Hello World.
If you could look inside my head … you’d walk a mile in a different man’s shoes.
Something like this:
Well, not as wingy as Dore’s Don Quixote, but, you know.
I’m setting up a Patreon account for those who would like to do Deep Dives into the technical side of making Art. Techniques, art instruction books, famous paintings…stuff like that.
The idea is that we will take our time. These will be ‘long form’ explorations, where we will share work, ideas and discoveries. We’ll get into the nitty gritty details, and try to find the secrets behind the Artist or the Work.
And there is no reason we have to only do one project at a time. Two or even three can be happening, though we will of course focus for a week or two at least on the same project.
I will try to make regular demonstration videos, post lists of materials and references.
My thoughts are to start with basics, though, so we have a ‘platform’ from which to explore. Maybe the education in art fundamentals you never knew you needed!
That’s what this Post is about. So, in no particular order, here is a list of ideas I’d like to explore.
1. Preparing non-toxic painting oils and media – the Lois Velasquez methods
2. Using the three tools of composition: golden mean, ratio calipers, colour wheel
3. The Jack White Palette – exploring the essential and limited palette
4. How to simplify source photographs
5. Painting watercolors on canvas
6. Painting oils with light to dark watercolor method (Lois Cilfone method)
7. Painting tonal impressionist – big brush – landscapes – like Stuart Davies
8. Photorealism key elements (Mark Allen Russell)
9. Magic realism – what does it mean, how does it work? – how to do it
10. Trompe l’oeil – how to do it (what is it really, how to do it?)
11. Painting outdoors like Vincent Van Gogh (this is a cool one!)
12. Painting like Edward Hopper – lean, thin, scraped (opposite of Kinkaid)
13. Making real Buon Fresco
14. Paint from memory or imagination without reference
15. Painting over photographs
16. Paint in impasto with palette knives (the Scott Alexander method)
17. Painting to the Golden Mean layout (the Alex Colville method)
18. Painting in acrylics for under-layer, finishing in oils
19. Making artwork from dreams
20. How to render metal surfaces in oil paint (silver, gold, copper, bronze)
21. Painting with big brushes: The Dan McCaw method
22. Painting on glass to look like stained glass
23. Miniatures
24. Wet on wet like Bob Ross and William Alexander
25. Still life – the Mark Carder method
26. Art therapy – what is it, how does it work
27. Thomas Kinkaid – painting on your own giclee – what and how to do it
28. Quick sketching methods
That’s enough for now. I’ll post a Patreon link when I’m up and going. This site is still getting set up.
September 19 2019
All the Best,
Sean.