Painters In West Chester PA use visual art to convey emotion, ideas, and narratives. They often experiment with various artistic styles and techniques to achieve their desired visual results.
Watch this tutorial from Painter Master Elite Melissa Gallo to learn the basics of painting an illustration and creating a value map. You’ll also see how to create a custom palette and calibrate your brushes.
When creating a painting it’s important to have a strong design. A strong design gives power to the piece and helps guide a viewer around it. To create a strong design start by drawing several pencil sketches of the subject. Try different formats, like squares, vertical rectangles or the tried and true horizontal landscape format. Focus on the lines that move the eye from one element to another. Typically the most commanding element will demand attention first, then the eyes will move to other supporting elements.
Composition is the overall arrangement of a painting’s subject and elements (abstract art of course doesn’t have a subject). The basic compositional structure includes: Balance, Contrast, Focus, Motion, Pattern, Proportion and Rhythm.
The concept of balance in a painting refers to the overall visual weight or tension created by the elements within a picture plane. A balanced composition has equal visual weights on both sides of the picture. This can be achieved through symmetrical arrangement, as with two identical figures or objects, radial symmetry, as in spokes on a wheel, or nonrepresentational balancing, such as the straight lined and curved shapes used by Piet Mondrian.
Lines are another key part of a painting’s design. Alinear designs consist of the painted contour lines that define the edges of tone and colour masses, the axial directions of images, and the implied lines from alignments of shapes across a picture. In addition, a painter may add figurative or gestural lines to guide the viewer’s eye and suggest movement and direction.
A study on gaze behaviour shows that paintings are often successful in guiding the eyes of viewers. However, it also demonstrates that this guiding is largely accomplished through the natural behaviour of visual selection and that the artist’s intentional composition may be only partially effective in achieving its desired goal.
Exploring Styles and Techniques
The range of painting styles and techniques available to artists is vast. Each of these methods is designed to enhance or highlight certain qualities in a work. Some are more complex, while others allow for greater freedom of expression. The process of exploring these different styles and experimenting with the mediums and tools is an important part of developing artistic skills.
A few of the most popular and sought-after techniques include the following:
One of the oldest art techniques is sketching with pencils. This is an excellent method for beginners who are interested in learning how to draw and develop their own unique style. Sketching is also a great way to practice composition and develop the basic skills of blending and shading.
Another technique that allows painters to experiment with their own style and create unique works of art is mixed media painting. By combining various materials, including clay, paper, and sand with paint, the artist is allowed to explore new ideas without being limited to any one medium. Working with these different components also helps the artist develop critical thinking and problem-solving capabilities, while honing dexterity.
Among the more modern art styles is surrealism, which was developed as a reaction to the destruction and devastation caused by World War I. This style of painting gives artists the freedom to break free from societal norms and depict unreal, imaginary scenes. This style has been used by a number of famous painters, including Joan Miro, Salvador Dali, and Pablo Picasso.
In contrast, Chinese paintings are typically characterized by their simplicity and beauty. These pieces are often inspired by nature and influenced by the culture of the dynasties that ruled China throughout history. Some of the most popular examples of Chinese painting include the stippling style, which involves wetting a brush with water then flicking it onto the canvas to create a textured effect.
Emphasizing Expression and Meaning
A painting is not just a representation of something physical; it can also express emotions and ideas. A painting might convey the idea of poised power, or it may exude nostalgia. The artist can use different art elements to create a contrasting effect for emphasis, or to draw the attention of the viewer to a particular area of the work. The emphasized area is often called the focal point of the painting.
For example, in John Singer Sargent’s paintings of Parisian beggar girls, the hard edges and burst of red around the girl’s hand accentuate this aspect of the artwork. It makes it clear what the big idea for the painting is, and how this part of the picture differs from the rest of the image.
Another way to emphasize a part of a work is to use color saturation. Monet’s Impression, Sunrise uses rich orange colors to emphasize the scene of the sun rising above the sea. This is a dramatic contrast with the rest of the painting, which consists of cool blues, greens, and grays.
It is important to remember that the idea of expressing emotion and meaning in a work of art does not necessarily mean that there must be a figure or human subject in the painting. A picture can evoke feelings without showing any human figures.
Throughout the Renaissance and into the Baroque period, artists focused primarily on conveying emotion by emphasizing aspects of nature. This was known as naturalism. The Baroque painter Caravaggio used dramatic lighting, gritty earth tones, and detailed depictions of the human body in his Deposition, but the picture still looked like something you might see in real life. In the Romantic era, artists began to move away from this strict focus on naturalism. Nevertheless, many continued to make works of art that were closely tied to the lives and customs of their own nation’s peasantry.
Refining and Finishing
When a painting has been largely completed, a series of steps are taken to refine the work. These may include smoothing textures and unifying colors. Then a varnish or other protective coating is applied to protect the painting and add sheen. Depending on the style of painting, these layers can be sanded by hand or with power sanders to remove any roughness and smoothing of color.
When oil paintings are dry, they can be refined with thin glazes of paint to smooth and unify colors or to soften fur or feathers. When applying a glaze, it is important to keep a light touch, so that the colors are smoothed but not smeared. This step can be a good time to make any adjustments to the colors or to the composition.
This is also a good time to reinforce the darkest values in a painting. For example, in this tabby cat painting, the stripes and whisker spots can be reinforced to ensure that they will stand out against the background of the canvas.
Refining is a critical step for oil painting. When linseed oil is properly refined (washed with salt), it becomes virtually non-yellowing and dries much faster than commercially available oil, which has been modified by adding driers and other additives to slow oxidation.
Making one’s own refining oil gives painters the opportunity to learn how the Old Masters did it and allows them control over the quality and character of their paints versus what is commercially available. The resulting linseed oil can be quite viscous, which makes it easy to grind pigment and dries quickly. It can be used to make a soft, gel-like paint-film that is very smooth and is able to hold fine brushstrokes.
Exhibiting and Selling
Paintings can be displayed and sold in person, either in galleries or at events like art shows. These exhibitions offer a variety of benefits for both artists and buyers, such as enhancing customer satisfaction and economic impact. They also facilitate the exchange of artistic ideas and create a close connection between audiences and art works.
Many people feel more compelled to purchase a painting in person than through online or virtual channels. In-person exhibitions can also foster emotional connections and increase the trust of prospective buyers, which can make all the difference when it comes to making a sale.
One of the most important skills in painting is learning how to prepare a painting for exhibition and sale. It’s essential to use high-quality materials, such as canvas or archival paper. Also, you must ensure that your paintings are properly framed and mounted for display. This includes using appropriate hardware and frames, as well as attaching d-rings for hanging. It’s a good idea to buy purpose built d-rings, which are robust enough to hold a large painting. It’s also important to consider the lighting at the venue where you plan to exhibit your artwork.
Artists often choose to hang their paintings with a grid to add structure and visual interest to the piece. In addition, they may add text or quotations to the work to enhance its meaning or significance. For example, a quote from the poet Dylan Thomas might be used to inspire a landscape painting or a poem by William Blake could serve as an inspiration for a still life painting.
Another aspect of preparing art for exhibition and sale is determining appropriate pricing. It’s important not to artificially raise prices for an exhibition, as this can turn potential buyers away. In addition, it’s important to be honest and transparent with buyers about your creative process and inspirations.