Tips

I’m delighted to say that I’m attending a seminar this week. I needed the shot-in-the-arm! Every time I attend one of these things, it brings home the fact that so much of painting has to do with the accumulation of tips. Here are a few helpful tips I’ve learned over the years. Sometimes they make the difference between a frustrating experience and finding my way through of a problem.

If you’re having difficulty drawing, try closing one eye. When drawing a face or figure, a few nanometers one way or the other can distort the final image. Viewing with only one eye helps flatten perception and prevent the spacial shift that comes with two eyed vision. (Use both eyes when evaluating color or value). Also, don’t forget the other two simple techniques for accuracy: 1) visually measure with your arm extended and 2) drop a vertical line to be sure things align as they should.

Look at your painting’s reverse image. When checking your work, you can see it with fresh eyes if you view it using a mirror. This helps us evaluate our work as if it belonged to someone else. If a mirror isn’t handy, turn your painting upside down.

Use a value scale. A value scale helps remind us how dark a number ten value actually is! We may think we are using the entire value range but in reality we are not.

Note the direction and intensity of the light source. If the light source is strong, you have the perfect excuse to plow in the reflected light and color. In addition, the edge of shadows should track to the light source.

And finally, don’t forget to use more than one color in any one area. The mark of a real beginner is someone who, when painting a red shirt, paints it all the same red. They may simply shift the values without shifting the color, or in the case of oil colors, simply add black. At a minimum, everything in life is color impacted by what ever is adjacent to the object and the color temperature of the light. At least slide in a few analogous colors for energy and life.

That’s it for now. Please add the tips you’ve found helpful here.

I’m off to pick up a few more tips. (It’s a tough job but somebody’s got to do it.)

Cheers,
Lynn Powers