Category: Tips

July 6, 2013

Tips for the Maintenance and Handling of Oil Painting

maintenance_Evans — Maintenance by David Larson Evans, 2012.

Oil paintings, whether you created yourself, acquired from an auction or an heirloom, have much value. You have to take care of its maintenance, handling, and storage. Paintings last a long time and to lengthen its beauty and life, proper care must be given to them. Museums and art galleries spend a lot and they go at great lengths just to keep and safeguard their paintings. As a painter or as an art collector, you must know some information on the maintenance and correct handling of your pieces. Here are some tips:

1. Handle the oil painting by the frame. Don’t touch the painting surface to avoid leaving natural oils from your skin.

2. An oil painting canvas is pliable, so don’t put an object at the front and behind the painting which could press the painting and leave a dent, or worse, cause a tear. If there is damage in the painting, you could do your own repair but if the piece is an heirloom or has much value, it’s better to ask a professional art restorer to do the repair.

3. When transporting an oil painting, place cardboard or thin plywood on both sides of the painting and put bubble wrap around it to secure the painting. Don’t stack paintings on top of the other.

4. When you are permanently storing a painting, put it in a custom-sized plywood container and brace the painting to avoid movements. Don’t store the painting in your attic or basement since the environment in these rooms are not favorable for paintings.

5. Don’t expose your painting under direct or extreme sunlight, cold, or humidity. These conditions will cause the paint to fall off, weaken the canvas in time, and ultimately damage your painting.

6. The best place to “store” a painting is by displaying it on a wall. Paintings are created to be viewed and admired, not to be hidden under the basement. Hang it in a place without extreme temperatures. Don’t hang it near or across a window, fireplace, or any room with much humidity.

7. Don’t hang paintings in hallways or any room where there are lots of movements and where it can be knocked or scratched. The best room for a painting would be a room where people are comfortable, a room where the temperature is controlled, not much heat or cold. Keep your paintings away from fireplaces, heaters and radiators.

8. Use two hooks when hanging a painting to provide enough support and balance. The painting should be high for people to see but not too high to put a strain on the viewer’s neck. If you are hanging a painting in your living room, the best spot is above the sofa, above head height of anyone sitting.

9. Use a soft-bristled brush to dust the surface of the painting to prevent dust from accumulating.

Image source: http://www.dailypainters.com

July 5, 2013

How to Repair a Damaged Canvas

You’ve finally finished your masterpiece. After hours and days laboring on your painting, carefully putting your inspiration on canvas, you’re excited to display it. Unfortunately, you or someone else accidentally ripped a small area on your painting. What do you do?

Don’t panic. There are two ways to repair a torn, ripped, punctured, or damaged canvas: patching or lining. Before fixing your canvas, you have to consider some factors that would affect the end result of your repair. If the damage is small, patching would be a good remedy. Patching is a quick and easy solution to tiny punctures, L-shaped tears, and small tears. For damages affecting a large area or if the small tears are located in several areas, lining is the best way to fix the canvas. For old oil paintings, professional art restorers prefer to do lining since most aged canvas are brittle, fragile, and more susceptible to damage when not reinforced.

Patching
Here are the steps for patching a canvas:

1. Smooth out the area where the tear is located. Clean up any fibers that may have unraveled.

2. Cut a piece of canvas with at least an inch wider than the tear. If you have a lighter weight canvas than the one you’re repairing is best to use.

3. Glue the patch at the back of the tear. Use acrylic-gesso or an acid-free glue in patching. Apply a thin layer of glue to the patch. If you use too much glue, it will only squeeze out of the patch and get on the front of the canvas which will leave an unnecessary stain.

4. While the glue is still wet, check the tear at the front of the canvas. Use a pair of tweezers to put back loose threads in place. Carefully arrange the threads to fill the damage.

5. Inpaint the patched area, if needed. If it’s your own work, it would be easier to repaint the repaired area.

Tips:

Work with patience and care.
Hire a professional art conservator or restorer for fixing valuable and antique paintings. They can do a more refined repair of an old painting.
Patching done in a busy area of the painting is less noticeable than a patch in a solid area.
Just because the patch is located behind the canvas, doesn’t mean you will do a sloppy repair. Make the patch neat and professional-looking so if someone sees the repair, they won’t be dismayed with the whole painting.

Image source: http://painting.about.com

July 2, 2013

Where To Find Art Buyers?

Selling your art is no different from selling other items. All you need to do is to find the right people who want to buy them and the right places to display your art and make it look good, where art buyers tend to congregate, and places where you know the client can afford your asking prices. Here are some of the best places where you can find your buyers.

Galleries
Still, the best place to find a buyer for your artwork is in an art gallery. You can look around to find an art gallery exhibition and display your work. Find a good art gallery to represent you, and who can arrange an art show for you. Art buyers often show up at the opening just to see if there is anything that they like. There are always potential buyers who come to these exhibitions looking for good paintings.

Social Media and Art Websites
There are many social networks, online galleries, and other websites online to market art. There are by far too many to mention here, but the major ones are Facebook, Google+, Twitter, and many online gallery websites. Sign up and start advertising online. If you manage to sell many, you are not only making money, but are receiving free advertising! People will be talking about your art, or share it through the mail. Many will see your artworks, who would not have been able to before.

Art competions, Auction sale and Art Expos
Try to join as frequent as possible in competitions and art events. Even if you do not win, you and your artwork will get exposure. Whoever is on the judging panel will see it, be it gallery owners or curators. The more they have to judge your artworks the more they will be familiar with you and know how serious you are about your art career. Its usually best to show alongside other artists who work in the same style as you. That way, the art buyers that often buy from them, may purchase artworks from you.

Neighbors, Family and Friends
Of course, the first people who have to see your artwork are the ones who are nearest to you. Show them what you are creating. Show them to your family members, friends and you neighbours. . Even if they do not buy artwork from you, they may tell others about your creations.

It’s best to never pressure someone into buying though. If they like it, or can afford it, they will most likely purchase from you without any convincing. Observe how art is sold in as many different circumstances as possible. Watch how people sell at all types of galleries, art shows, art fairs and other venues where art is for sale. See what sales techniques work to different kinds of buyers and take note which one doesn’t. Research on what sells best and why and learn everything you can from gallery owners and fellow artists about how they present, market, and sell art to clients.

Image source: www.forbes.com

June 30, 2013

Learn the Oil Painting Technique: Wet into Wet

Also known as Alla Prima (Italian for first attempt), wet-on-wet means you simply paint over wet paint. The goal in this technique is to finish the whole painting before the first paint dries therefore working fast is the key. Here are some things that you need to know about wet-on-wet painting.

• You start the wet-on-wet technique using thinned oil paint for drawing. Then you place spots of colors all over the painting to fill it in because the sketch usually dissolved or over-painted as the painting progresses. The painting can be adjusted slightly with glazes and highlights after it dries.

• Blending colors is easy with wet on wet technique. You can directly place one color onto your canvas, and then add other colors and blend with brush or knife to you desired shade. But you have to make sure that you mix colors rapidly and with clear understanding of color theory and keeping in mind the form that you’re trying paint. Expertise with brushwork is very important to do the trick.

• The beauty of wet-on-wet technique is that it sustains the fresh and spontaneous inspiration that come as you paint. For me it is the most intuitive way to paint. Creating a portrait with the technique will require expertise in mixing colors to match your subject.

• It may require few layers of paint to complete the painting, in which case it is easy to overfix the paints, which can look labored and weak. This is the stage where many beginners give up, but if you press on, you can master wet-on-wet technique and create works with the amazing freshness and spontaneity that only wet on wet can provide.

• When working wet-on-wet pull the brush along its length with the handle close to the surface. You get two strokes with a flat bristle brush, one side then the other, look at the brush for any paint it picked up and wipe it. Think of the brush hairs as if they were the fingers on your hand stroking the surface. This method allows wet paint to go over another (wet) color with clean results.

Using this technique have its advantages. One is you don’t need fine drawing skills. Blending is also quite easy in this technique so you don’t need extensive blending of colors. Lastly, your paintings can be completed quickly (about 2 hours to 2 days only) because you have to make sure that you’re working on wet paint.

This technique is quite advanced and requires a bit of painting experience. Using the Wet-on-Wet method, a dedicated practice and experimentation are all that is necessary to achieve masterpieces that you never imagined you can possibly do.

Paintings by Morris Hinson http://www.thumbartsguild.com/artist/mhinson.html

June 29, 2013

Learn the Oil Painting Technique: Blending

Color blending is a technique wherein two colors are combined to create another color. Each color has a separate blend factor that determines how much of each color is combined into the final product. There are different ways to blend colors and different ways with different medium. Today, I will share some techniques in color blending using oil paints.

How to start?
Once you’ve decided what colors you want to blend to create an effect, you might want to blend small amounts of each and check if it’s the color you’re looking for then you can make necessary adjustments. Move the brush in a way from one color into the other and back or in a zigzag motion. Wipe off any paint from your brush before you start blending or better yet, start with a clean, dry brush so you won’t add any extra paint that is not part of your color scheme.

Indigo sunset original oil painting, seascape by Gina De Gorna — Indigo sunset original oil painting, seascape
by Gina De Gorna
Image source: http://sunsetartonline.com

How to blend on canvas?
You don’t want the colors mix equally so stroking your brush sideways at least initially or else you’ll have strips of concentrated colors in your blended color. Remember to keep your strokes short and picking different percentages of blending. Keep repeating until it blends. As your tip gets thinner you get a smoother result, and once is smooth enough you can use blur or smudge tool to finish the job in case you want perfect gradients. If you think your blended color is not blending well or it’s too concentrated on canvas, all you need to do is to pick up a little fresh paint in the color that’s at risk of being lost then work from the outside or the darker shade until its blended. You can take your time blending with oil paints because they dry slowly unlike with acrylic paints.

What type of brush and brushstroke is best to use in blending?
Create a transition between the first two shades using a crosshatch stroke. Flat brushes tend to work best for blending. Smooth the blend by using parallel strokes along the transition you just created. The parallel strokes should be perpendicular to the lighter shades. Use a clean brush to blend the next shade, and repeat the technique using first crosshatched strokes followed by parallel stokes. A clean brush should always be used when working with a new shade, even if the actual color is the same.

June 28, 2013

Learn the Oil Painting Technique: Underpainting and Glazing

Underpainting

It is an initial layer of paint that will serve as a foundation and help define subsequent layers of paint for your painting. Underpaintings are usually monochromatic which reflects light through the over-painting layers and gives a painting the luminosity. There are several different methods of underpainting were used by the old masters.

· Grisaille
Pronounced as “griz-eye” this is a method of underpainting with different gray paints.

· Verdaccio
It is a method of underpainting with colors of olive or green gray paint in the light areas. It often resembles a moonlight effect.

· Imprimatura
This underpainting method usually uses transparent layers of earth colors (ra umber or burnt umber). It is used as first stain to tone the canvas.

· Wash-in Underpainting
A variation of the Imprimatura underpainting. The subject or composition can be drawn into a thin semi-transparent layer of raw umber or burnt umber. Rags, paper towels and paint brushes are used to lift out the paint exposing the lights to illuminate the subject.

Glazing

Glazes can change the hue and texture of a surface. Drying time will depend on the amount and type of paint medium used in the glaze. Different media can increase or decrease the rate at which oil paints dry. Oil paits usually takes longer to dry. If a paint is too opaque, painters will add special media or a lot of medium to the paint making them more transparent for the purposes of glazing. Glazing has the strongest impact on showing middle tones and dark colours.

Reproduction of Girl with a Red Hat by Jan Vermeer — Glazed reproduction of “Girl with a Red Hat” original by Jan Vermeer

Here are some tips on how to glaze oil paintings.

· Begin the oil painting as usual by sketching and putting visual resources as necessary, but do so as though the painting were going to be complete in one layer.

· Once completely dry, after a week or so, begin the next layer of paint. The glazes will soften the colours and deepen the tones. Each “glaze” slightly modifies the colour of what has already been painted on the canvas. When you look at it the colours are automatically mixed optically giving a rich deep colour.

· Putting a little linseed oil into the oil paint will create a translucent colour. Oil paint comes in transparent, semi-transparent, and opaque and you will learn which is which the longer you paint with oils. All paint colours can be used as glazes, even opaque paints, used as glaze to paint mist or fog.

· Apply the oil paint glaze onto selected areas. A second layer of slightly darker colour will deepen the colour without changing it completely.

Image source: www.easy-oil-painting-techniques.org

June 27, 2013

How to Price for Your Artwork

There are different factors that you have to consider when pricing your artwork. If you’re just starting out and have not sold very much, pricing your work based on time, labor, and cost of materials is often the best way to go. Aside from explaining why your art is priced as much from a personal standpoint, you also have to explain equally from a financial standpoint and give reasons why it is a good buy most especially when your buyers are not familiar with you and your work. Here are some tips on how to fairly price your artwork.

1. How much did you spend?
You can start pricing your artwork by computing the quality and cost of art materials you’ve used. Then put into consideration the time and effort you spent in making these masterpieces. Price it at cost of materials plus hours spent creating the art. You can also do it by size. Large artworks usually are more expensive than the smaller ones.

2. Start with the lowest possible price that you can offer
It’s best to start low and raise your prices than it is to lower your prices later. But make sure that you have to gain a significant profit from your artwork to sustain your art business. You might want to price the work a few hundred dollars over the set price so you have space to negotiate just in case a buyer ask for a discount. Don’t undervalue your work. Selling your art too cheaply reflects your confidence as an artist.

3. Compare prices with other artists
Research and see what’s being charged by other artists that are at your level of work. Use that information as a guideline then set your price similar to other artists with similar experiences and work in similar mediums.

4. Price based on your status as an artist
Price your work based on your achievements, documented accomplishments, successful exhibits and number of sales. The more popular you are as an artist the more you should be confident with your pricing.

5. Be consistent with your pricing
Keep a pricelist of your paintings. Consistent pricing means that you’re consistent with the quality of your artwork. It is a cornerstone of a sound practice and eventually leads to successful sales. You can increase your pricing when you are experiencing a consistent degree of success and have established a proven track record of sales that has lasted for at least six months and preferably longer.

Image source: www.celebrateart.com

June 26, 2013

Checklist For a Plein Air Art Trip

Packing for a Plein Air art trip varies depending on where you’re going and the elements that you will be dealing with. There are variety of things that you must consider since you will be working outdoors. Here’s a list of the basic things you need to have on your trip.

ART MATERIALS
Since you’re going to travel, take note to have your art materials complete. It’s better if you keep things compact and organized to avoid confusion and you might forget some of your essential materials. A good idea is to invest a good art traveling bag which has multiple pockets and organizers to keep your materials intact while you’re traveling.

EASELS
Support is needed for any surface you plan to work on. And since you are traveling, a portable easel is a very good choice. Special easels comes with storage such as drawers and compartments for carrying paints and brushes within the easel. Table easels are also available if you prefer to sit while painting.

UMBRELLA and HAT
You can always find a shady area to paint but sometimes you’ll have to set up in the sun. The hat is for your protection but the umbrella is to keep the sun off your canvas and palette. A white or gray umbrella so the reflection doesn’t affect your color judgement. Try to keep both palate and canvas in the shade.

CAMERA
You can capture the initial scene with a camera. Positions of clouds and direction of the wind can constantly change outdoors so you can use this trick to make your artwork more consistent. Another advantage of the still shot is that you can use it just in case the weather turns bad and you have to finish your painting indoors.

EXTRA CLOTHING
Bring extra clothes just in case you so you can change just in case things get messy. Or you can dress in layers that you can easily take off as you get hot and put on when it gets colder. Wear neutral colored clothing to avoid too much light reflections onto your painting. Bright colors can also reflect some of their color onto your painting so stick with beige and khakis.

Now that you have your basics, here are some of the things you might want to have with you on your trip to make it more comfortable.
• Water to drink
• Light snacks
• Paper towels
• Insect repellent
• Garbage bags
• Soap and water to clean your brushes

Image source: www.judithgreenleaf.com

June 26, 2013

Guidelines for Artists Before Starting to Work on Commission

reading_a_letter_on_the_beach — Reading A Letter On The Beach by Dominique Amendola

Doing art on commission is a big step in an artist’s career. It boosts an artist’s pride in his work, knowing another person aside from his mother appreciates and is willing to pay for his work. It can be a very exciting and thrilling experience, especially for first-timers. Before you get all excited, here are some important things that you have to keep in mind before you start creating art on commission.

Communication
As with any relationships, communication is vital between an artist and the party commissioning his work. Meet with the other party to discuss the project. Make the specs of the project clear from the beginning and ask questions if some details are not clear to you. It’s best if you meet at your studio, gallery, or cafe where your art works are displayed so he’ll know your style and the types of work that you do.

Here are some ideas on what to ask the other party:

Have you commissioned art before?
What are you looking for in a commissioned art?
What do you want and don’t want to see in your art?
Who will approve the art?

Contract
In any business deals, a contract is very important. If your meeting goes well, you have to prepare a contract for the painting which both of you must sign. Be concise and clear with both your expectations. Define what the project entails, the characteristics of the painting, payment schedule, milestones, completion time, and delivery time. This contract will protect both parties and hopefully prevent disputes in the future.

Payment
If it’s your first time to do art on commission, asking for an advance payment may be intimidating but you have to ask for it and discuss it on your meeting. Normally, 1/3 of the commission can be required upfront and should be non-refundable. This is a great incentive for you to start with the project and obligates the other party to push through with your agreement. An advance payment is non-refundable so if the other party backs out of the agreement, the time, effort, and materials you’ve used are still compensated.

Revisions
A painting can take days or months to finish, it’s natural that the other party would like to see the developments in the project. You can make it clear in the contract when the other party can visit you and your work so if there are issues to answer, any revisions, or concerns, both of you can discuss about it right then and there. It’s a waste of both your time and resources if you present an artwork which is entirely different from what’s on the other party’s mind.

Image source: www.fineartamerica.com

June 24, 2013

How to Choose Quality Canvas for Painting

Artists have used several materials of canvas in painting such as linen, jute, hemp, or cotton. Nowadays, linen and cotton are the most popular fibers in canvas. Linen is more expensive compared to cotton and is often used by professional artists who have years of experience in perfecting their craft. For beginners, a cotton canvas is more appropriate since it is less expensive.

When choosing a canvas, you must consider these two important factors: the support and ground. Support is the material where paint is applied while the Ground is the gesso or primer. These two are important to the success or failure of your painting. The support and ground are determined by the type of paint and method of applying the paint. For example, if you are using a staining technique in painting, when you do it on a raw canvas, it will give a different result when you do the same technique to a primed canvas.

The Support
Choose a canvas that offers strength and stability, depending on your needs for a certain project. As you paint, the support will have to undergo much movement and stress from the environment such as temperature, humidity, and constant stretching/restretching.

Canvas is available in different weights: lightweight (4-5 oz), medium weight (7-10 oz), and heavyweight (18 oz) per square yard. Support with lower weights are not as smooth or sturdy as heavier weights. Medium weight is a good weight for painting since it gives good support to your painting.

The Ground
Why ground is important in a canvas?

Protection of support. Ground protects your canvas from being damaged by harmful ingredients in paint. Natural fibers such as cotton absorbs moisture and when the paint dries, it will release this moisture, causing swelling and shrinking of the canvas. If you are using oil, the fibers will absorb its moisture, leaving the surface brittle.
Adhesion of paint. A properly primed canvas allows sufficient adhesion of paint to the support. A correctly primed canvas should accept paint and give a degree of absorbency. Too much absorbency can soak up all the oil from the paint while a non-absorbent ground can leave a weak paint film that can be peeled off. Good thing, pre-primed canvas is available online and in art supply shops.
Color enhancement. If your project involves transparent painting technique, the ground provides a white background that intensifies the colors. Ground is useful when you are underpainting, or applying the first layer of paint to a canvas.

A chosen canvas varies depending on an artist’s needs. Some may use raw canvas, pre-primed, or a heavyweight canvas. Keep in mind that whatever canvas you choose, it has a big effect on the outcome of your painting.