Try not to divide any element in your artwork in half. This especially includes the temperature of the painting.
What I mean is - it shouldn’t be half warm and half cool. Warm colors are like fire - red, orange, yellow and brown. Cool colors are like water and grass - blue and green.
If your painting is mostly warm, add a little cool for contrast. If it’s mostly cool, add a little warm to spice it up.
A great step-by-step canvas stretching demo I came across on YouTube.
Materials: Staple Gun, Raw Canvas, Canvas Pliers, Staples, Stretcher Bars, Hammer, Scissors, gesso, medium grade sand-paper.
Store bought canvas is great, but there is nothing like being able to stretch your own canvas especially if it is linen. Also, most pre-stretched store bought canvas is cotton and you don’t have a choice of size or texture, only what you can find on the shelf. Yes, pre-stretched cotton canvas is easy to buy and use, but knowing the basics is always essential. Master painters like Monet, Cezanne, Winslow Homer, & Rembrant stretched their own canvas. Why not stretch yours! It’s really not that hard and only takes minutes. Once you learn, you can set some time aside just to stretch and prime your canvas. You’ll feel more in control and get the texture you really want for your individual paintings. Enjoy the demo!
Art is a part of life and for some, it is their way of life. Others usually consider art as a worthy investment. Regardless of how you see art, restoring and preserving art pieces are important techniques to maintain their value. Painting restoration is a serious matter; that is why most people prefer to have their paintings professionally restored. However, if you like the thought of restoring your own pieces, lots of practice and familiarity with techniques are necessary. Because according to statistics, more paintings and art works are destroyed each year by inept restoration and cleaning than by accidental burning or fire.
Clouded varnish, dirt, and smoke are the usual culprits that cause paintings to become dirty. Restoring paintings by cleaning it is the logical step of most owners. However, wiping paintings with rags or whatever liquid is damaging. Art restoration professionals recommend researching restoration techniques on the internet or attending seminars on restoring paintings before embarking on a restoration mission.
Art works look more elegant and classic when preserved in their original frames. As it is, detaching paintings from their frames is necessary and important before the actual cleaning. Non-removal of the frames not only causes discomfort and unease in cleaning, it also causes scratches and abrasion. Remove the frames by laying the picture backside up on a flat surface layered with foam or cushion to avoid scratching the frames. Vacuum accumulated dust on the frames’ back and remove nails gently with a metal ruler and pliers. Secure the nails on board with labels of their previous positions. For example, secure and label the nails plucked from the lower right side of the frame as “lower right”. This way, each nail fits exactly on its previous place without causing added strain on the frame. Marking the frame is also a good idea to be able to return it to its original position.
After removing paintings from their frame, it is better to inspect the kind of dirt build-up on the paintings. Knowing the kind of dirt to be removed is necessary in finding and using the right product and tools. Anti-mildew solutions remove mildew build-up or “foxing” effectively. However, soaking the painting in these solutions damages the colors and the painting. To prevent this, soak or spray the solution on a cotton pad and wipe on the area affected with foxing. Follow up with a water-dipped cotton pad and wipe dry. Periodically check cotton pads to see if some color or paint was dissolved. For dirt build-up that requires light to medium cleaning, slicing an onion in half and dipping it in lemon juice remove grime and dirt off art work. Rub paintings with lemon-soaked onion using a circular motion for even application. Slice the onion regularly to expose a fresh layer. An alternative is using warm water with lemon detergent or washing soda. Finish either treatment by wiping their painting with a moist sponge and leaving it to dry. Art works respond to this treatment with improved depth of color.
Experts recommend leaving varnish removal and painting repair to the professionals. Art works do not sell well or look good if extensively damaged. As these types of restoration require complicated techniques, the chances of botching the job are high if done by amateurs. The job is expensive but make the value of your paintings appreciate.
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Have you ever wondered how to stretch a canvas? Well now you can see a great demonstration with a step-by-step guide by clicking the title above or by clicking here. Stretching a canvas is a rather easy process if you have the right tools. Any regular old staple gun will work, it doesn’t have to be electric.
Today I came across an amazing website, http://realcolorwheel.com, which describes many art related subjects in detail. The example to the left is a color wheel that I pulled from the site. This is just one example of many detailed pages you can find. Below the color wheel, on the site, you can find an extensive list of color names with links to their temperature ranges. Besides the extensive color charts you can find all kinds of great resources by clicking on the links at the bottom of the page. The Perspective Diagrams really caught my attention. The explanations and pictures are clear and descriptive. I also found a link to “Making Mediums” where you can read about the structure of different painting mediums and their qualities. I could continue writing a ton of reviews on this site but I would like you to see it for your self. Click on the title at the top of this review to go straight to the page. Great information, enjoy!
How many times have you finished painting and end up with tons of left over paint that you don’t want to waste? Here is a solution! Go to your local camera shop or Costco, and ask for some empty film containers. You can get them free of charge. I would load up since digital cameras are so popular these days and film containers are disappearing. These containers are practically air-tight if you use them correctly. Get a small tube or container of petroleum jelly, I like the ones that are for traveling. The jelly will act as a vacuum sealer for the container. Once you have placed the leftover paint in the film container tube, smear a generous amount of petroleum jelly around the rim of the tub. Close the lid! Your paint is now safe and will not dry out. I am not saying this will work for years or anything, but it will save the paint for several weeks or months. If you want to save the paint for more than a 3 months you can place the small film tube in the freezer. This will completely preserve your paint, even for years!
Have any of the below ever happened to your canvas.
These are all fairly common problems. There is an easy fix to all of these. Canvas that is pre-made and pre-packaged usually has a glue like substance married into the fibers. Cotton and linen canvas usually shrinks when wet so here is what you do:
(Note: Thick canvas materials like linen may need more than one application.)
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Everyday I see my students throw away tons of paint. Whether it is acrylic paint or oil paint there are ways to save your left-over paint at the end of a session. Here’s what you do:
When you are ready to paint again just remove the plate and paint from the freezer and let it thaw for about 25 min. Your paint is like new! Enjoy!
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07 1st, 2008| 