Digital cameras have advanced a great deal over the last few years and there are many available at reasonable prices for the amateur photographer. Still, if you want to take great photos of your pet, what camera is best for you?
Firstly, you needn’t worry about the number of pixels, unless you want to reproduce your pictures as posters. (more…)
If you want to take-up figure or portrait painting, you’ll need to understand the proportions of a human figure. By and large, artists will use the head when working out the proportions of a full figure. A standing figure is, on the whole, eight times the length of the head. (more…)
Whether the artist wanted to paint expressive portraits, landscapes or abstract works, they have long found that the texture of paint can be an integral part of the painting experience. Painters found that this effect could be utilised to show form and texture and, by the nineteenth century had developed it further into the technique now known as impasto. As the nineteenth century progressed, artists began to use this technique for it’s own sake, creating works using this method alone. (more…)
Easels should help make the life of the pet portrait artist much easier, by offering a secure support for their canvas, at just the right height and angle. Still, there are a number of varieties to go for, each one designed to meet the particular needs of the artist whether they’re in a studio or outside.
The most versatile is the sketching easel. (more…)
Since the early Renaissance, artists working on portraits in oil (or any other subject for that matter) have always started with a layer of size to seal the raw canvas or board prior to the gesso ground. It’s job is to protect the canvas from the chemicals in the paint that may cause it to break down. Today, if you use an acrylic primer, size is not always required, but it’s remains a good way of protecting the canvas and if you make your own gesso is an important part of the preparation. (more…)
Miniature 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…)
There 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…)
With 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…)