Tuesday, May 31, 2011

How to Critique a Painting

here are some ideas how to critique your own painting after you are working on it, or it is finished :

Although these suggestions will come in handy, remember that a critisim is subjective to the person personally. What you may like or dislike, can very well be different than another's opinion.
  1.  Step 1:
Lay aside the painting for at least a week. The longer you wait, the more details you'll catch in your critique. When evaluating the work of other artists, prepare a checklist to make sure you don't miss an important aspect of the painting .
  1. Step 2

Assess your gut response to the picture. This guides your critique because, in the end, it's the most important thing about an art work. Accept that you ma ynot like the images but find other aspects of the work excellent.

  1. Step 3

Spend a few minutes taking the picture in without judging. This is like reviewing the contents of a textbook before reading it. It heightens your awareness of the details and prepares you to examine each one to see how they all fit together.

  1. Step 4

Identify the strongest areas of the painting. This gives you something positive to start with. That can be especially important when you're critiquing a friend's work.

  1. Step 5

Consider the painting's title, if it has one. This helps in deciding if the artist managed to create unity between what was in his mind and what he's communicating in the picture.

  1. Step 6

Notice how your eye travels across the canvas. A painting full of tiny details should make you pause slightly at each one. Long strokes and harmonious colors cause your gaze to sweep down the picture. Consider how this fits in with the subject matter.

  1. Step 7

Concentrate on the color scheme. Consider the subject before deciding the colors clash.  suffering , For instance: vivid reds, yellows and oranges stimulate rather than relax.

  1. Step 8

Critique the painting's weakest spots last.

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

SOME PAINTING TIPS

                                                 MIXING COLORS 

Some artists like to mix colors as they go along; others premix the colors they think they are going to use before they begin the painting session. It is a concept that mixing as you go along breaks the momentum.

Titanium white should always be put out in a generous amount, as most colors used will use this as a mix.

Avoid contaminating the dark colors and the light colors.  Keep the blacks and browns no where near the whites and yellows on the palette.

Best idea to mix colors with a palette knife (especially for large areas). This will not saturate the brush with color. If you use the brush to mix color, do it with the tip of the brush.

Understanding Color Terms:

  1. Hue:  describes color, such as red, blue, yellow or green.
  2. Chroma: the intensity of color. A pure color like Cadmium Orange is a high Chroma orange, while Burnt Sienna is a low color Orange.
  3.  Value: The range between dark and light. White is the lightest value, black is the darkest value. If you adjust the hue of the color, you change its chroma and value. If you adjust value of the color, you change the hue and chroma.  All 3 properties are inter-related.
4. Distance: Colors and values soften as the distance increases, as well as size and clarity.

                                SOME STUDIO TIPS

  1. Stand back from the painting as you paint (every 10-15 minutes)
  2. Keep it convenient : Keep everything you will need for the painting session at your finger-tips
  3. Good light source
  4. Good Ventilation
  5. Studio Furniture (easel,table,bookcase that has sources, etc)

                                     UNDER PAINTING

Use a brayer to apply an under color texture. First tint the canvas with a glowing color- then use the brayer to create texture by rolling it back and forth.


                                     SUNSET SKIES

In most landscape paintings, the sky is the most distant element in the painting, lending almost infinite depth and distance to the scene and bringing everything else forward.

When painting the strong values and colors of a sunset, place the most vibrant colors first.  Keep these colors as clean as possible to keep their vibrancy and build the deeper values and shadows. Don’t overwork them. Keep colors pure.

Exercise:
  1. Coat a canvas with orange paint. Let dry completely. Use a wide brush or foam brush.
  2. Draw in areas that will be the blue sky.
  3. Block in the blue sky. (Use a bristle brush). (Mix blue with white)
  4. Darken the upper sky with more blue.
  5. Add color to the clouds (Yellows AND ORANGE LIGHT).
  6. Block in Red Clouds (Small flat brush) (mix with yellows and oranges).
  7. Soften and blend edges (wipe your brush often on a soft paper towel)---blend the yellow edges with the red. Leave a lot of bright yellow showing along the edges of the red.
  8. Deepen cloud values. (Use Thalo blue and Violet)
  9. Enrich horizon colors with violet and white

                               PAINTING A SCENE FROM A PHOTO

When you paint a scene from a photo, ask yourself “What do I see in this photo that makes me want to paint it?” Use index cards that make windows for the photo to block out areas of interest as you move the cards around. Do these until you come to a resolution of the best cropped image possible. This is called framing the photo.

Build color as you go along. Start with a magenta or violet to sketch the images in on the canvas. Decide where the light is coming from- those will be the lighter areas of the canvas. As you go along, add shadows and darker colors- always blending the colors to soften the image. Finally add the details.

Use photos as resources. A less than perfect photo can be turned into part of a painting, or part of a photo into an whole painting.

                            PAINTING WATER

Think of water’s surface as a bunch of colored shapes.
  1. Block in colors
  2. Lay down ripple pattern
  3. Add more gradation
  4. Add highlights
  5. Add final touches

                     PAINTING SNOW

Snow scenes are great subjects for painting because of the extraordinary quality of light.

1. Sketch a thumbnail (from photo?)
2. Block in shadows
3. Add more subtle shadows
4. Add details (birds, houses etc in picture)

http://paintingsbylinda.net/

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

COMMENT FROM KATHRYN WILLIS-LANDSCAPE ARTIST

CHECK OUT THIS COMMENT ABOUT USING PHOTOGRAPHS FROM KATHRYN WILLIS. HER BLOG ADDRESS IS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE ARTICLE. KATHRYN PAINTS WONDERFUL LANDSCAPES OF THE SOUTH WEST.

I RESPONDED TO HER BLOG STATING MY TECHNIQUE FOR PAINTING (USING MAINLY ACRYLICS AND PHOTOS AS MY MAIN SOURCE).  SO INTERESTING TO SEE HOW DIFFERENT ARTISTS HANDLE PAINTING AND WHAT WORKS BEST FOR THEM.

Hi Linda, Thanks so much for your comments. I don't paint in acrylics, however I think using the palette knife with oils retains the bright color.
I normally like to start my paintings from life because my goal is to capture my experience of the place or subject that I'm painting. I feel that I get a better idea of the colors that I want to use, and because my eyes make the choices of what I want to include in the painting. Also, the impression formed from being part of the place and focused directly on the subject is more firmly implanted in my memory. Sometimes I'm not happy with the painting when I get back to the studio, but the memory of what I'm striving for is in my head. I do take photos for reference, and often use them in the studio to continue working on a paintingor to expand into another painting. The photos are an important tool in painting, but usually not the first impression that I want to put down. As you say the photo often provides more detail, but in my painting I'm trying to avoid putting too much detail. Many times the photo also changes the perspective that I see in the life situation.
I signed up on your blog and will be interested to more of your work, and the different artists you are featuring. Thanks, Kathy Willis

Kathryn Willis commented on:
Celebrating Sixty. Painting #23. Lake Powell Evening
http://kathrynwillisart.com/blog/30808/celebrating-sixty-painting-23-lake-powell-evening

Thursday, May 12, 2011

Works in Progress - UFT Painting Class

I posted a finished product of one of my students from the UFT Painting class that I instruct. Here are a few more pictures of some of the students producing their paintings. Note how each style is unique to each artist. Many of these artists are novice, having only painted a short time. I am so impressed with thier progress. We are in the third sesmester of this class which meets for 8 sessions a term, twice a year, totalling 16 sessions in all. Not only is it a fun 2 hours each time, it is a pleasure working with these lovely ladies.

view of some of the Artists at work


Audrey Leff with her lighthouse painting in progress


Cathy Yeung with her very first painting a la Monet

Donna Ritner painting her interpretation of Hopper


Enid Weinstein showing her unique style in a landscape


Saturday, May 7, 2011

FIRST FINISHED PAINTING FROM ART CLASS-SPRING 2011


FIRST FINISHED PAINTING FROM ART CLASS-SPRING 2011:

This is the first finished painting from "Acrylic Painting" Art class from one of my students, for the Spring Term of 2011.    This class is comprised of retired New York City teachers and their spouses. It is run through the United Federation of Teachers. The branch that I instruct is located in Manalapan, New Jersey.      

Toby Brickner created her Acrylic Painting in class. She titled her painting  "A View From the  Kitchen."  This painting was created before my eyes totally from Toby's head, without  looking at anything.   Note the bold cheerful colors, and beautiful treatment of the textures and patterns that Toby incorporated into her painting.  The textures vary from the treatment of the flowers and the lovely transparent curtains.  The pattern on the tablecloth is also very bold.  Toby is a third sesmester student in the class.  The style is very "Matisse".

                                                            "A View from the Kitchen"
                                                                   Toby Brickner

                                                                                           

                                                                                                    
WRITTEN BY LINDA GILBERT
http://www.paintingsbylinda.net/

Sunday, May 1, 2011

new exhibit at the Gourgaud Gallery

Check out the Gourgaud Gallery blog:
The Gourgaud Gallery: TWO SISTERS-May Exhibit at Gourgaud Gallery
http://gourgaudgallery.blogspot.com/
a wonderful new show at the Gourgaud Gallery-Month of May