Have you ever heard of Negative Painting? It’s a great painting technique I use a lot in my florals, especially when I’m painting leaves, stems, and buds. In watercolor painting, it’s a way to keep the white or lightest color while painting darker colors around it. This technique adds depth and dimension to your work, and it helps you focus on the background areas instead of the subject itself. By concentrating on the negative areas of your painting, you can create a more balanced and harmonious work. If you’ve watched some of my YouTube timelapse videos, you can see this process in action. Check out the Blue Fields painting video where I paint the background space between the trees to...
Should you paint directly on canvas or sketch and prepare studies before committing to the final version? There really is no right or wrong answer to this question. When I was a beginner painter, I always did a pencil drawing on the canvas before painting. It made things so much easier but at the same time, made it harder to stay loose. So as I was learning more and more about painting from several artists, I discovered some use drawings and some just went ahead and painted directly. It just comes down to what you’re trying to achieve. For example, if you’re painting a detailed portrait of a person, animal or a structure, it’s important to sketch...
Here are five tips to help you gain more confidence as an artist: ONE - DON’T COMPARE YOURSELF TO OTHERS Stop comparing yourself to others because it can lead to frustration, discouragement and failure. I find myself feeling discouraged sometimes looking through Instagram and seeing beautiful works done by other artists and thinking they are so good. Why can’t I paint like them? But wouldn’t life be boring if everyone painted the same style? Yes! My friend loves abstracted works, but not me. My sister loves photorealistic works, not me. I’m so glad that there are so many different artists and styles for all of us. As you continue to learn and paint, you will develop your own style. ...
What are neutral colors? Neutral colors are colors that are not found on the color wheel such as, brown, beige, cream, gray, black and white. You can also make neutrals by mixing complementary colors together like yellow and violet or blue and orange. Neutrals provide the viewer a break from the intensity of highly saturated tones while also complementing and balancing them. Using neutrals in your paintings creates interest and provides subtle variations that are important for your work. We are naturally attracted to bright and saturated colors and want our florals paintings to be more vibrant. However, if we use too much of it in our work, it can be distracting. All those bright colors can become overwhelming...
Let’s focus on the importance of color repetition in your paintings, or simply bouncing the colors around. When certain shapes, lines or colors are repeated throughout the art piece, it can give it a sense of movement, rhythm and unity. One of the simplest things you can do to keep your viewer interested in your work, is by repeating certain colors. It’s natural for us to find similarities and make connections when looking at art. Using color expressively can be fun and create strong compositions. For example, in this Garden Gate painting, the gate is painted a teal color. The gate is the focal point but to connect it to the background and create unity, I’ve scattered the teal color...
