanks for the vote of confidence, but I haven''t painted anything yet. I will post pics (if it turns out any good)!

Firecracker~ Thanks for the tips. I''m familiar with the color wheel and keeping interest in certain places. I do a lot of photography, woodworking, and other 3 dimensional "art". Abstract is a real stretch for me. When doing wood work and things like that, you find the integrity of the materials you''re using and you bring those to the foreground. Or when you take pics, you look for things that inspire you and try to photograph them in a way that easily shows how you see them with your lighting and stuff. So, anything that''s not straight forward is going to be a challenge for me.

Thanks, Tacori! Isn''t it funny that I find a little child who inspires me??

 

[Pandora II]

I''m a designer by training - mainly textiles/illustration/graphics, but paint in my spare time.

One word of warning!

I tend to use gouache for design work. For my own paintings I like oil paint, but I have a bad habit of sucking my brushes into a point. Fine with gouache, but a mouthful of turps and oil paint is

I use acrylics more for craft work - painting ceramics etc - as I find they dry too fast for me for paintings. You can buy retardants to use with them though, and there are also gels and things that you can add to make the paint thicker.

Make sure you buy a HUGE tube of white - you won''t believe how much of it you will use!

 

[Tacori E-ring]

Pandora I love gouache too!

 

[jcrow]

haha. ditto to the white! Big ole tube is always needed

i'm also putting a vote for acrylic. much easier than oil. there's a medium you can add to the acrylic to extend your paint time too. and a medium that you can add to make your paint thicker.

oh, and gesso. that's always good to prime your canvas. it gives a tooth for your paint to adhere to.

good luck

 

[Aloros]

I''m going to recommend acrylics, just because they are easier to work with, and they''re not as bad for your health. You can add some thickeners if you want to see the brush strokes, and they thin with water (or there are other thinning mediums you can experiment with).

BUT, I LOOOOOOOVE oils. There is just something about them - they''re more buttery, they have a different feel to them. If you decide to go with oils, it''s important to remember fat over lean. When you''re thinning the paints (I find it easiest to put a base color on the canvas first - white is too stark, and you will have an underlying, unifying color) paint thinned with turpentine goes on the lowest layer, with more concentrations of linseed oil going to the top layer. If you try to paint oils thinned with turpentine over your "fat" layer, it won''t stick.

You can paint on paper, if you like, but you would need to prepare it first. I like paper for its smoothness. I use a nice heavy watercolor paper, which I wet to pre-stretch it, and then I mount it on masonite using acrylic matte medium. This is my favorite surface to paint on.

If you want to practice, you can gesso up some canvas paper and use that.

Hope this helps!

 

[somethingshiny]

Pandora~ Lol about sucking on your brushes, bet that makes for REALLY fun painting!?!

jcrow~ Thanks for the tip about priming the canvas. I was going to paint the whole canvas with a really deep red so it warms up the whole painting. Is that too dark??

Aloros~ Thank you for the turp and linseed oil tips. I didn''t know that you had to alter concentrations in the top layers.

I''m going to do the acrylics. It sounds like it''s much easier to start with and I can still get the look I want by adding the other mediums to see the strokes. If it turns out I like to paint, then maybe I''ll advance to the oils.

I''m so excited to try this!!

 

[2Artists]

Well I sure missed this post! You have already gotten lots of great advice. I think second hand places can be a great source for painting equipment. You can often find brand new unused stuff that people never got around to using. You can get easels and painting equipment on Craigslist or Ebay too (be safe of course).

I will only buy synthetic artificial brushes or clearly second hand brushes that are made out of natural animal hair. I would never ever consider getting an animal brush new. Mr.2Artists likes some of the natural brushes so we get them second hand for him. I like to use the synthetic as much as possible. I like DickBlick also. They have a good safety and health materials for artists section of their website.

The artist I was apprenticed to in High School was very into the "Artist Beware" book and I think that that book does have some great info. There are a number of artist''s health and safety books and info out there. Some paints are safer than others. I think that it is really important crucial stuff to be aware of.

Other artists I have dealt with could care less about the health and safety aspects but I think that is a mistake. I have seen some artists who have some clear health problems from years of not caring about the safety of their materials. Not a pretty picture.

In addition to all the serious health stuff just have fun-creative projects are exciting. Check out Franz Kline-I love his abstract black and white paintings. His work was very carefully thought out and terribly exciting all at the same time. He was a masterful painter.
Have fun!

Mrs.2Artists

 

[Hera]

Something Shiny, how did it go? Do we get pics

 

[somethingshiny]

2Artists~ Thanks for the info. I will definitely look into some second hand stuff, too.

Hera~ I haven''t tried it yet. My little boy is having surgery on Monday, and he''ll need to stay down for about 2 weeks at home, so I figure then is when I''ll REALLY need something to do. We''re moving in the middle of Oct, so I''ve been packing up and getting an area ready to get messy!

 

[AdiS]

Oh that's exciting! You'll love it, I'm sure! Painting is the most relaxing and rewarding thing in the world IMO. I'm not a professional artist but I've been painting for years, oils mostly. It was love at first... well, brushstroke. I love everything about oils, even the drying that takes pretty much forever. You have gotten some really useful advice but I just thought of one thing I consider important-if you plan to draw on the canvas first, you'd better do it with a charcoal pencil, not graphite. By experience I should warn you that graphite tends to bleed through the paint at some point and become noticeable in the painting. Not a pretty sight. As for the brushes, I think every artist prefers a certain shape and uses it predominantly. I prefer round brush. I would recommend that you buy one of each shape and figure out which one suits you best.
I have to agree though that acrylics are the better choice when you're starting out. But don't disregard the oils completely! When you're a little more experienced I think you should try them. You never know-you just might be one of those people who are born to paint with oils... like me

Oh, and good luck to your boy!

 

[somehowcollide]

Date: 9/16/2008 4:13:25 PM
Author: 2Artists
Well I sure missed this post! You have already gotten lots of great advice. I think second hand places can be a great source for painting equipment. You can often find brand new unused stuff that people never got around to using. You can get easels and painting equipment on Craigslist or Ebay too (be safe of course).


I will only buy synthetic artificial brushes or clearly second hand brushes that are made out of natural animal hair. I would never ever consider getting an animal brush new. Mr.2Artists likes some of the natural brushes so we get them second hand for him. I like to use the synthetic as much as possible. I like DickBlick also. They have a good safety and health materials for artists section of their website.


The artist I was apprenticed to in High School was very into the ''Artist Beware'' book and I think that that book does have some great info. There are a number of artist''s health and safety books and info out there. Some paints are safer than others. I think that it is really important crucial stuff to be aware of.


Other artists I have dealt with could care less about the health and safety aspects but I think that is a mistake. I have seen some artists who have some clear health problems from years of not caring about the safety of their materials. Not a pretty picture.


In addition to all the serious health stuff just have fun-creative projects are exciting. Check out Franz Kline-I love his abstract black and white paintings. His work was very carefully thought out and terribly exciting all at the same time. He was a masterful painter.

Have fun!


Mrs.2Artists

Mrs.2Artists, I was waiting for either you or hubby to pop in! I look forward to your posts

 

[somethingshiny]

AdiS~ Thanks for the tip about not using graphite, I hadn''t even thought about that! I was wondering what shape brushes to get, too. Guess I should get a little variety pack. I love how people who paint are STILL loving it years later.

SDL~ Hi, sunshine! You should take a class, it would be so fun!! Maybe it would get your creative juices flowing for your writing, too.

 

[2Artists]

Awww you are so sweet somehowcollide !

I heart this thread too!

Having a creative outlet is so important and can really get you through some tough times.

It can be hard getting down to the business of creating art. I learned from Flylady to set a timer to help me focus. Even if it''s just 15 minutes at a time to get into the flow of things. Whether its a small chunk of time or a large chunk it really helps me. She says you can do anything for 15 minutes. It sounds kinda lame to admit I use a timer all the time to keep me on task but it really helps my artists brain and helps me with starting and stopping points. Whether it is mundane stuff or creative stuff it really helps my energy and focus.

Mrs.2Artists

 

[winternight]

I''d taking my second painting class in oils. I would recommend not using actual turpentine and getting the other stuff like Gamsol that they have out now, I think it will save you from alot of fumes. I just buy the stretched canvases that they have, I can''t imagine painting on paper, it seems like it would make things harder. Also, you can google the actual colors that Monet used and buy them. I got Rembrant paints and they seem really nice. Also do you have charcol to make sketches to work from? An easel? Anyways I''d love to hear updates. I''ve been to 4 or 5 painting classes so far and I love it. We''ve been focused on still lifes but we did one landscape class.

 

[somethingshiny]

Winternight~ I just googled some "artists paints", thanks for the idea. They''re more expensive, but they may be worth it.

SDL~ I hope for you, too!!