Valle of Yellow Creek Art Studio Blog

So you want to become an artist?

“Can you tell me how you got to where you are with your work. I mean, my art is all over the place. I don’t know where to begin or when to finish. There’s no commonality in anything I am making. How do I make paintings like the ones that you do?” (Questions taken from Nancy Reyner’s “Painting Blog” January 8, 2010).

My answer to these question would be – you choose to be an artist for a lifetime! There are times when you would much rather be doing something else and not sit at that art show in the hot sun. But, you have chosen to be an artist.

How long will it take to paint a cohesive body of work? Do you have a subject that you are passionate about? Then paint a series of work that accentuates this passion. Set a number for the amount of paintings you will paint for the series, when the series is finished, you will have a much clearer picture of what and how you want to be known for.

Practice makes perfect and your art is no exception. After deciding on the type painting to paint for the series, the number of paintings in the series, then the hard part begins.

How much experience do you have in the type painting that you have selected? If it’s not much, then your time will be longer. Practice, practice, practice. Even tho I’ve painted for 30+ years, if I decide to paint something in a style that I haven’t perfected, it takes many hours of practice before I feel I have mastered the techniques such as the way to hold my brush, or lay down the colors and on which ground do I want to paint this picture.

I have always been a landscape artist, but I’ve grown in that I started with oils, when I was called away from my easel for a while, due to the illness of my daughter, I didn’t want to paint with just oils anymore. While I wasn’t painting I read watercolor and pastel books and learned that other mediums offered beautiful ways to express my creative spirit also.

But, when I was back at the easel, there was much practice that had to be done and I accumulated quite a stack of used watercolor and pastel paper before I had a painting that was good enough to exhibit.

If you have chosen to become an artist, I invite you to download “Choosing To Be An Artist – For A Lifetime”, the first chapter is an interview with an artist that has been an artist for a lifetime. I think you will enjoy this Special Report and gain insight and encouragement for your artistic journey.

Ellene
http://ElleneBreedloveDavis.com
http://ElleneBreedloveDavisRadio.com
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Beneficial tips for pulling your painting together with glazing. I invite you to keep a notebook either on a notes program in your computer or on paper for these tips.

Painting with only a single color wash makes a clear color. But, a single wash does not make the brilliant color wanted, in most cases.

1. Use transparent colors near each other on the color wheel.

2. Use a soft brush and gentle hand to apply the paint.

3. Glaze to add brilliance, in the shadows, texture and depth of paintings.

4. When we glaze we add another color over the dried, first color, which gives a greater richness or glow than one color alone.

5. Adding glaze to a shadow impacts the way light and dark play against each other.

6. Glazing helps to emphasize the contrast between light and dark.

7. At times you may place as many as 6 glazes to get the effect you want.

8. Glaze can be applied warm transparent color over warm transparent color, or cool transparent color over cool transparent color.

9. Another way is to lay down the warm color first and lay the cool color over it.
Glazing can bring wonderful effects to oil paintings or watercolor paintings. The technique for glazing oils is just a bit different.

10. Especially in watercolors, only go over the area once. This needs to be very dry before applying the next color.

11. In her book”Building Brilliant Watercolors, Judy D, Treman advises to apply reds last.
The reason being they go everywhere if a drop of water or wet brush happens to touch them. She also advises to paint reds with a single, smooth wash.

Glazing is a technique I frequently use and experiment with. I think it’s fun and effective.

Ellene
Ellene Breedlove Davis
P S To see my paintings click on http://ellenebreedlovedavis.com

After the watercolor workshop in South Georgia, on Saturday, I’ve returned to a cold and snowy North Georgia.

There were 7 students (3 new) in class. These are often ladies that have known each other for a lifetime. They are serious about learning watercolor fundamentals! They do not take this workshop lightly.

The subject this month was a poppy. Everyone had a great picture, even the ones that had not painted before.

Would you like to learn to paint with watercolors? They are more forgiving than everyone thinks. In fact, several students made note of this when I was showing them that changes are relatively easy with watercolors.

Contact me,(just click the Contact button at the top of the blog) and tell me YOU want to learn to paint with watercolors.

“Honor Your Creative Spirit!”

Ellene
Ellene Breedlove Davis
http://ellenebreedlovedavis.com
http://ellenebreedlovedavisradio.com
http://twitter.com/ellenebdavis
http://facebook.com/ellenebdavis

The study of rhythm and how it affects our paintings is not ony interesting but is very important to the artist.

There are two methods of dividing this subject, two points of view from which the subject can be approached.

Number 1 is Unity and Number 2 is Variety.  These are qualities that we think of as being opposed to each other, such as harmony and contrast in the realm of color.

Unity is concerned with the relationship of all the parts to that oneness of conception that should control every detail of a work of art. All the profound qualites, the deeper emotional notes, are on the side of unity in the subject.

On the other hand variety holds the secrets of charm, vitality and the picturesque.  It is the “dither” of the play between the larger parts, that makes for life and character. Without variety there can be no life.

I invite you to click on the “So You Want To Be An Artist” button at the top of the page, this will take you to the page to  register for a free 18 page report – Choosing To Be An Artist – For a Lifetime.  Just enter your name and email and the report will be on its way to you. This also entitles you to receive the Valle of Yellow Creek Art Studio Blog E-Zine at no charge to you.  It is published on the 1st and 3rd Saturday of each month.  The E-Zine has lots of art related information.  I’d love to have you as a member!

You will want to read the interview of a gallery owner and artist. It’s interesting to see how she has remained faithful to her calling of being an art teacher and artist for a lifetime.

Ellene

Ellene Breedlove Davis

http://ellenebreedlovedavis.com

http://ellenebreedlovedavisradio.com

http://twitter.com/ellenebdavis

http://facebook.com/ellenebdavis