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Tinyliny's Art Journal

53K views 490 replies 90 participants last post by  tinyliny 
#1 ·
I don't mean to be willy nilly about starting threads, but the system wont' let me open and add to some of my older threads, and suggests I start a new thread.
OK, here it is! I am just going to post any and everything here (except might put cat and dog portraits in the "canines and felines in ink" area).
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I've been taking some drawing classes. as I had gotten back into art via THIS forum, and I was working in painting horses and that evolved into painting horses WITH their humans, I realized I'd better learn how to draw/paint the human form better. thus, I signed up for drawing classes. the results of that are in the "portraits of humans" thread (the one I tried to resurrect but the system keeps shutting me out)

so, this will be a new thread for humans and such.

here is a sketch I did of my dead brother. done from a photo of when he was young and handsome, not how he looked after many years of drug abuse.

Sketch Face Drawing Portrait Forehead


and this is an ink wash portrait of the model from our life drawing class

Drawing Sketch Figure drawing Portrait Art
 
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#219 ·
Ok, I went back and can see you've been doing such a variety of subjects! All so well done.

Have you tried plein air work at all? I mean, everything you do is amazing. I just mention it because I have found plein air work to be the most challenging, and the most rewarding, and the most learning experience ever. Watercolour lends itself well to plein air too, since it's so lightweight. I always bring mine with me on international trips so I can do quick sketches. Just a thought. For me, after painting most of my life, plein air work changed everything.
 
#220 ·
I haven't done much painting of landscapes, at all, in any medium. And, plein air scares me. I don't know why. it's different painting from real life, as opposed to a photo.

but, it is my next challenge. I'll need some kind of an easel or stand.

I'd love to see some of your paintings.
 
#221 ·
Plein air can be a bit overwhelming at first. But so, so rewarding! You've done live models, so it's the same. Except that you don't have a lot of control over conditions, like you would indoors.

The best thing to do is start small, and at first, choose a slightly overcast day in comfortable weather. I paint outside year round, and actually prefer winter to summer. I don't like it when it gets too hot. You can buy a parasol that clips to your easel, but it's a PITA, especially if there's any wind at all. Keep your painting time to an hour or two. Anything more, and the lighting has changed too much. Canvas size should therefore be 11 x 14 or less. I paint bigger indoors, but my favorite sizes for plein air are 11 x 12 or 8 x 10.

Plein air painting is really about the experience. Sometimes, it falls apart. But when it comes together, it is an awesome feeling. And for each painting I have done outside, I remember the exact conditions. I have had deer walk out in front of me and startle, a chickadee land on my easel and look down, lol. But also bugs in my paint.

These days I don't have much time to paint. I did start a couple of big ones in my studio, but they're going to take a while to finish. Still dreaming of taking my paint box out with Kodak... if and when I do, I'll start a thread.

In terms of a portable setup, I like the pochade-style boxes with a slot to carry wet paintings, but you can just take your easel outside to start off. I also modified an old cigar boxes to do very small paintings in (I velcro 5 x 7 panels to the lid and squeeze paint out into pillboxes so I don't need to carry all my tubes). I just paint on my lap. Works great for family vacations when I don't want to bring my whole setup. I also tend to carry a little watercolour kit with me when I travel. It saved my sanity when I had to stay with my daughter in her cabin on a cruise ship for a 24 hr quarantine (she had the flu, but luckily, our room had a balcony). Much like with live models, the trick is to get down the main shapes quickly and not get bogged down with details. Not that I'm any good at it, but I understand the theory, lol!

This is my paintbox. It mounts on a camera tripod and has drawers which keep all my paint and brushes. The top has a compartment for wet panels. Below is a little 8 x 8 I did of a beaver lodge. Very raw. The goal is to lay down a brush stroke and leave it. You mess around with it too much, you get mud. While I was painting this, I heard thumping under the ice along the shoreline. Finally saw a beaver emerge a few feet away. The Group of Seven did this with small 8 x 10 panels (they are hanging at the National Gallery in Ottawa), which they would then turn into larger pieces. I like that idea. Maybe something for me to do when I retire.
 

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#234 ·
I am trying to pay more attention to making things that will fit into ready made frames, in the fixed sizes that they are. I went to Aaron Bros. yesterday and bought $235 worth of frames. Then I have to get and cut mats. It's very expensive just to get art ready for gallery showing, or selling. REmember that when or if you buy gallery art; the cost of framing can be considerable.
 
#245 · (Edited)
Where elsewhere do you get these lovely photos, @tinyliny ? Places like Flickr?

About frames: If anyone is handy and likes rustic sorts of frames, it's possible to make your own very inexpensively from rough-cut timber. All you need is a small table saw, a small drop saw and a sander. A thicknesser is great to have for this but too expensive just for this purpose. Then mount onto black cardboard and pop the rustic frame on top. Glazing can be incorporated but I don't bother for photographs.






It's an excellent treatment for nature photography. With paintings a different homemade style may be better. Anyone here make DIY frames / know someone who makes DIY frames for the purposes of mounting paintings?
 
#247 ·
@tinyliny , I just learnt on another thread that you lived in Japan for a few years. How exciting! Such an interesting culture. Did you go see a lot of art? Did any of their art influence you in your painting and drawing?

And I also wondered, have you seen the Japanese movie "Departures"? 2008 film we loved, it was so excellent...
 
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