There is a specific skill in attempting to capture the sense of movement in a still image like a painting. It’s a problem that, for artists who specialize in pet portraits, are only too familiar with. Furthermore, if done properly, it will greatly add to the potency of the image being created. (more…)
Posts Tagged ‘pet portraits’
How to capture the sense of movement in a painting
Tuesday, March 9th, 2010Preparing the a surface for miniature painting
Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010Miniature painting has had a bit of a resurgence of late, partially down to the increased interest in calligraphy. Calligraphy itself is coupled to book illumination, a forerunner of miniature painting techniques. Miniature painting became popular during the 17th century as a technique for producing portraits of loved ones, enabling the owner to carry their likeness around with them. (more…)
Laying out your colour palette
Saturday, January 23rd, 2010Whether an artist is specialising in pet portraits, landscapes, or traditional portraits, keeping colours as pure as possible is an important part of producing paintings that look fresh an clean.
The appearance of any colour is dependant on the circumstance in which it is seen. The way a colour is seen is effected by the colours next to it and on which it is placed. (more…)
(Some) Oil painters do it with wood!
Wednesday, January 20th, 2010Stretched canvas is a very popular option for pet portrait artists as a support for their paintings. Nevertheless, there are substitute supports that can be just as worthy when you don’t have any canvases to hand. Wood has traditionally be used as a support for oils and indeed, is one of the earliest forms of support for painting. (more…)
Useful techniques for copying a drawing onto canvas
Saturday, January 16th, 2010With a few painting techniques, similar to those used by many pet portrait artists, detail is an important part of the completed picture. In light of this, it is always recommended that you create preliminary drawings, but what’s the easiest way to transfer the finished drawing to the canvas? Historically, artists employed one of three techniques to achieve this, the following explanations describe the principle behind them. (more…)
Get the better quality canvases by preparing your own
Tuesday, January 12th, 2010
For most artists, including those who specialise in pet portraits, stretching their own canvas not only saves money on commercially prepared canvases, but also provides them with a much better result. Generally, commercially prepared canvases tend to be quite light weight with just the minimal number of primer layers needed. When we prepare our own canvases we select the quality of canvas, stretcher bars and primer that suits our painting style, so creating something that will work perfectly with our finished painting and having a much improved chance of lasting in good order. (more…)
Useful aids to assist colour and tone in oil painting
Friday, January 8th, 2010A significant part of any painting, whether a pet portrait or abstract picture, is the relationship in colour and tone. Tone is the degree of light and shade in the picture, it exists independently of colour and can be measured on a scale which progresses from white to black. The sense of colour is created by the eye’s reaction to light of certain wavelengths; pure colour exists only as light, and as far as painters are concerned, all colours are also modified by tonal value. (more…)
Suitable painting supports
Saturday, November 7th, 2009There is a selection of materials that can be utilised as a support, but the pet portrait artist has to decide what will be the most suitable material for the longegity of his or her painting. Much will depend on the type of paint being used, oil and acrylic tend to be a more flexible medium so can be applied with reasonable confidence on fabrics that have been properly prepared. More brittle mediums such as tempera, gouache or pastel, require a more rigid support such as prepared boards. (more…)
Making Pastels
Wednesday, October 28th, 2009With most artists and crafts people, pet portrait artists are a careful bunch and, if they are able to save money by making their own materials, bet your bottom dollar they will. As with paints, pastels can be very expensive to buy and the best ones always seem to run out more quickly however, it is possible to make your own at a fraction of the price of shop bought ones. It is also possible to achieve better results, often manufactured pastels lack the intermediate greys, grey-greens and the half-tone required for rendering flesh colours. (more…)