I am at a busy part of my life, what with AS levels and it is important for me to get the balance of my work and this blog, therefore I will be concentrating my posts on giving advice and oacsionaly posting my work. It does feel that this is the way that the blog was going foreword so therefore this how I want it to carry on and I feel that you guys will not find the posts by any means random. Hope your enjoying my posts and if there is anything you want me to write or talk about drop me an email or message me :)

First ever soft pastel portrait

At first I very much struggled with drawing this however I stayed with it and with a little bit of patience and a few layers of pastel I think I have just about managed my best and only portrait and my first every pastel painting. I found that the key is to block in or draw the main facial features, you then begin to develop the skin giving different contrasts, adding the darks first. The next stage was to see colours which people necerceriley would not have seen when they first looked at the photograph I was working from, such as blues and purples. I then begin to do the hair, at this stage I knew I had no real idea what I was doing however I worked out what to do from layers, first layer was all the dark browns, never use black unless it really is black, with a hint of Prussian blue, I then highlighted it giving the hair direction and depth with a bright yellow pencil and in the lightest areas a white. I will be selling this to any keen buyer so if your interested please contact me, it will be framed and mounted. I completed this at the age of 16 and I have dated the painting.

I think that over all the real thing that made painting this easier for me was an easel I bought, for the first time I could put my head back see my mistakes and it just felt right.

Where to buy your art stuff

Something came to my attention the other day when I was out buying some art equipment, know because my art budget is so low I do my very best to get the best stuff that money can buy at a cheaper price than anyone thought possible.

A few places you should look for good deals is first of all, Ebay don't look down on second hand deals because much of the time they have not been used or hardly used, the second store I would advice is an art shop, ocassionaly they have deals on which are cheaper than anywhere else. The Last place I would advice is abroad (i.e not england) now this one is clearly not for everyone and you should by no means book a plane and go of to italy to do this I'm just saying if it just so happens that you are abroad it is worth taking a look at art stores I will give you an example of just how much I saved on a set of Faber Castell Pitt pastel pencils set of 24, i got it for £12.00, maybe even less. Now if anyone has ever bought a set of these I'm sure they can tell you your not going to find it for cheaper.

Theses are all measuers that I am sure not all of you need to do however if your budget is limited don't just rush out there and buy the first thing you see because it says 25% of next to it, shop around.

My Watercolour Painting

First of all I would like to apologize for the technical issue with my last post, I will try to fix it ASAP

I did this Painting when I was 14, it is my first ever watercolour painting and I am biding it on Ebay, feel free to check it out :)

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/120770222377?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649#ht_500wt_1156

A great portrait

In terms of drawing portraits the easiest and best starting point is to draw someone with wrinkles and scares. Now I know  that this sounds like a little bit of a shock, most people would think that you want to be drawing the best looking people  with a clean face, however this makes it very difficult to define the face and make it look realistic. For example a few weeks  ago I drew Rolf Harris and once I got past the center of the face, the eyes, ears and mouth, it become very easy to give the  face the impression of being round and 3D using the wrinkles as a guide line. However I am in the middle of doing a pastel  painting of a beautiful women but I find it much more difficult to give the women any form of a 3D look and sometimes step  back and find myself feeling that it is very flat, When it is finished I will post it on the blog. Another fundament in drawing  and painting, well any picture, is the positioning of the subject on the page, this is especially essential in drawing portraits  this is the thing that makes your drawing stand out from the crowed from being a little thought out drawing and a  masterpiece. I could go on but right now I am busy however if you have any questions email me or comment on the page and I will get back to you :)

Derwent Studio Colour Pencils

A perfect colour swatch

I always find myself designing things and doing draft drawings however when I get to the final stages I need to add colour to these drawings, now drawing and painting is one of thoughts things where its you who makes the picture what it is not the equipment you use, this is true to some degree however I may find myself looking around the studio and I see others coloured pencil work looking quiet dull, they leave it a week and all the colour has almost disappeared. For this reason I went out and I bought a set of 36 Derwent studio pencils for no more than 25 pounds, they have stayed with me for 2 years, of course I still use them and not once has the led in it broke on me, I have drawings I did from 2 years ago, stuck to the wall and I keep on thinking "any day now and the colour is going to fade" but it never does and it wont do because Derwent studio pencils are lightfast, the colours are perfect and much of the time I find that a pencil company is putting in the pencils for the sake of making the array of colours look good, not Derwent each and every colour is thought on how it will be used. They may also be used for drawings and I find that they go perfectly with the Derwent Soft Pastell pencils, moreover they work perfectly with Derwent Artist pencils because they are both colour indexed. I defiantly prefer these over any other brand not only for the great price but also for all the things I have listed.

Soft Pastels

It would be unfair for me to say that I know everything about Soft Pastels because to be honest with you I have only been using them for a few weeks. However with that in mind I can safely say that I love them, this is for me.  I love the great ability to blend and work the pigment you have on the page whenever you want as well as having the ability to add more layers to it, furthermore with the pastel pencils you can add a great sense of detail, as you would with normal colour pencils. In terms of adding detail to my coloured work I have always used coloured pencils however I like the more broad use of being able to add detail and block in a great amount of pigment, furthermore you can mix together more colours so there is an endless array of colours. With all this in mind it does sound like the perfect medium for anyone however it is quiet a flight medium and if you enjoy the thickness of Oil paint then this probably isnt for you, all in all thought I love it :)

Is knowing art history important?

This is something for me I find essential to the development and the progress of my art work. This is for numerous reasons, the most obvious one could be that you can learn from old techniques from the past two thousand or so years and maybe even develop your own style or technique, the artists who know a bit art history are the ones I think are able to develop art work that is either original or a replica to the old techniques. Another advantage of learning of other artists is that you can began to understand wether or not you want to be an artist, this of course only ever applies to you if your not already an artist, wether or not you want to be an artist... In the last 500 years you have a contrast between artists who were well of and earned well, in there life time, from being an artist for example Picasso however there are others such as Van Gough who although his paintings are worth millions in his lifetime he only ever sold two, even thought there is good evidence to suggest that he knew that his art work would one day become famous. A few years back my dad bought me a book on the impressionists techniques and it was at that point I knew that art history was important to me so that I can improve, I'm sure that you can tell from my old posts that my work is not like the impressionists, in many of my portraits I don't add a background whereas in much of there portraits the background is essential and competes with the foreground.

Foreground and backround is competing in this painting
this is an old styled technique

Derwent Graphic and a little on Dewent skeching

Derwent Graphic 

It does not matter what kind of fine artist or Illustrator you are you are more than likely going to need a good set of pencils which acquire to your drawing or sketching needs. For me Derwent Graphic pencils does that, this is not just because I bought a set once upon a time and I have never thought to go back, no, I tried just about every pencil out there and these just did it for me. Affordable and a well made pencil with the graphite bonded right throughout the barrel to allow you to get the maximum out of your pencil. For me thought the best thing is not the affordable price or any of the things I have mentioned above, my favorite thing is the ambiguous use between broad strokes and a sharp point, if desired with a sharpener or a crafts knife. However if you prefer more of a sketchy style and are on the move a lot then this Derwent Sketching is a great option for you, moreover it is a great addition to any graphite artists kit because something I learned completely by accident is that you can rub this stuff out and there is no evidence visible on the page. I thought personally prefer the use of the Dewent Graphic pencils however it cost me £2.99 for a set of 4 I acquired a few years back and I still have and use so even if it isn't for you then its not going to set your art budget back. 

DERWENT SKETCHING

Visit the  Dewernt website for a luck at demonstration with theses products in use or just examples of works http://www.pencils.co.uk/ 

Modern Art , I'm sure you will agree with me.

England so called Queen of art hard at work.

Most of you who are regular readers of my blog are either proper artists or on the way to becoming a proper artist. What do I mean by a proper artist? I mean someone who draws something as it is perceived by the naked eye, personally I have a great deal of love and respect for paintings and drawings which look like photos however that also does not mean that I do not appreciate things like anima, because I do, they are tweaked to be more enjoyable and simple for people to draw and render, a great starting point and a great style. Non the less its modern art this is not the type I am talking about what I don't and will never appreciate is work which I would describe as looking as if it was done by a toddler selling for thousands if not millions of pounds, I'm sure people may read this and feel offended however I am sure there are people reading this and artists on the streets of italy and france who would agree with me when I say there admiration is not deserved, this is also directed to much photography. What people do with there money is non of my business however work by artists such as Tracey Emin (google her) should never be hung next to work of the old masters in places such as the Louvre or the British Museum, lets keep it to the tate modern and not allow this kind of work to take over art. Rant over :)

Wooden Manikin

 Wooden manikins are the perfect tool for any artist who is either starting out or with a great experience in drawings the human body or whatever it is the wooden manikin is based on. It allows fall function of the most fundermental joints in the body to move so that you can draw it, as it is, then change the shape of it again and keep on doing this. However as it is made of wood, although you can clearly distinguish what it is there are no indications in weather it is male nor female so therefore you have to give it its own muscles, facial features and many more to humanise it. A truly essential peace of my drawing kit non the less.

What painting does for you

Bob Ross painting, took no longer than half
an hour

Sorry for my lack of posts in the last few week I have had little internet access

Much of the time people starting out in painting do not see the point in it, it took a man called Bob Ross to show me what the real point and satisfaction in painting is, I now paint more than ever. I always knew of the feeling of satisfaction when you actually finish a painting but it was him who showed to me that by not considering every stroke that doesn't go to plan as being a mistake and more like a "happy little accident" you carry on painting, inevitable your paintings will take half the time and you enjoy the full process of painting. Therefore for many art is what puts the bacon on the table or it could just be your hobby , either way this will insure that you enjoy what you do. Lastly remember to show your paining to people so that you get feedback, some more be over complementry on your work while others may be critical, either way this will aid you to aspire to do more paintings, become better and most importantly enjoy what you do.

Watercolours, the final medium

I first of all would like to apologize that I will have not talked about charcoal however i lack much knowledge in this medium.

Blue man

However something i reckon i am qualified to talk to you about is watercolours, if you want a medium which produces exceptional work and can be used any where and by anyone as long as you have water and a paint brush then this is for you. I use this when I am traveling in any kind of form might be going on holiday or just in school and my sketchbooks all poses peaces of watercolour paintings. a thing i also enjoy to do is printing of work on to watecolour paper and adding water to it. A few months ago i asked my self questions to weather i had anything going for me in terms of watercolours or should it be a medium i leave behind never to use again? My response to that ideology was to paint this, a confirmation in my mind that there still is hope for my in terms of watercolours.

This is my last post on mediums, I have no real plan to what i should begin to write about in my next posts however i hope that what i do post is of some use to you guys.

Oil Painting

I would like to apologize at this time for my lack of posts in the last few days, been a bit busy but i am back now :)

When it comes to painting landscapes, sea scapes or portraits my medium of choice will be oil paints, I enjoy the drying time being sometimes a few days because that allows me to be able to do the painting, or the layer, come back to it, have a think about it and change what needs to be changed with much of the time not even having to apply any more paint. For many this may sound like the perfect medium for them however it has its flaws, this is not the kind of medium you can just take out and do a five minute job and hope to achieve much or even anything, because lets be honest it will probably take you at-least ten minutes to get set up however every time i simple touch the paint brush to the canvas it amazes me how you can get such bold, striking and effective colours. There are mediums which makes this paint so unique when paired with the pigment, just step into an art store and cast your eyes on the rows of oils, gessoes and many more.

One of the biggest frustrations to me when using oil is coming out of my garage  and smelling of turpentine clearly this can be concurred with the use of odorless sinner however this is an expensive alternative. An alternative to using oil with oil paint is WATER, well thats for one brand, i have not yet had the chance to try this for my self however this contradiction, i have been told, seems to work very well, check it out. http://www.winsornewton.com/products/oil-colours/artisan-water-mixable-oil-colour/
I leave you with this thought, if you were to think of the five most famous paintings, ever, they will be of an oil painting, clearly a preferred medium by the masters of art.

Graphite pencils

An essential tool to have when being a visual artist is a pencil, it is irreplaceable. However pencils can be more than a secondary tool for an artist, i think that being good at drawing and shading is potentially the most desired thing of most artists. I think that is subject to numerous reasons however mainly it is a tidy medium that needs nothing more than a pencil and a peace of paper to have you create a master peace. I do not believe that i have completely mastered the art however i aspire it deeply and i am devoting more time to train myself in it, my preferred choice of pencil make is the Derwent Graphic however i think you can achieve a high standard with most everyday pencils http://www.pencils.co.uk/product.aspx?mid=727

Acrylic paints

This is one of the newest painting medium to hit the industry, versatile, robust, what else could you ask for in a paint? It has certain features which will either make you embrace it as a favored medium or look down at it as a weak alternative to the masters alternatives. A quality which clearly differs oil from acrylic is the drying time, oil may take as long as 4 days to dry whereas acrylic may take as little as 30 seconds, if your a student or you simply just don't have that much time on your hand than its safe to say that acrylic will be the best option for you. A noticeable darker tone takes place when the paint drys, for many this is a serious issue however i think that all the other quality's  listed makes this for me a desirable medium, i have found a site with some examples of the versatility of acrylics, hope you like it :P   http://acrylics.winsornewton.com/en/win/aboutthecompetition/

Coloured pencil

Today i am going to be talking to you about one of my favorite mediums, the coloured pencil, this medium has come along way in the last 50 years it was once was an agonizing, ill achieving tool, which lacked any definition in pigment but what it did have and what it still has is a guarantee in accuracy you can not get in any other coloured medium, it also was and still is the medium that many of is encounter first in life and are more likely to use most in our school life, well it was for me at least, however most of the time it can seem close to useless if you  wish to achieve any form of realism or abstract look to your work.

However most of the time this is down to the colouered pencil its self and do not feel disheartened if you browse on the internet and see almost photo like colour pencils which take you a few seconds to realize that they are in fact drawings, i am not saying by any means that it is easy if you have the right tool, because it isn't, but what i would tell you is that for many this may be the reason for your struggle, a company i advice is Derwent they are affordable and they offer other alternatives to my much preferred Derwent Artist pencils  http://www.pencils.co.uk/product.aspx?mid=722 
 

Coloured pencil

"A well spent day brings happy sleep"

Everyday for the next week i will talk about an art medium, i shall try and cover the key reasons on why i think it is a desirable medium and others such as my self may think it is a desirable medium, this will primarily be to help you guys out to either try something new out or to learn more about your already admired medium, i will post blogs and websites which will enhance your art.   

I just thought that i would share with you my favorite artists, one of the reasons i admire him so much is because he had a wide contextual knowledge on all the mediums of his time i can think of as well as being talented in numerous other fields.

Help is here

I have found a website which many of you may have not heard of, they have video tips going from drawing techniques with graphite pencils all the way to full painting projects with oil paint, check it out and i hope that it helps you out :) http://www.thepaintinganddrawingchannel.co.uk/tv-anytime.html

We all do it ;)

Unleash the Artist: A little bit about me

A little bit about me

watercolor print i did last year, enjoy 

Lets be honest we both know plane and simple that you do not want to listen to me blab on about my life however i hope that my story is by some way encouraging to you that you can execked in art or whatever it is you do, i started drawing and painting when i was 13, i had no talent at all but back then i really enjoyed drawing, then one day my art teacher saw a painting that i had done and mistaken it for being his own a little dispute soon settled that and he decided that he would coach me to be better, i got a scholaship a year later and here i am 2 years on with about 7 oil paintings to my name and 25 Acrylic paintings, each time i paint i learn so much, if i can do it in such a small space of time so can you, not forgetting other key things i have to balance in with my life ;)

New blog showcasing my artwork

Welcome to my unleash the artist, here i will help anyone who struggles with issues in there artwork as well as showcase of my own artwork for sale or just for a look, my email is peter.markos@gmail.com, if you wish to ask any questions feel free to head over and i will respond as soon as i can, enjoy :)

on the right the drawing i am showcasing was done with a Derwent Graphic i used a H and a 2B, i did this when i was 14 years old one summer holiday