How I Package and Ship Small Paintings
For the past few years now I've been selling small paintings on Etsy and shipping them out myself and I've had to figure out the best way to pack them safely so they don't arrive damaged in any way. I use the USPS free flat rate boxes - usually the Medium size - as these allow for extra room around the painting for padding, in case the box gets stepped on or dropped the painting won't be touched.
How I Plant Trees by Searching the Web
It's quite evident from most of my paintings that I love trees and being in the forest. I didn't discover this love until I started creating art on a regular basis and could see that naturally, I liked to draw and paint trees. So it only made sense that when I stumbled upon Ecosia that I had to make a change.
Visiting the Laguna Art Museum in Laguna Beach
I spent two full days in the Laguna Beach area recently to visit with family and I was also able to visit the Irvine Museum as well as the Laguna Art Museum and do some exploring around Heisler Park in Laguna Beach. Spending a good part of one day at the beach, I was able to explore the details of the shore and study the nuances of the ocean, waves and reflections as the day went on. My appreciation for the ocean and rocky shores grew very much on this trip as well as inspiration and ideas for future paintings.
Gamvar Varnish and Acrylic Paintings
After I wrote a recent post about Varnishing Oil Paintings with Gamblin Gamvar, I received some questions regarding how to varnish acrylic paintings. I don't really work with acrylics anymore but I do have some acrylic paintings laying around from a few years ago. So, I decided to experiment with a small painting - my first still life painted from life. On Gamblin's site it states that Gamvar can be used on oil and acrylic paintings and that Gamvar can be easily removed with Gamsol in the future when needed.
Varnishing Oil Paintings with Gamblin Gamvar
In the last few days I've been varnishing all of the paintings I've done in the last one and half years since I began using oil paints. Most of the paintings are small in size, 6x8s or 5x7s but I also have some 12x16s - and just recently within the past month or two I've begun painting larger - 18x24, 20x20, and 24x36. But I started out only varnishing the smaller paintings because I wasn't sure how to go about it.. and the reason is because if you search "varnishing oil paintings" online, you will come across so many different explanations and solutions and problems that you will cry and never want to ever varnish your paintings. But since I don't want you to cry, I will share with you my process of varnishing my oil paintings with Gamblin's Gamvar.
What I Learned from Copying a John Singer Sargent Painting
At the end of May, I took a vacation out to the east coast to visit my family and while I was there I was able to go to Washington DC and check out the National Gallery of Art for the first time and saying it was amazing is an understatement. You can check out some footage I filmed while in the museum here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YV7qwJzaZOQ
After returning home, my girlfriend decided she wanted a print of one of the Sargent paintings she fell in love with and saw at the museum, so we surfed the net and couldn't find any good prints of this painting unfortunately. I suggested that I could attempt to paint it since I had been wanting to paint something larger. This way, she gets what she wants to some extent and I get to learn from attempting to copy a Sargent - win-win situation.
Oil Painting Clean Up - My Process
When painting with oils, I usually use Gamsol Odorless Mineral Spirits [or Eco-Solve] in a Silicoil Brush Cleaning Tank to occasionally clean off my brush to apply fresh color to the painting I'm working on.
Transitioning from Acrylics to Oils
My transition from acrylics to oils was at times frustrating and a bit awkward but in the end it was a natural transition that was necessary for the way I paint and for taking my art to the next level.
Understanding Light & Shadow - A Painter’s Perspective
The main point of this post is to discuss shadows and their temperature, color & other aspects in order to achieve a realistic image. A general guideline that has been talked about for years is "Warm light, cool shadows or Cool light, warms shadows".
Still Life Painting Experiment with Light Temperature
I painted the same still life 5 times with different lighting and canvas sizes. I probably could've painted this with more drastic changes, such as moving the light source to the right, etc.. but I felt these subtleties would be more interesting and consistent.
Creating Paintings with Life Using Variation
Lately, I've been enjoying experimenting with my painting but at the same time honing in on a style or something close to it - some consistency at least. I wanted to take a few minutes and demonstrate some points with my recent works.
My First Time Trying OPEN Acrylics
Slow-drying acrylic paints. I have been using Golden paints for a few years now and have found them to be of exceptional quality. The Open Acrylics are a bit expensive, but luckily I purchased mine from the UC Davis University Store where most of their paints and supplies are 30% cheaper than other stores - so, for 4 tubes of paint it was around $34. They will last me quite a while though so it is worth it.
Less is More - Focus on What Matters, Not This..
I recently posted a video on my YouTube channel [here] addressing a subscriber's question dealing with creating a painting with less detail. It's questions like these that keep me on my toes and make me contemplate the madness behind my painting.
How to Key a Painting Using Value Structures
Keying a painting deals mainly with value [black and white], although it can also deal with color. But for now, I'm only going to discuss it in terms of value. Basically, keying a painting is determining which sets of values you are going to use throughout your work.
Escaping the Grip of Artist’s Block
Choose a subject you are interested in, otherwise it won't seem fun to paint - it will be uninspired and feel like a chore. If you are unsure of what interests you, then you have some self-exploration to do.