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/