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Books/Magazines You can never have too many books, especially art books! Watch for less expensive ones at Bookmans in Mesa, and Tucson, and Changing Hands. Watch out for teachers that try to get you to paint like them ( no clones), avoid formula teachers or books with too many secrets. The secret is, PAINT. *Hawthorn On Painting classic must have, this is at Scottsdale Artist School bookstore. *Oil Paintings with Light & Color by Kevin McPherson This master painter gives an excellent basic approach to your subject, very clear and helpful. At Scottsdale Artist School bookstore Supplies
**raymarart.com
888-809-3314 These guys made study paint boards all sizes also the
lightweight cardboard sturdy wet canvas carriers. These can be
packed ahead with blank canvas then carry home freshly painted ones.
Can be mailed or packed in your backpack. Very customer service,
family owned, reasonable prices. Packed Car Bag: An old suitcase works fine for most of this stuff. A real headache to drive out on a beautiful day and forget something important. Try to keep this in the car you use. A collapsible chair is handy to have. **plastic bags ,paper towels, extra canvases, handwipes, Purell, bug repellent, sketch pad, large paint tubes, several white tubes, solvent, umbrella, tarp, canvas shoes/boots, hat (spray brim with bug repellent) extra brushes, always water, snack/granola bars,zip-lock bags, plastic gloves, sunblock, Benadryl tablets/crème for bee stings, bug bites, aspirin, film, bit of cash. Backpack for walking to site: plastic bag, only small tubes paint/primaries and white, several favorite brushes, solvent in travel jar, small palette,old slide mount for composition help, small canvas (6”x8”, 8”x10”) take only two, you can always go back to the car for more if needed. plastic gloves, small camera, tripod, wet canvas carrier,a small water bottle (freeze it ahead of time to stay cold, snack, hat sprayed with bug repellent,tiny bottle of sunblock.Do not wear sunglasses while painting, colors and values are totally messed up! Try to get everything into the backpack to leave your hands free, best to avoid rolling carts, you will be extremely limited in where you can go.************* Layout; does it work as an abstract? How is it laid out onto the canvas? Do not cut the canvas in half. You control the viewers eye with line and strong composition. Where are you giving prominence to? Is it about the sky? The land? Detail draws the eye, use that as a tool. Sharp edges draw the views eye. Do not paint things with the same clarity--it is boring, and confusing for the eye. Watch out that the lines and shapes that force our eyes off the canvas. Allow objects to go past the edge, do not cram everything within the borders of the canvas, paint it like what you see looking through a window. You are painting a SLICE of what you see out there in the landscape. Avoid tangent lines to intersect at horizons or corners of architecture. Avoid repetitious spacing , lines, color, shape, number of items, even numbers of anything--that rarely happens in nature. Avoid painting anomalies, the viewer won't believe it. It may be cool in nature but silly in a painting. You are in control, you can move objects, remove them, you are not doing a replica of nature, you are doing a painting, ART! Do not be planning how you will frame this or where you will hang it but instead be ready to scrape it off, to paint miles of canvas. They are not all "keepers". Strive for each painting to be better than the last. Your best painting is still ahead of you. Avoid gimmicks, a strong recognizable style should not be a gimmick. Avoid the focus dead centered. Become the observer, analyze your work and others. Some say there are no rules in art, of there are or there wouldn't be so much bad art out there! Learn the rules before you venture out to break them. DECISIONS to make: Scene, WHAT is it ABOUT? The light on a roof top, hazy in the air, brilliant color of spring poppies? Spot of color on the hood of a car? What do you want the viewers eye and mind to go to, What will they remember about the painting? SEE the finished work in your head Then chose your COMPOSITION of the painting. More important than the subject. MUST work in abstract form first. LAY IN OUTLINE of just SHAPES/EDGES LAY IN DARKS**just SHAPES*and FOCAL POINT** DOES it work? IF not scrap it off now!! DECIDE NOW what happens in the forground, background, etc. Do not leave unanswered areas they will come back to haunt you! Work from back to front. Lighter/cooler in background, deeper/warmer color in foreground Best to stop early than to over work 1 ½ hour is about it. The light/color changes too much Even a day with a bad painting is better for your growth than not painting at all. They will NOT all be Keepers!! Scrap it off and do another one. So what is the secret for us to become better painters?
PAINT!!!! Cindy Carrillo 2045 E. Manhatton Dr. Tempe, AZ 85282 Quick Starts:
Keep these small, 6”x 8” - 8”x 10”. You only want to lay in the composition first, using your brush, a deep blue/grey wash. Use your brush as if you were doing a pen and ink. Keeping it loose, smooth, defining only the basic SHAPES that you see. Not the details! Make this work as an ABSTRACT image. When you then go in and lay in smooth, thin layer of color that is the correct VALUE that you see. You may need to push it further one way or the other to create the depth that you want. VALUES create depth, volume, and shape. This is true in a landscape or still life, or portrait. Keep your little notebook handy at all times to draw little images. You can never do enough of these. Gouache: Black, white, paper. Do small starts using gouache in a range of greys. It will force you to see the values not the color. Watch ads in magazines and the black/white photos in the newspaper. Pay attention to the greys used to create shape.
Value: Light and darks Color: temperature- each color has a warm one and a cool one (even red) Composition: Good composition creates a good abstract start. If you get it right at this stage, the painting will be strong.
Panels~ from Raymar at 888-809-3314 and www.raymarart.com these are nice panels , use canvas panels (cheaper) for awhile.
Edgar Payne ~book on Composition Contact the Scottsdale Artists School at 800-333-5707 ask if you can get it from them.
Carlson’s Guide to Landscape Painting by John f. Carlson You can usually find this book in used bookstores rather than buying new. It is a classic with very helpful composition advice. The oil painting mixes are old, you can ignore a lot of that.
Let me know how it goes and what issues come up. Cindy Carrillo 480-820-8111
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