Tips For Mixing Oil Paints By Annette Labedzki

Oil Painting dates back to the ancient Roman times. In the ancient times, most of the Cave Paintings were done using Oil Paints only, though the art form and its techniques evolved with time. One of the oldest mediums of Painting, Oil Paint has been able to deliver optimally beautiful results. The trend continues even today and selling Oil Paintings is a big business to be in.

No doubt, Oil Paints have been able to make their mark quite well in the world of art. In fact, when we say painting it is an artwork of Oil Paints we are usually referring to. Oil Painting is all about striking the right mix of colors and their proportionate application on the Canvas. Most artists may though initially get frustrated with the output, if they are not able to mix the right colors. Mixing Oil Paints requires certain amount of understanding of the way, the colors work.

Choice of a color by an artist is a personal decision, depending upon the purpose of the painting and the mood of the artist. Sometimes artists use colors to arouse emotions, or simply because they like certain color (s). Utmost care however, should be taken so that the colors do not conflict with the basic theme of the Oil Painting. This is where a Color Wheel comes in as a savior.

A Color Wheel has six basic colors, which include Primary Colors, Red, Blue, & Yellow, and Secondary Colors, Green, Orange, & Purple. The Color Wheel has extra "in-between" colors as well, that are the blends of these basic colors. The in-between colors are called Tertiary Colors. Now, here are the tips for mixing Oil Paints:

• Primary Colors. Pick the Primary Colors i.e., Blue, Red, and Yellow, as base colors. As long as you have these colors, you can mix any color you want.
• Mixing Oil Paints. Mix these Primary Colors in the Palette and make sure that they are evenly mixed.
• Black & White. Make different shades and tints from these colors by adding Black and White respectively. Using too much of Black or White though, can take away the vividness of hues.
• Thinning. Now mix Turpentine or Artist Grade Mineral Spirits to create thin and fast drying Oil Paints. Thinning gives a fine wash and a transparent touch to Oil Paints. The use of Mineral Spirits is generally preferred, as they are less flammable in comparison to Turpentine.
• Texturing. Finally, change the texture of the Oil Paint by using Sand, Plaster, or Sawdust. It is done to thicken the paint.

Some of the accessory basic tips for mixing Oil Paints are:

• Palette. Keep your Palette clean and organized, in order to avoid undesirable shades from mixing up.
• Brush. Clean the Paint Brush before mixing any different color, again to avoid undesirable mixing ups.
• Pigments. Be careful while using Pigments such as, Cadmium, as they are toxic.
• Hues. Look out for Hues, as they are not the true Pigments and do not mix with the Oil Paints like them.
• Patience. Be patient while mixing Oil Paints, and follow the above given steps carefully.

Annette Labedzki received her BFA at the Emily Carr College of Art and Design in Vancouver, B.C. Canada. She has more than 25 years experience. She is the founder and developer of an online art gallery featuring original art from all over the world. It is a great site for art collectors to buy original art. Is is also a venue for artists to display and sell their art . Artists can join for free and their image upload is unlimited. Please visit the website at http://www.labedzki-art.com

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The world offers a lot of gorgeous things to everyone's eyes. As for photographers, they are obliged to capture this magnificent scenery and share it to the whole world without expecting anything in return. But like everything else, in the growing number of photographers competition is inevitable. What will you do, as a photographer to shine among the multitude of shutters and lighting? The internet offers hundreds of photo contest sites that allow users to post their work and let people vote which they think stands out from the rest. Photography is unlikely thing to many, but to some whose passion is in the art, joining online photo contest is the fastest way to get noticed.

There are several types of picture contests: baby photo contests, amateur photo contests, and wildlife photo contests. Picture contest is free to all as long as you let live the artist in you. Whether amateurs, professionals or just sharing your shots with other photography lovers, entering a photography contest might be a wonderful way to express devotion with your hobby. I have seen a lot of very good photos when I searched the internet for photography contest. Some are just good memories caught on camera, some are of grief, friendship and some are tear jerkers. Though at first glance, some pictures are not quite of an eye catcher but if you look closely, the pictures taken are very difficult. Pictures like lightning, a clear photo underwater, or even birds at close up. You will spend at least an hour to shoot a clear view, but photographers are killing their time just to take a good photo of their interest and that is something worth of a recognition. Very rewarding indeed!

Entering a photo competition is fast and easy compared to other online contests. Have your name, your website and of course your photo and you are in. The best thing for in photo competition is having your work posted in the site along with other entries, whether you win or lose you will get the opportunity to share your photos with others for feedbacks and comments to further improve your skills for future contests. For starters, it will be better to join photo contests with free registration. There are more enough contests that does not require entry fees and since your are just starting, its better to gain enough exposure first and learn more experience before getting down to expensive picture contests. Some free entry photo competition give small cash prizes, but win or lose you can get experience and exposure at the same time.

Here are some quick tips to help you win photography competitions (by Photo Critic):

1 - Stick to the topic

2 - Know the rules

3 - Keep it simple

4 - Tell a powerful story

5 - Technical perfection in pair with strong vision

6 - The X factor

And the final tip... Develop your own style

Whether photography or something else, the most important thing is you are having fun on what you do. If you enjoy your work, success will come in lightly.

About the Author

James D. Humphrey is one of the developers and sales executive of Photo laureates. The site's photo contest provide a platform of artistic expression for amateur and professional photographers to gain exposure and recognition.

The 10 Most Popular Artists in History and the Art Supplies They Used by David H. Urmann

If one were to study the history of art, he would be introduced to the top ten artists as well as the chosen style and genre of each one. Also, he would have a good idea of the supplies that were used by each artist in creating his works.

Below is a list of the ten most popular artists in history and a general overview of the supplies they used.

Considered as a monumental figure of the Golden Age of Holland, Rembrandt Van Rijn is known as an artist that can expertly capture human mood and gesture in his portraits. His most famous works involve scenes of biblical and mythological events and characters. Through his masterpiece "The Nightwatch", Rembrandt has presented the pinnacle of his own artistic language. Being a painter and an etcher, he made use of different types of brushes, paint, and pieces of canvas.

Georgia O'Keefe, a product of the Art Institute of Chicago and the Art Student's League of New York, stands as one of the founders of emotional representation through stylized representation. She is most well known for her trademark series of cattle bones and southwestern landscapes. Various types of brushes, paint, and canvas were used by O'Keefe in her paintings.

Wassily Kandinsky, a lawyer by profession, started to take up painting in his 30's. Beginning with pointillist techniques, he then shifted to abstract representations of music as well as internal feelings. His style would later be known as abstract expressionism. In creating his paintings, he used pencils and paintbrushes and a wide array of paint.

Henri Matisse, a painter and a sculptor, is another famous artist who is best known as the father of fauvism. This term comes from the French word "fauve", which means "wild beast". Although considered by critics as bestial, Matisse's work, including the popular "The Dance" showed his ingenious use of color and shape. Sculpting tools as well as paintbrushes and pieces of canvas were the common art supplies utilized by Matisse in his time.

"I am surrealism" were the famous words of artist Salvador Dali. His famous works depicted intricate and oftentimes frightening dreamscapes which had distorted figures, double images, and insects. With regard to his art supplies, aside from the brush and canvas, he made use of sculpting tools as he is also a known sculptor.

Known as the premier pop artist, Andy Warhol gained much recognition for his works which involved painting, film, and silk screening. In contrast to other artists who created images of nature and historical events, Warhol focused on making pictures of soup cans, bottles of beverages, and celebrities. His art supplies consisted of stencils, brushes, and different types of paint.

Claude Monet is considered as one of the founders of impressionism, a style which, at his time, was revolutionary. This style gave emphasis to visible brush strokes and the dominance of color and light over line. His masterpiece "Impression: Sunrise", from which the term impressionism was derived, shocked his French fellowmen. Canvas, brush, and various shades of paint were his supplies in creating his works.

Regarded by many as one of the most universally gifted persons in history, Leonardo da Vinci created numerous Renaissance paintings. But apart from being an exceptional painter, he also showed his genius as a sculptor, philosopher, musician, scientist, inventor, and engineer. As a painter, he made use of several types of brushes and canvas. Also, he used a set of sculpting tools for his sculptures.

Creating around 840 paintings and one thousand drawings, Vincent Van Gogh is considered by many to be one of the most accomplished artists in history. He invented his own style of expressive brush strokes and vivid colors through carefully examining genres such as Dutch realism. Van Gogh utilized various paintbrushes, paint, and canvas for his paintings and several pencils and paper for his drawings.

As the founder of cubism and one of the most versatile artists in history, Pablo Picasso has created paintings, prints, and sculptures within his 70-year career. His most renowned works include Les Demoiselles d'avignon, which perfectly demonstrated his style of cubism. As a painter and sculptor, Picasso made use of tools as well as brushes and canvas.

About the Author

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Introduction to Oil Painting Techniques by Ralph Serpe

Introduction to Oil Painting Techniques by Ralph Serpe

Oil paint is an amazing versatile medium. It can be applied in a thick buttery fashion or thinned down to a watery consistency. This versatility opens the door to a number of different painting techniques.

My personal preference is to begin my oil paintings by first sketching out the composition using acrylic paint or with water-soluble oil paints. The popular approach to oil painting is to thin the paint with turpentine to apply your initial layers. Turpentine is quite toxic and I prefer not to work with it. Acrylic or water-soluble oil paints can be thinned down with plain old water and are more pleasant to work with in my opinion.

You can also begin your oil painting by first drawing out your composition. There are a few drawing mediums that work quite nicely with oil paints. My two favorites are vine charcoal and water-soluble pencils. I prefer vine charcoal because it doesn't smudge like other charcoals and it can be erased easier. Water-soluble pencils are wonderful because they can be applied like ordinary colored pencils and can also be dampened with a brush allowing you to spread out the color.

If you are the impatient type, you may want to try your hand at the Alla Prima oil painting technique. The Alla Prima method is when you complete the painting in one sitting rather than paint in layers and wait for the paint to dry. Although I usually prefer to work out my paintings in layers, I occasionally enjoy this exciting and spontaneous approach to oil painting.

If you are the careful, patient type of painter, you may be interested in working with glazes. Glazing has lost popularity these days, partly because of the time needed to complete such a painting and it's difficulty, but the results are something truly unique to any other type of painting technique. The composition is first painted with an opaque monochrome underpainting, usually in shades of gray. After this initial underpainting is thoroughly dry, thin layers of transparent oil glazes are applied. Colors are not mixed directly but added in separate layers to get the desired color.

If you are the adventurous type, put the brushes aside and try a set of painting or palette knives. You can achieve some very interesting results with knives that aren't possible with brushes. The oil paint can be spread on thickly and scraped off with ease. What I enjoy most about using knives is the tendency to not focus on the small details. I am forced to paint in a more relaxed fashion that creates an impressionist style painting. Get yourself a set of painting knives and try to complete an entire painting with just the knives. It's challenging at first if you are used to brushes, but it's an enjoyable exercise.

Perhaps you would like your painting to have more body and texture. You could try the impasto technique and apply your paint in thick heavy strokes, leaving evidence of all those wonderfully artistic brush strokes. Take a look at a Van Gogh painting and you will see this technique in action.

It's really no wonder why oil painting is such a popular choice for painters. There is so much to discover in oil painting. You will never get bored trying out all the wonderful tools, mediums and techniques.

 
About the Author: For more oil painting techniques, including free step-by-step demonstrations from experienced oil painters, head over to http://www.creativespotlite.com/oil-painting-lessons.htm today.

 

How to Care for a New Oil Painting by Marc Eliuk

When purchasing or obtaining a freshly painted oil painting, it is very likely that it has not truly "dried" yet. Oil paints can take between a few months to a year to "dry" despite feeling dry to touch. Therefore, let's make a distinction between these two states of dryness:

Dry: being dry to physically touch (taking a week to a month).

Cured: being dried chemically (taking several months to a year).

Although determining if an oil painting is physically "dry" or not, is relatively easy; however, determining if an oil painting is "cured," is a little trickier. Provided that the painting is dry to touch, there are a four major considerations in caring for your painting:

1. Uncured paintings are damaged more easily, especially in the early stages of curing. In the early stages of curing only, you can physically feel the difference between a cured painting and an uncured one, as the uncured painting will feel, "soft" almost rubbery. (Please don't test this by running your fingers across a new painting that you intend to keep, the painting is very susceptible to damage, even rubbing off color if the painting has just dried). Therefore, keep in mind that you want to protect your painting from being scratched, rubbed against, or from rubbing off color (such as touching or using a regular cloth). When dusting any painting, use a soft cloth, feather duster or lightly forced air to dust with as paintings can still be scratched after they have cured.

2. Oil paintings require oxygen to cure. Oil paints cure through oxidation, and how you store the painting will make a difference in curing times. Therefore, closing it in a case with no ventilation, or placing it right up against a sheet of glass when framing, will greatly slow your curing times. If you wish to use glass with a frame, ensure that you have at least 1.5 cm or about ½ inch of air between the glass and the painting. This might slow your curing time but it will at least cure and protect it from being scratched.

3. Uncured oil paintings can be light or dark sensitive. Since curing an oil painting is a chemical process, some pigments will react to extremes in lighting. As with any painting, avoid hanging it in sunlight or near bright halogen lights as it will fade; however, only during the curing period (of up to a year) should you avoid keeping it in the dark all the time. From experience, I've found that keeping a freshly painted oil painting in a dark room for the curing process caused the white pigment to yellow. The closer the painting is to being cured, the less dark sensitive it will be; therefore, when it is cured, it is no longer dark sensitive and no longer an issue..

4. Never use any varnish or any liquids of any kind (at least) until it is cured. During the curing time, or the first year to be safe, leave the painting alone from anything liquid. Liquids of any kind, especially solvents can react, even ruin your oil painting, even when cured. Please research the topic thoroughly on items to use in protecting your oil paintings, and do not test them out on your painting until after they have cured. Keep in mind that some chemicals will still react with a cured oil painting or soften the oils and ruin your painting.

Finally, keep in mind that with proper care, an oil painting will virtually last forever. Photos typically will not, even acid free photo paper will eventually age, oxidize and become brittle over time. With care, oil paintings can remain pristine for centuries and hopefully become family treasures to be passed onto your descendants.

About the Author:

 

If you have an interest in creating family heirlooms in the form of oil paintings, or are interested in learning more about the accomplishments of the author, please visit my website: www.artzmark.com

 

The Expressionist Art Movement by Kirsty Semple

Expressionism was an artistic style which grew like a rose out of the soil of the late 19th early 20th century society. Originating in Germany and Austria and following the anti-authority thinking of people such as Freud, Nietzsche and Dostoyevsky, the expressionist movement focused on the expression of inner experience and emotion. It was less concerned with the reality of what a subject looked like and expressed the artist’s emotional reaction to it.

Expressionist paintings can often be characterised by distorted forms drawn in bold colours and two dimensions, without perspective. But always sought to depict intense emotion and was always strongly subjective. Often the images were full of angst such as Edvard Munch’s The Scream, or the latter paintings of Vincent and Gough such as The Starry Night.

Around the time of World War II the expressionist art movement had migrated to the shores of America. Indeed, it was the artists of this time which established New York as a place of importance in the art world. It has been said that expressionism was a precursor to surrealism and influenced artists such as Dali.

A huge part of the movement in America became abstract expressionism, characterized by dripping paint onto the canvas. One of the most famous of the abstract expressionist painters of this period was Jackson Pollock.

Interestingly the artists pioneering this movement never described themselves as expressionists, it was a label given to them, and as an artistic style is still very much alive today within the work of many contemporary painters.

I myself use this style because I draw musicians. Music itself is an embodiment of the inner emotional experience and with my art I seek to express this subjective image. Expression of emotion through music is something I try to capture in drawings and I can think of no better artistic style with which to achieve this than the expressionist one which provides me with all the tools I need to depict the exquisite passion, soulful blues and poignant heartache expressed by the true musician.

About the Author: To view my art visit me here: http://www.squidoo.com/moonshine-art

Interactive Art Installation for Art Exhibition Promotion by Antonia Marino

There are so many art exhibitions around that it is essential to make your exhibition stand out from the crowd. One way to achieve this is by having a drawcard to attract visitors. An interesting and successful idea is to create an interactive art installation at the venue to entice visitors into the exhibition and to engage them with participation.

An interactive art installation is usually a large sculptural piece specifically created for the event which the audience can use, play with, interact with, influence, solve and/or manipulate in some way. Their participation allows them to experience a result of some kind. This adds an additional dimension to their exhibition experience and is particularly successful if your installation is unique, fun, challenging or enlightening in some way.

When designing your art installation consider the overall theme of your exhibition, your intended target market, and the available facilities at the exhibition venue.

Exhibition Theme

It is important to make your art installation and art exhibition theme cohesive. If your audience cannot see a logical connection between them your drawcard may not be as successful. Therefore give plenty of consideration to this aspect of your idea. For example, if your exhibition theme is ‘Urban Landscape”, choose an industrial type installation using inorganic materials, hard shapes and modern fittings.

Other questions to ask yourself when designing your art installation are the possible results of audience participation. Do you want them to have a unique experience, or a pre-determined answer? Are you trying to make a statement, tell a message relating to your theme, or do you want your audience to come up with their own conclusions? These questions will help you to refine your idea and create a installation that best suits your exhibition.

Target Market

Tailor-make your art installation to your target market for maximum success. This is important in all areas of business marketing and your art exhibition should be no exception. A target market is usually defined as demographics such as age, gender, geography and socio-economic group.

If your audience is predominantly young middle class college students, your installation should be young, fresh, innovative and modern. On the other hand, if your target market is mainly elderly, upper class art investors you would approach both the exhibition and your art installation in a totally different way. Ask the venue what their customer demographics are in order to give yourself the best start.

Exhibition Venue

When creating your art installation it is very important to consider the venue in every aspect of the design. Visit the exhibition space and plan out the shape and size of the area available to you. Take lots of photographs, capturing every angle. Use a long retractable tape measure to take measurements of the room, noting the dimensions of the walls, including ceiling to floor height. Measure and record the size and locations of all doorways, windows, pillars, permanent light fixtures and electrical sockets. Take particular note of the main entrance way and how the audience will move around the installation.

Finally, ask the venue what resources they have on site, such as ladders, plinths, partitions and portable lighting. These will come in handy for your installation, and may cut down construction or display costs. Whether you are using props and equipment belong to the venue, supplying your own, or hiring them, ensure they are safe to use. This is particularly important if using electrical appliances such as portable lighting. Your audience safety and well-being is paramount.

An interactive art installation can become a value asset to your next art exhibition by making it stand out from the crowd. With just a few important design considerations you can maximise its promotional potential and make your exhibition a huge success.