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Thurday, March 20, 2008
To
accurately convey your feelings about the subject you are painting, you
should learn and understand the fundamentals of oil painting like
drawing, color theory, value and composition. I hope to give you a
better understanding of these fundamentals in this article. This article
is meant to be an introduction. You should study these topics further on
your own when you have time.
DRAWING
Learning to draw, as a foundation for oil painting, is one of the most
valuable skills a beginner oil painter can have. Many new artists
usually frown upon the idea of drawing first. They would rather jump
right into painting, as most beginners do. Nothing is more rewarding for
a painter, than working with color, but if you want to gain experience
working with values, form, and space, then drawing is something you
should consider learning. This is not to say that you should master
drawing, as it is an art form all in itself, but do spend time drawing
and sketching your subjects before you work with color. Did you know
that in art schools, many years ago, students were not permitted to work
with paint until they successfully spent at least a few years drawing
first? They must have been very restless, but imagine how skilled they
became before they ever lifted a brush. You should at the very least
have a basic understanding of drawing techniques before you begin. Check
out Amazon.com for some great beginner drawing books that will give you
a well rounded introduction to drawing and techniques. A book that is
highly recommended by artists is: "The New Drawing on the Right Side of
the Brain, by Betty Edwards".
COLOR AND VALUE
Color is probably the single most exciting part of oil painting. It is
truly amazing how an artist can take a two dimensional surface and
create the illusion of depth and distance using color. To accurately
depict a three dimensional scene using color requires much practice and
an understanding of color theory and how to mix colors. The basics of
color are value, hue, saturation and temperature. The value of a color
is how light or dark it is. The hue refers to the color itself as it
appears on the spectrum of colors. The saturation is the strength or
purity of the color. The temperature of a color is how cool or warm a
color is. For instance a cool color is blue and a warm is red. Artists
can use temperature to give the illusion of distance. Cooler colors tend
to recede into the distance, as in a distant mountain range, and warmer
colors tend to advance closer toward the front of a picture. Color
theory is a very broad topic, one that deserves more thorough attention.
A great book on color theory and mixing is "Color Mixing the Van Wyk
Way: A Manual for Oil Painters".
COMPOSITION
Have you ever visited an art museum and a particular painting just
grabbed your attention and drew you in? Something in that painting kept
you there looking and studying it. One element the artist successfully
used in that painting was composition. The artist laid out the shapes
and divided the space in the painting in such away that appealed to your
senses. Here are some points to consider when developing your
composition:
1) Avoid putting the main focus of interest in the center of your
painting.
2) The areas of your canvas should be divided into parts of different
sizes.
For instance, if you are creating a landscape painting, do not put the
horizon right in the center of your painting.
3) Do not place all the interesting parts of your composition on the
left side of your painting. People read from left to right so they will
have no reason to continue viewing the rest of your painting.
4) Avoid placing an interesting or important element of the painting too
close to the edge of the canvas.
There are other elements that contribute to good design in an oil
painting. Here is another good book to study if you would like to learn
more about this fascinating aspect of painting: “The Simple Secret to
Better Painting: How to Immediately Improve Your Work with the One Rule
of Composition by Greg Albert”
I know all this information seems overwhelming at first. Oil painting
can be very challenging in the beginning, but don't let that intimidate
you. The most important thing to remember is to never give up and keep
painting. You will learn from your mistakes and grow as a painter.
Everything will come together in time. Happy Painting!
By:
rserpe |
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