Telling a Story

Haleiwa by Richard Robinson

Today we have some painting tips from artist and instructor Richard Robinson.  Robinson says: "Start thinking about adding more interest, more story to your paintings."

Telling a Story with Your Paintings

Artist and instructor Richard Robinson shares some tips for adding more interest to your paintings.

 

Watercolor Demo by Paul Talbot-Greaves

This watercolor painting of the old Pennine Inn by professional artist and tutor Paul Talbot-Greaves is a good example of how to create drama and depth in a painting. He also makes great use of the stone wall as a lead-in to the center of interest. This painting took around two hours to complete. It was done on Saunders Waterford 300lb rough paper.   Time-lapse video demo below.

Paint Lake with Distant Cliffs

"Quiet Morning: Ramah Lake" by M.C.Johnson

In this step-by-step tutorial, pastel artist Michael Chesley Johnson describes his methods for painting with a local color underpainting.  Johnson says:  "I want a quiet, very harmonious finished piece, so I try three values of a cool, purple-violet for the underpainting and layer cool "local" colors on top of this, saving my warm touches for the red cliffs."   Johnson gives us valuable advice about using a limited palette and sticking with a value plan.  He says:  "I mark my lightest and darkest areas. This shows me at a glance the range of values I must stick with in the painting. No color will be lighter or darker than these."

The Art of Ann Templeton: A Step Beyond
by Michael Chesley Johnson and Ann Templeton
The Art of Ann Templeton explores the world and work of Ann Templeton. With over 120 full-color plates, the book illustrates her use of materials and techniques, her travels, and her approach to workshops, as well as her take on what it is to live the life of an artist. Primarily a plein air painter, Ann Templeton has developed techniques over 30 years of painting to capture the landscape quickly and to interpret it with her unique vision of color and design.

Article: What Shall I Paint?

Watercolor by Ray Campbell-Smith

A new article has been added to our "Inspiration" section titled "What Shall I Paint?".   From inspiration to composition and several steps in between, Professional Artist Ray Campbell-Smith discusses the importance of being selective when composing a painting.

Ray Campbell-Smith is author of Landscapes in Watercolour (Step-by-Step)

and The Artist's Handbook plus many more art instruction books.

Article: The Order of Attraction

A successful painting is not simply a well designed depiction of a pleasant subject any more than a successful novel is a grammatically correct description of an interesting event. Good art requires more than that. The artist must convey his personal response to the subject and direct attention to the important elements.

One way to do this in painting is by planning the placement and degree of contrast. This would be much easier if the three kinds of color contrast—value, intensity, and hue—were equally attractive to the eye. But they’re not.  Read more about value, intensity and hue in this PDF.

How to Draw a Building in Perspective

Using 2-point perspective, learn how to draw a house, including roof with overhanging eaves, with this tutorial from artist and author William Powell.   This lesson is an excerpt from his book "Perspective".

Painting Flowers Step by Step: Pansy Power

Little Pansy, 10x15 watercolor by Birgit O'Connor

Watercolor artist Birgit O'Connor demonstrates painting a close-up view of a pansy.   She writes: "When painting small flowers like pansies, it’s often hard to recognize a good composition from a poor one. The immediate response is usually to clump the small flowers together and make a bouquet. I recommend, instead, treating the pansy as you would any other flower: Focus on shape, shadow and color—the elements that can transform these small wonders into a bold composition."

Birgit O'Connor teaches workshops in her studio in Bolinas, California and has published instructional books including Watercolor in Motion: How to Create Powerful Paintings, Step by Step and Watercolor Essentials: Techniques for Exploring, Painting and Having Fun, both available at Amazon.com.

Basics of Landscape Composition

In this article, L. Diane Johnson writes: "Become familiar with the principles as a guide in training your eyes to naturally create interesting and powerful compositions....Composition is one of the most challenging yet powerful and exciting aspects of painting. It is the technical foundation of your painting. Without it, paintings visually fall apart. Careful consideration of the composition before putting paint to surface will make your session more enjoyable, and contribute to the success of your painting.

Landscape Composition Rules

Johannes Vloothuis has compiled 40 landscape composition rules for artists with samples and corrections.   He says:  "I have put together a series of  'rules'... of composition that when used properly should reduce the flaws in your landscape paintings. ....They are to help you out when you are in doubt on where to place diverse elements in your work. "

Forest Entry, G.A. Durkee

In this excerpt from his book "Expressive Oil Painting", George Allen Durkee demonstrates each step in this painting while talking about composition and other elements of a painting.

Secrets of Oil Painting, Andre Grobler

Andre Grobler's free e-book "Secrets of Oil Painting".  Rules of color mixing and composition that makes sense.   Includes a chart of "Studio Rules" to print out and post on your wall.