Quotation (29th March 2005)

Manet wanted one day to paint my wife and children. Renoir was there. He took a canvas and began painting them too. After a while, Manet took me aside and whispered, 'You're on very good terms with Renoir and take an interest in his future - do advise him to give up painting! You can see for yourself that it's not his métier at all.'

Claude Monet (1840-1926)
to Ambrose Vollard
Recollections of a Picture Dealer

Painting Trip To Venice

Robert
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I will be taking a short break for the next 3 weeks, on a painting trip to Venice. so the 'Tips of the Week' will be suspended until I get back.
Happy Painting!!

Oil Painting Tip Of The Week (27th March 2005)

Oil paints are generally available in two grades:
'Artist' (the best quality) and 'Student' (for beginners or sketching)

'Artist' quality paints are by far the best and offer a large range of colours. They have a high concentration of pigment which is very finely ground.

'Student' quality paints are much cheaper and the range of colours more limited. Some of the more expensive pigments are replaced by cheaper substitutes. They may also have a lower concentration of pigment and contain fillers, which in some case can reduce colour strength.

My advice would be to always buy the best you can afford.


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Watercolour Tip Of The Week (25th March 2005)

If you lose some of the 'lights' in your watercolours, one of the ways to
re-establish them is to use either pure white gouache or tinted white gouache.

Instead of this method, try using pastel pencils in several light colours. The advantage of pastels over gouache is that if the correction does not work, the pastel can easily be removed with a clean soft eraser.

Pastel pencils are made by several manufacturers, I use Conté and Derwent
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Oil Painting Tip Of The Week (20th March 2005)

Pochade
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For outdoor painting in oils, I use a small Pochade box.
(The word Pochade comes from the French, meaning ‘quick sketch’).

It is lightweight, compact and easily portable, and can be bought in varying sizes,

The one I use holds four 10”x 8” boards in the lid, approximately 8 tubes of paint, plenty of brushes, a palette knife’, a ‘dipper’ and a small bottle of turpentine and it’s overall dimensions are
11”x 9”x 9”.

There is a thumb hole in the base of the box so that it can be held like a palette, or you can rest it on your lap when seated.

If I want to work to a larger format, I also have a one which holds 10”x12” boards.

The Pochade enables me to carry all the equipment I need, easily.

Watercolour Tip Of The Week (18th March 2005)

As you progress and achieve more control with your watercolours, try increasing the ‘slope’ of your easel, letting the first ‘wet into wet’ washes run down the paper.

Try to place the different colour mixes in the areas where you want them but don’t worry too much about the diffusion that occurs or the accuracy of this first wash.

Gradually, over weeks or months, increase the ‘slope’ to approach the vertical.

Increasing the angle of the paper, enables the washes to maintain their translucency, and with aid of masking fluid in the initial preparation, the lights can be retained.

Quotation (15th March 2005)

‘I’ve taken up art’

‘Why?’

‘Well, since the opposite of art is insensibility, a life that is mute, formless, unexpressed, emptily repetitive, vacuous routine with failure of creativity and…’

‘Good grief! Chuck me some clay!’


Hargreaves
Hayseeds cartoon strip

Oil Painting Tip Of The Week (13th March 2005)

With so many brushes on the market these days, it can be a little confusing as to which ones to use when starting to paint with oils.

Each brush is designed to make a different mark, so before deciding which ones to select, you need to know what type of effect you wish to achieve.

Rounds & Flats are the most useful, as they are quite versatile. You could add other types, such as Brights & Filberts at a later time.

When you have decided on the type of brush you want to use, you can then choose the quality.

My advice would be to buy the best quality you can afford, as they will hold the paint and produce better 'marks' than cheaper ones. Also, the better the quality, the longer the life of the brush in my experience.

My choice of brushes shown from left to right:

No. 4 Hog's hair Flat
No. 3 Hog's hair Filbert
No. 5 Pro Arte synthetic Flat
No. 3 Pro Arte synthetic Filbert
No. 2 Pro Arte synthetic Round
No. 2 Pro Arte series 202 Acrylix Round
No. 1 Pro Arte series 203 Rigger
Small Maimeri palette knife
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Watercolour Tip Of The Week (11th March 2005)

If your preferred method of working is using 'wet in wet' washes initially, then developing the painting by glazing 'wet over dry', try using transparent colours.

I would suggest the following:

Raw Sienna, Aurelin
Burnt Sienna, Permanent Magenta
Permanent Rose, Cobalt Blue
Cerulean Blue, Ultra Marine Blue
Viridian, *Cobalt Violet

Cobalt Violet is not actually transparent, but granular and slightly opaque by nature, but I find it irresistible!
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Workshop at Pickering

Thanks to all who attended the Workshop at Pickering on Sunday (6th March). This is my completed demonstration painting. I hope you enjoyed the day, any queries, just Email or phone.
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Quotation (8th March 2005)

"Another enemy made!"

John Singer Sargent (1856-1925)
As he sent off a finished portrait.

Oil Painting Tip Of The Week (6th March 2005)

We all know how frustrating it can be when an oil painting doesn't dry fast enough.
Sometimes, in the damp winter months, it can take weeks for a painting to dry! Now, however, I use Titanium White Griffin Alkyd by Winsor & Newton to assist the drying process.
Alkyd can be fully intermixed with traditional oil paints even in very small amounts, to achieve a fully dry painting, in one to two days, in any conditions.

Watercolour Tip Of The Week (4th March 2005)

Masking Fluid can be used to retain the 'lights', whilst adopting a 'Wet-into-Wet' method of painting.
I apply Masking Fluid with a No.2 round synthetic brush for larger areas. An old calligraphy dip pen, I have had since my apprentice days as a draughtsman, is useful when masking out details, such as rigging on ships or the 'twiggy' areas of trees.
I wash the masking fluid from the brush at regular intervals throughout its application, to prevent the solution setting on the brush.
The Masking Fluid must be applied accurately if the results are to be successful.


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Quotation (1st March 2005)

"Do not imagine that Art is something which is designed to give gentle uplift and self-confidence. Art is not a brassiere. At least, not in the English sense. But do not forget that brassiere is the French for life-jacket"
Julian Barnes (1946)
Flaubert's Parrot

Oil Painting Tip Of The Week (27th February 2005)

If you are a beginner to Oils, or even a more experienced painter, try experimenting with a limited palette of three primary colours and white.
This method reduces the risk of producing 'muddy' colours and tests your ability to mix many subtle colour ways.
My suggestions would be: Titanium White, Ultramarine Blue, Cadmium Scarlet, Cadmium Yellow Light or Medium.