Blog
One Positive Way to Boost and Inspire Creativity
Artists and writers alike have one ultimate fear in common: standing or sitting in front of a blank white canvas or piece of paper, void of having any thought or idea whatsoever.
However, apparently there is one very simple solution to the so-called
Artist’s or Writer’s block…turn on some tunes!
They can't just be any tunes though, so if you have an affinity for Pink Floyd or The Verve's "The Drugs Don't Work", you may want to save your listening to those particular songs until you're already submerged in a flow of creativity.
According to a study published back in 2017 in the online Journal
PLoS One, listening to happy music (such as positive, mood uplifting classical
music) enhances creativity with a divergent thinking task.
During the study, participants listened to four different
selections of music: Carnival of the
Animals XIII – The Swan by Camille Saint-Saens (positive Calm); The Four
Seasons – Spring by Antonio Vivaldi (positive Happy); Adagio for Strings by
Samuel Barber (negative Sad); and The Planets – Mars by Gustav Holst (negative
Anxious) with silence as the control condition.
Researchers found that unlike the other three music selections, there was a significant difference in divergent thinking performance when participants listened to Vivaldi’s Four Seasons as opposed to nothing at all (silence), suggesting that listening to happy music increases a person’s performance on overall generation of creative ideas.
Of course there are other suggested ways to boost creativity such as going for a walk (like Mozart and Dickens would do), surrounding yourself with the colour blue (apparently blue encourages people to think outside the box), meditating or even just taking a relaxing bath.
However, the next time you find yourself in need of some quick inspiration when faced with that blank white surface sitting in front of you, maybe crank up Vivaldi’s Four Seasons or The Marriage of Figaro by Mozart for some creative inspiration!!
Please send any comments, thoughts on this post or what it is that inspires you by filling out the "Please Send Me Your Comments and Questions" space located on the left-hand side of this page.
I would love to hear from you!! Thankyou!!
“Imagination is the beginning of creation. You imagine what you desire, you will what you imagine, and at last, you create what you will.”
– George Bernard Shaw
Artistic Goals for Artists that are Achievable - Happy New Year!!
It’s that time of year again when we can all whip out that blank piece of paper or bright white canvas and start fresh!
It is also a great time to set up our artistic goals for the year. We may or may not accomplish them all, but by setting a few goals at the start, it will help in getting all of us motivated and heading in the right direction toward our Artistic dreams. If you're looking for some inspiration, I’ve written down a few suggestions:
Get a new Sketchbook full of blank white pages, write the new year on the cover and commit to drawing at least one new sketch/idea every day.
Try a new Medium – If you’re watercolour
artist, maybe try your hand at acrylic this year and vice-versa. If you normally draw, try your hand at
painting this year. The choices are vast and many, so try something new...who knows...you may end up loving it!
Draw from Life – draw anything and
everything, a flower, an orange, your pet…even your garbage can! Life drawing is different than drawing from a photograph as it fully trains your mind and your skills to capture the subject instead of letting a camera do most of the work for you.
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| Woman Sitting - Pen & Ink on Paper (c)LorraineGermaineArt |
Draw and Paint from your Imagination – this will
provide you with endless possibilities; you’ll be surprised at how your imagination
expands the more you exercise it.
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| Time Marches On - 24x24 acrylic on canvas ((c)Lorraine Germaine Art - 2022) |
Submit your artwork to at least one new show/exhibition
this year and if you don’t feel comfortable with showing your work to the
public yet, invite your family and friends over for a private at-home
exhibition. The important thing is to Start
Showing your Work to a Wider Audience.
If you haven’t done it already or if you’ve
changed your painting palette, Make a Colour Chart. If you need help, just scroll down on this
page and you’ll find my article titled “How to Make a Colour Chart in 8 Easy
Steps”.
Set up your own Art Website or if you find that a bit too daunting yet, Join a Community Website such as the one I joined, www.lorraine-germaine-fine-art.pixels.com
Organize your Art Studio – Now’s the time to sort through those ravaged paint brushes, hardened tubes of paint and scraps of paper and order some new art supplies to get you motivated. If you want to give your studio a whole new look, check out www.pinterest.ca for loads of great ideas to help get you started.
Learn and gather Art Information by reading one new Art Book, Blog (like this one!), or Art Magazine and visit one new Art Exhibit or Gallery at least once a month.
― Neil Gaiman
What Inspires You?
A fairly common question people ask Artists is, “Where do
you get your inspiration from?” And,
more often than not, the answer is “Everywhere”. From books to movies to dreams to real life
situations, artists find themselves surrounded with inspiration. Even colours can be inspiring.
For some artists, finding inspiration is pretty straight
forward. For instance, a landscape
artist can go out into nature to find their inspiration much like the French
impressionist Claude Monet did. For
example, for his much-celebrated painting series of “Water Lilies”, Monet
looked no farther than his own garden.
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| Water Lilies, Evening Effect (1897-1899) - Claude Monet (Photo: WikiArt Public Domain) |
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| Grande Vue de Paris (2010) - Patrick Pietropoli (Photo: WikiArt Fair Use) |
Some Pop artists only need to check out their kitchen to
find theirs. Andy Warhol got his
inspiration from his own lunch when he painted his famous Campbell’s Soup Can
series. According to the artist, he had
the very same repetitive lunch of Campbell’s soup every day for over twenty
years.
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| Big Campbell's Soup Can 19c (Beef Noodle) (1962) - Andy Warhol |
But what about Surrealist artists? Where do they get their inspiration from? Salvador Dali, for instance, got his inspiration from his tumultuous family life, his Catalan upbringing and even Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalyst theories including Freud’s book “The Interpretation of Dreams” published in 1913. Frieda Kahlo gathered some of her inspiration from both her indigenous Mexican culture and her own life filled with pain, suffering and medical issues.
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| Apparition of My Cousin Carolinetta on the Beach at Rosas (1934) - Salvador Dali |
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| My Dress Hangs There (1933) - Frida Kahlo |
From what we perceive as beautiful to sheer ugliness, joyful
to painfilled heart wrenching life moments, boringly mundane to brilliantly
bright colours, inspiration is everywhere…all we have to do is open our eyes,
hearts and minds to notice it.
What is it that inspires you?
“I don't think about Art when I'm working; I try to think about Life." - Jean-Michel Basquiat
The Greatest Sculptor of all time is Not Michelangelo
When thinking of the greatest sculptor of all time, one name
comes instantly to most people’s minds and that is the name of Michelangelo or Michelangelo di
Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni. However,
there is another name that is not so commonly thought of, especially in North
America, and that is the name of Gian Lorenzo Bernini.
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| Self-Portrait Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1623) - Bernini (Photo: Wiki Art Public Domain) |
Gian Lorenzo
Bernini was born in Italy, in Napoli (or Naples) on December 7, 1598. Bernini’s genius was first recognized by both
his father, a sculptor originally from Firenze (Florence) and Pope Paul V when
he was merely 8 years old.
Upon moving
to Rome, Bernini caught the attention of Cardinal Scipione Borghese who brought
his vast talent to the attention of Pope Paul V. Under the patronage of Cardinal Borghese, the
young Bernini created pieces for the garden of the Villa Borghese in Rome, one
of which was “The Goat Amalthea with the Infant Jupiter and a Faun” which is now in the Galleria Borghese in Rome. This particular sculpture is considered to be
the first work created entirely by Bernini.
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| The Goat Amalthea with the Infant Jupiter and a Faun (1615) - Bernini (Photo: Wikipedia Public Domain) |
When Bernini was only 22 years old, his talents were so noticed, that he was commissioned to complete a Papal portrait of Pope Paul V called Bust of Pope Paul V, now located in the Galleria Borghese in Rome.
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| Bust of Pope Paul V (1621) - Bernini (Photo: Wikipedia Public Domain) |
In 1623,
when Bernini was 25 years old, Bernini’s friend and mentor, Cardinal Maffeo
Barberini became Pope Urban VIII. Under
Pope Urban VIII’s papacy, Bernini was officially appointed as Curator of the
Papal Art Collection, Director of the Papal Foundry at Castel Sant’Angelo, and
Commissioner of the Fountains at Piazza Navona.
By the time Bernini
was 29, his reputation was already well established by the completion of
four masterpieces which are presently displayed to this day at the Galleria Borghese
in Rome. They are: Aeneas, Anchises, and
Ascanius; The Rape of Proserpina; Apollo and Daphne; and David.
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| Aeneas, Anchises, and Ascanius (1619) - Bernini (Photo: Wiki Art Public Domain) |
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| The Rape of Proserpina (1622) - Bernini (Photo: Wiki Art Public Domain)  Apollo and Daphne (1625) - Bernini (Photo: Wiki Art Public Domain) |
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| Apollo and Daphne (1625) Detail - Bernini (Photo: Wikimedia Commons CC 3.0) |
The realism in his works were astonishing. For example, in The Rape of Proserpina (Ratto di Proserpina or Kidnapping of Proserpina), the hand of Pluto presses into the flesh of Proserpina as if the thigh of the statue is made of soft human flesh, rather than hard marble.
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| The Rape of Proserpina (1622) Detail - Bernini (Photo: Wikimedia Commons CC SA 3.0) |
In 1629, with no architectural training, Bernini was appointed
Chief Architect of Saint Peter’s. From
this point on, his work became synonymous with the city of Rome itself.
Bernini’s contribution to Rome and the art world are vast. A few of his most outstanding works are:
St. Peter’s Baldacchino, the monstrous bronze canopy which sits over the tomb of Saint Peter and directly under the dome of Saint Peter's Basilica in Vatican City...
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| Saint Peter's Baldacchino (1634) - Bernini (Photo: Wikimedia Commons CC0) |
The Four Rivers Fountain located in Piazza Navona (Rome),
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| Fountain of the Four Rivers or Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi (1651) - Bernini (Photo: L. Germaine) |
and The Ecstasy of Saint Teresa located in the Cornaro Chapel of Rome’s Santa Maria della Vittoria.
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| The Ecstasy of St. Teresa (1640) - Bernini (Photo: Wikimedia Commons CC SA 4.0) |
Bernini died at the age of 81 from a stroke. A simple stone in the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome marks the grave of who was perhaps the greatest sculptor of all time, Gian Lorenzo Bernini.
It is difficult to walk around the city of Rome without
seeing the mastery of Bernini’s works. So,
if you get the chance, visit Rome where you may admire and appreciate his works firsthand. Until then, if you’re interested in learning
more about the life and work of Gian Lorenzo Bernini, there is a wonderful book titled “Bernini”
by Rudolf Wittkower , which is filled with all sorts of information and
photography of the breathtaking works of this master Italian sculptor.
Every Artist’s painting process is as
unique and individual as they are, and the particular process used is what
helps to give each artist their own particular style. With that in mind, I would like to give you a
glimpse into my particular portrait painting process by showing you how I
painted “A Reluctant Model” from start to finish.
Step One: Get a Model
It goes without saying that a portrait
painting requires a portrait model. For
this particular portrait, I decided to paint my son (hence the name “The
Reluctant Model”). Some artists prefer
painting their portraits with a “live” model, however since this requires hours
and hours of patience (which usually leads to boredom) on the part of the
model, I chose to paint my portrait from the source that requires much less
time on the model’s part…a photograph.
Step Two: Prepare the Canvas and Draw out the Image
For this particular portrait, I chose a 12x12 inch gallery wrapped canvas that was already pre-primed with gesso. As the canvas was bright white, I decided to do an underpainting in Ultramarine Blue this time since I wanted a bit of a cooler undertone to the painting. Once the canvas was covered in blue, I mixed up a flesh colour, took one of my smaller brushes then freehand drew out the image directly onto the canvas.
Step Three: Fill in the Base colours
Next, I started to fill in the image with the base colours. Some artists choose to use a single colour straight from the tube however I enjoy mixing my colours as I find it gives them a bit more luminosity with flecks of individual colour here and there. For example, I will mix a red with a yellow and white to produce a flesh tone rather than using a flat flesh tone straight from a tube. Once the base colours of hair and flesh were in, I then started to add in some of the shadows and highlights. I also used a dry brush and began to stipple in the whiskers
Step Four: Focus on the Details
I now began to add in the detailed
work, bringing out the shadows and highlights more, with a special focus on the
eyes and facial expression to obtain a likeness. I also painted the background over in a solid white to prepare for a lighter toned background.
Step Five: Final Details and Background
At this stage, I added in even more
detail, focusing on small value changes and emphasized the direction of the
light. I then decided to cover the
background in shades of blue to blend in
with his shirt and added in some splashes of blue’s complementary colour, orange,
for fun and warmth. To finish it off I added my signature and voila! A finished portrait
of “The Reluctant Model”!
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| "The Reluctant Model" - 12x12 acrylic on canvas |
“I do not paint a portrait to look
like the subject, rather does the person grow to look like his portrait.” –
Salvador Dali
Odd
Tools Artists Use to Create With
Artists are
known for their vast selections of paintbrushes. There are brushes for oil paints, brushes for
watercolour paints, brushes for fur, brushes for tiny details, brushes for big
areas…well, you get the point. But did
you know that artists use other tools for painting besides all those brushes?
Remember
those finger paintings you did when you were a little kid in school? Well, some grown-up artists never stopped
using their fingers for painting, especially if they use either oil or acrylic
paint. The advantages of finger painting
are that you carry your tools with you all the time, they’re free, they’re easy
to clean, and they’re easy to maintain control over. The disadvantages are that unless you wear
gloves, you’re smearing paint chemicals all over your skin which is probably
not the healthiest thing to do.
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| Lady with Tulips - 36x24 acrylic on canvas (L. Germaine) (Painted with brushes and fingers) |
You know that toothbrush you clean your teeth with every morning and night? Some Artists use them for more than just their teeth, they paint with them. Artists dip a toothbrush in their paint and then flick the toothbrush with their finger to create a cool splatter effect. Hopefully, they don’t brush their teeth with it afterwards!
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| Holding On - 24x36 acrylic on canvas (L. Germaine) (Dust or sparkle effect created using a toothbrush) |
A more common tool used by some acrylic or oil painters is a palette knife. They’re easy to use, they’re extremely cheap when compared to most brushes, and they make it fairly easy to pile up paint similar to icing a cake. One artist who became famous for his palette knife paintings on television was Bob Ross who demonstrated just how easy this tool can be to use.
When it comes to watercolour paints, the tools at an artist’s disposal are vast and various. For one tool, many artists look no father than their wallet. Expired credit cards are often cut up into pieces and used to make different textures on the paper. For example, the hard-edged credit cards are great for scaping and dragging the watercolour paint to mimic the look of jagged rocks.
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| Watercolour study of cliff rocks using a credit card (L. Germaine) |
Another tool watercolour artists love to use are Kleenex tissues. The tissues are easy to ball up and soak up the watery paint to leave soft edges on the paper. For example, tissues are great for everything from making clouds, creating mist or fog, as well as softening the edges of changing values of colour.
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| Sacred Refuge - 8x10 watercolour on paper (L. Germaine) (painted with brushes and Kleenex) Net bags, like those for oranges, are also in a watercolour
artists arsenal, especially if they want an interesting texture similar to fish
scales. The bag is cut up into various
sizes, then the artist lays the flat piece of net over the paper and paints over
it with the desired colours.
Once the paint is dry, the net is removed and voila! Fish scales!  Drawing is another area where many unexpected tools are used
by artists, not just the usual pencils and pens. For example, would you believe that some
artists draw with Q-tips? When drawing
with India Ink, Charcoal or Graphite powder some artists use Q-tips and get
different values from strong to light as the ink or powders get absorbed by the
paper.  Tiger drawn on paper using India Ink and a Q-tip (L. Germaine) Tools for Artists are only limited by their imaginations. So, the next time you see an Artist grabbing
a kitchen utensil or a toothbrush, they’re most likely going to be starting a
new painting!
“We are bound only by the limits of
our imaginations.” – Misha Collins |
Ever wonder about the lives of some of the most famous artists in the world? Fortunately, we can get a glimpse into their creative minds and interesting yet somewhat tragic lives through film. I’ve listed 10 films for you on 10 of the most famous artists that span across several centuries and artistic periods, all the way from the Italian Renaissance to modern day Abstract.
1. At Eternity’s Gate (2018) Artist: Vincent Van Gogh Starring: Willem Dafoe
This film stars Willem Dafoe who was given an academy award
nomination for his portrayal of Vincent Van Gogh in this mesmerizing film which
depicts the famous post-impressionist artist’s tormented life from a very
psychological perspective of when he lived his final years in the south of
France. The scenery is beautiful, and
you also get some interesting background knowledge behind the inspirations of
this too late for his lifetime celebrated artist.
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| Red Vineyards at Arles - Vincent Van Gogh (1888) (Photo: Wiki Art Public Domain) 2. Frida (2002) Artist: Frida Kahlo Starring: Salma Hayek Salma Hayek was given an Academy Award nomination for her
gripping portrayal of the Mexican surrealist artist Frida Kahlo. The film shows many of Frida’s masterful
artworks and the real-life inspirations behind them. The artist’s tumultuous marriage filled with
betrayals and infidelities to muralist Diego Rivera is highlighted, including
her affair with political revolutionary Leon Trotsky.
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Starring Charlton Heston as Michelangelo, this movie depicts the
life of Michelangelo di Lodovico
Buonarroti Simoni, at the time when he was creating the Sistine Chapel. This multiple academy award nominee movie shows
the conflicted and often turbulent relationship between Pope Julius II and
Michelangelo which culminates in the creation of one of the most admired
masterpieces in the world.
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| The Last Judgment (Sistine Chapel) - Michelangelo (1537-1541) (Photo: Wiki Art Public Domain) 4. Renoir (2012) Artist : Pierre-Auguste Renoir Starring: Michel Bouquet This film, starring Michel Bouquet as Pierre-August Renoir,
shows the life of Renoir in his later years, living in the beautifully sunlit countryside
of southern France as he struggles to paint his last and final model, Andrée Heuschling, while suffering from
severely crippled arthritic hands.
Viewing the beautiful sunlit scenery alone, one can easily understand
why Renoir was so incredibly inspired by it.  The Luncheon of the Boating Party - Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1880-1881) (Photo: Wiki Art Public Domain) |
5. Moulin Rouge (1952) Artist : Henri de Toulouse Lautrec Starring: Jose Ferrer
Set in Paris, this movie describes the life of Henri de
Toulouse Lautrec, a man born into an aristocratic family who when chastised for
his short stature moved to Paris where upon he lived a bohemian lifestyle in
the Montmartre area and frequented the Moulin Rouge which was the inspiration
for many of his most well- known paintings.
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| At the Moulin Rouge, La Goulue with Her Sister - Henri de Toulouse Lautrec (1892) (Photo: Wiki Art Public Domain) |
6. Mr. Turner (2014) Artist: J.M.W. Turner Starring: Timothy Spall
This is the story of the last 25 years in the life of
eccentric British landscape artist J.M.W. Turner, one of the most prolific painters
of his time, having created over 2000 watercolours, 550 oil paintings and
30,000 works on paper. Once witnessing
Turner’s eccentric, insensitive and gruff personality (which is expressed
marvellously through Timothy Spall) it is considerably difficult to match it up
with his colourful light-filled romantic landscape paintings which were his
gift to the world. |
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| Flint Castle - J.M.W. Turner (1888) (Photo: Wiki Art Public Domain) |
7. Big Eyes (2014) Artist: Margaret Keane Starring: Amy Adams
Margaret Keane, now famous for her paintings of large eyed
contemporary characters, is fooled for a time by her then husband Walter as he
passes off and sells her paintings as his own in the 1950’s and 1960’s. Following her divorce, now out from under her
ex-husband’s shadow, Margaret’s paintings have evolved from the sad eyed
characters she once painted into those of happy eyed ones.
8. Girl with a Pearl Earring
(2003) Artist: Johannes Vermeer Starring: Colin Firth
This Academy Award nominee tells the story behind one of Johannes
Vermeer’s most famous paintings, Girl with a Pearl Earring which he painted in 1665. The painting is one of approximately 35
paintings attributed to the Dutch painter. The actual girl remains a mystery, however
this movie speculates on a possible answer.
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| The Girl with a Pearl Earring - Johannes Vermeer (1665) (Photo: Wiki Art Public Domain) |
9. Modigliani (2004) Artist: Amedeo Modigliani Starring:
Andy Garcia
Taking place in early 19th century Paris, the
film tells the tragic life of Italian expressionist artist Amedeo Modigliani who, along with his friend Pablo
Picasso, enter into the Paris Salon in hopes of winning the much sought-after
prize money to help support his family.
Modigliani’s tragic ending in the movie differs from real life only by
the means (he actually suffered from tubercular meningitis) but not the result.
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| Jeanne Hebuterne in Red Shawl - Amedeo Modigliani (1917) (Photo: Wiki Art Public Domain) |
10. Pollock (2000) Artist: Jackson Pollock Starring: Ed Harris
Jackson Pollock became famous after a close friend’s
connections award him a four-page spread in Life Magazine, asking the question,
“Is He the Greatest Painter in the United States?”. His most famous paintings were created during
the years 1947 to 1950, in his so-called “Drip” period. The movie reflects his business
relationship with Peggy Guggenheim, his personal relationship with his wife Lee
Krasner, his relationship with his mistress Ruth Kligman, and his ongoing
relationship with alcohol which leads to his untimely death at the age of 44.
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| Mask - Jackson Pollock (1941) (Photo: Wiki Art Fair Use) |
“Painting is just another way of
keeping a Diary.” – Pablo Picasso
Can Anyone Learn to Draw (and draw well)?
People often look at the drawings of artists, especially the realistic drawings, and say to themselves ‘I wish I could draw like that’ or when asked why they don’t put pencil to paper they reply ‘Oh, I can’t draw’. Well, I’m here to tell you that anyone can learn to draw and draw well.
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| Cinnamon Bun - Pen and Ink on paper (L. Germaine) |
A great way to start learning to see things as shapes and not objects is to take a simple line image such as a stained-glass pattern (uncomplicated to begin with) and draw it. But wait! Don’t draw the image right-side up…turn the paper so you’re looking at the image upside down. This way, your brain won’t perceive the image for what it is (let’s say a horse). Instead, your brain sees only lines and shapes. Once you’ve completed drawing all those lines and shapes, turn your drawing around so that you now see it right side up…I’ll bet you’ve surprised yourself at how well you were able to draw it!
Practice makes
perfect in most things and the same is for drawing. Keep practicing drawing upside down using
more complicated line drawings or stained-glass patterns. When you feel pretty confident with this, try
doing some drawings right side up. Easier
now, isn’t it?
Then, once you
feel confident with copying line drawings or stained-glass patterns right side
up, you can begin to draw (or sketch) objects that you see around you. The sky is the limit when it comes to
sketching, so bring your sketchpad along with you wherever you go and practice
drawing different things that catch your eye.
The next step in
drawing is learning to shade. Shading is
what gives a drawing that lifelike or 3D look.
The first thing you need to learn about when it comes to shading are
values. There are 9 values or shades, 10
if you include white. These shades of
grey go from white all the way to black.
To help, you may want to get yourself a Gray Scale or Value Finder. These little paper grey scales display all
the values in the grey scale. The more
shades you have in your drawing, the more realistic it will look. You may also want to get yourself a set of
artist grade graphite pencils. These
pencil sets give you all the shades you can find in the Gray Scale.
To help train your
eye to see different shades in objects, take a coloured photo but print it in
black and white then draw and shade it by using your Gray Scale for help.
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| Up a Tree - Graphite on paper (L. Germaine) |
A great book on learning to draw is “Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain” by Betty Edwards. She takes you from start to finish and everywhere in-between. The book is well organized and simple to follow with step-by-step practical lessons. Plus, by completing one particular drawing at the start and the same one upon completion, you’ll get to see just how far along you’ve come in your drawing journey.
Go from this...
So, can anyone
learn to draw and draw well? Yes, they
definitely can!
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| Woman Sitting - Pen and Ink on paper (L. Germaine) |
How to Make a Colour Chart in 8 Easy Steps
Colour
charts are a real time saver when it comes to choosing colours for your
paintings. They take away all the guess work as you’ve already got it all
figured out. Making colour charts is a
great way to give yourself a boost when creativity is running row as those
beautiful new colours you discover when mixing can inspire something new!
What You Need to Make a Watercolour Colour Chart:
For
the paper you use to make your colour chart you may choose to use the exact same
watercolour paper that you usually paint on or a slightly less expensive
watercolour paper.
8 Easy Steps:
Once
your colour charts are completed, you can put them up on the wall in your
studio area for quick reference or, if you’re feeling really ambitious, you may
want to cut out each painted square and glue them to a computer printed chart,
then place each chart in a clear plastic sleeve to keep organized together in a
binder…it’s up to you.
“Color and I are
one. I am a painter.” – Paul
Klee
Are Watercolour Paintings for Art Collectors?
The short answer is yes!
If this is the only kind of watercolours you are familiar with,
then please allow me five minutes of your time to show you how
much wider the world of watercolour is.
How about we begin by refreshing our knowledge with some historical
facts.
Watercolour painting has been around much longer than oil
painting. It has existed back to the
prehistoric times as seen in the cave paintings of Europe. Watercolour paintings have also been
considered the main form of painting in many countries such as East Asia and
India.
You may be surprised to know that one of the most famous
paintings in the world is a watercolour!
“Young Hare” (1502) by Albrecht Durer is a watercolour painting.
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Young Hare (1502) (By: Albrecht Durer) (Photo: Wiki Art Public Domain) |
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| Bedouins (1905) (By: John Singer Sargent) (Photo: Wiki Art Public Domain) |
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| Senecio (1922) (By: Paul Klee) (Photo: Wiki Art Public Domain) |
Will a Watercolour Painting last as long as an Oil
Painting?
The longevity of all paintings, watercolour, acrylic and oil,
is determined by the quality of the pigments used, the surface painted upon,
the framing and the light exposure. Let
me explain:
Pigments:
Pigments are those fine powders (both natural and synthetic)
that give paints their beautiful bright colours.
Pigments in watercolour are rated for permanence, just as they
are in oil and in both, quality counts. Today’s
premium artist grade watercolour paints are extremely durable and the colours
you achieve can be as bright as any acrylic or oil painting. Watercolour paints are usually translucent
and luminous giving many watercolour paintings an inner glow. I bet you didn’t know that watercolour paints
are the most expensive there are - yikes! Let’s compare:
W&N Cobalt Blue 14ml tube of
Prof. Watercolour Paint - $33.99
($2.43/ml)
W&N Cobalt Blue 60ml tube of
Prof. Acrylic Paint - $24.99
($0.42/ml)
W&N Cobalt Blue 37ml tube of Artists’ Oil Paint - $34.99 ($0.95/ml)
Surface:
Unlike most oil or acrylic paintings which are painted on canvas, watercolour paintings are usually painted on paper. For longevity, the paper used should be an acid-free, archival paper. If the paper used does not have these qualities, over time the paper will yellow, and no body wants that to happen. Arches 140lb. cold-pressed watercolour paper is one of the highest quality papers there is. It is not only an acid-free archival paper, but it is made from 100% cotton which adds to the paper’s strength and longevity. Arches has been producing their premium grade watercolour papers since 1492 (yes, the same year that Columbus sailed the ocean blue!).
Framing:
There is more to framing than just the colour and design of
the frame itself. When it comes to watercolour
paintings, they should always be framed behind glass (which helps to keep your
painting free of dust) and with an acid-free matte. If the matte is not acid-free, with time it
may affect your painting. If you want
extra protection, use UV (or museum) glass.
Light Exposure:
There are three words that come to mind when thinking about
light and paintings: No Direct Light!
No painting, whether it is watercolour, oil or acrylic, should
be placed in direct light. Even high-quality
pigments will fade when exposed to UV rays.
In fact, even your clothes will fade over time. Art museums are well aware of this fact and
that is why there is “No Flash Photography”!
Yes! Watercolour Paintings are Definitely for Art Collectors
Well, there you have it, the truth is out; today’s watercolour
paints (and paintings) will not fade any faster than acrylic or oil. Maybe a long time ago they did, but not these
days. And just think, even those watercolour
paintings of long ago, are still with us today!
“You will see - in the future, I will live by my watercolors.” – Winslow Homer
What is it Really Like to Work as an Artist?
The Fantasy
When most people think of the life of an Artist, often images come to mind of a carefree life, playing around with paint most of the day, living a privileged life off a family trust fund, meeting up with artist friends at coffee shops, attending and exhibiting art in fancy galleries while sipping on free wine and gourmet cheese.
The Reality
The reality
though, is quite different (well, some of it).
Life as an artist is much the same as that of any entrepreneur. It’s tough.
Yes, you have the luxury of scheduling your own time, you don’t have to
answer to a boss (because the boss is you) and you can take as much time off as
you want. However, you also don’t have
the comfort of having a fixed source of income, and you have to create and produce
your product then find ways of marketing and selling it when you are just
another drop in a giant ocean of artists.
In other words, you are a one man show; all the tasks and
responsibilities are on you. During the
current economic climate produced by the pandemic lockdowns, this has all proven
to be even more difficult.
Working from
Home
Working for yourself at home has its pros and cons. One of the pros is that you don’t have a set schedule. The con to this is that you don’t have a set schedule. With all that freedom it takes a lot of self-discipline to keep yourself focused on your work. It’s really nice that when it’s a sunny beautiful day outside that you can just drop everything and take the dog for a walk around the park, or drop everything and go have coffee with your friend who calls and wants to meet for a chat, etc. However, sometimes all that freedom can be too much of a good thing without a lot of self-discipline to keep yourself focused on the task at hand. Would you rather go for a walk along the ocean on a sunny day rather than sit at your computer scouring list after list of the latest artist calls trying to decide which ones are worthy of your time and money? You bet! But that walk along the ocean isn’t going to get your name and your art out there.
Creating your
Product
Then there’s the
creation process. In order to keep
yourself full of artistic inspiration, you need ideas. In order to have ideas, you need input. The input can come from talking with other
people, walks in nature, reading, listening to music, etc. Time needs to be set aside for gathering
inspiration or your artistic well will run dry and you definitely don’t want to
run into an artist’s block. When you are
full of artistic ideas, you need time to sketch your ideas so you won’t forget
them before you’re ready to start drawing and painting them.
Keeping Stock
of Supplies
Just like any
small business, you also need to keep stock of your supplies and reorder when
they start getting low, for if you order your supplies online (like I do from
DeSerres ( www.deserres.com ), you need
to leave time for delivery, which in uncertain circumstances can take up to a
couple of weeks. And if you live in a
small space (like I do) you will need to become a magician to store and
organize all those supplies.
Marketing
Then there’s the
marketing side. It’s really fun to
create all that artwork, but if you want to make a living from your artwork you
also need to sell it. This is something
that usually doesn’t come naturally to an artist, but nevertheless, it is
something that must be done. So, artists
set aside time in their day or week to market their art. This usually consists of searching calls for
artists, posting on social media, art marketing websites, plus searching for
and connecting with individuals for possible collaborations. All this takes time.
You may think that
posting on social media takes a few minutes.
However, there is a lot more involved.
If you think that social media marketing means just posting a selfie of
you and your art on your personal Facebook page, well, that’s not quite the
case since that usually doesn’t drive anyone to your page or your channel or
consequently any kind of sale (but if you’re able to do that, please let me
know!).
Marketing in modern
times implies having a wider and wider knowledge of several different fields at
a high level all at the same time in order to just be able to at least hope to
challenge your competitors in the market.
SEO, social media marketing, growth hacking, are just some of the funny
names you need to know in order to make yourself comfortable with it, and when
you start from zero and need to catch up with people who have been doing that
daily for the past 10 years you have quite a lot of countless hours in front
you. Hours of learning, screening
information looking for the best feed, consultations and tips from people who
know more than you. An exhausting amount
of attempts that will often cost you not just time but money and expertise just
to understand how the market is moving and make yourself a little less
naïve. All of that is just to put
yourself in the game.
Networking
Then there are all
the contacts and people you must get to know in an attempt to create your own
network. Good contacts don’t just drop
onto your doorstep by some mysterious law of attraction. You need to search, appeal, nourish and keep
a record of these new contacts and friendships in order to make them a useful
tool on your belt. The market, as well,
changes continuously and consistently, so if you don’t stay up to date you will
always be slipping backwards and you will have a very difficult time emerging.
Calls for
Artists
Looking for calls
for artists, events and expos is not a simple task either. There are few to no information that tells or
teaches you which ones are worth your time and money. So, you will have only two choices, invest
time and money or pay somebody who hopefully can tell you which ones are worth
it or not.
Create a Brand
Besides all of
that, you need to create a clear branding, character, persona. People from galleries or even in person will
hardly be appealed by the product itself.
They will need to be inspired or motivated to choose you over another
excellent artist out there. All of this requires work as well. For some people it will come naturally to
promote themselves and create an appealing brand, while for others it will
require quite a challenge to figure out how to properly introduce, represent
and promote themselves to the world. But
all of that is not just for the sake of selling, since in all this process,
which is often long, tedious and painful, you will improve your skills and you
will try new techniques, methods and approaches that you never even considered
before, growing not only your business and your brain but you as a person as
well.
Make a Living
One last thing to
remember is that all of this freedom, effort and work doesn’t pay for your
living especially at the beginning when you are getting it all set up. Usually, most of the people forget that the
majority of creative people almost have a double life because there are only
two viable options in order to keep your dream alive: to work at a ‘regular’ job and work as an
artist in your spare time on your off hours, or fully dedicating yourself to
the activity in order to hopefully shorten up the process and make the entire
business self-sustainable as soon as possible.
But that implies to be conscious of the fact that you must fully accept
the burden of frustration and disappointment that comes visiting you since you
are practically working for free during this time and being the boss of a fledgling
upstart with zero revenue despite the fact that you must keep spending money
not just for your living but for creating your product and any information
gathered from professionals who may be able to help you out in the process.
Artist equals
Entrepreneur … and whole lot more
So what is it
really like to work as an artist? An
artist’s life is very much the same as any other small business entrepreneur,
along with the added task of creating your own products which translates into a
somewhat strange combination of fun and drudgery that hopefully, in the end,
all balances out.
“Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great.” ―
Picasso Painted Realism
I’m sure that many admirers of realist representational art wonder what compels an artist to draw (and paint) in a very contemporary style of simplified shapes when they are capable of rendering a much more realistic looking artwork. Pablo Picasso is one artist who chose to follow this path of artistic style, initially starting with creating very realistically rendered paintings before creating his more simplified paintings of Cubism.
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| The Maiden, 2006 (L. Germaine) |
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| Mind Full, 2021 (L. Germaine) |
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| Composition X, 1939 (Wassily Kandinsky) (Photo: Wiki Art Public Domain) |
Developing your particular art style is something that usually evolves over time. One way is to begin by copying different artists styles that you admire to see if there is one that appeals to you the most. Then, practice, practice, practice! While you’re practicing, be creative and push yourself to go beyond your comfort zone. Try different mediums, colours and tools to see which ones you enjoy using the most. The Paint Spot (www.paintspot.ca) and DeSerres (www.deserres.ca) have a pile of various art supplies for you to experiment with.
Over time, who you are will eventually come out as part of your style. Someone who is patient, likes warm colours and doesn’t pay particular attention to little details will most likely have a style of art that differs greatly from someone who tends to be impatient, prefers cooler colours and usually gets caught up in observing tiny little details.
Eventually, your art will be identifiable by your particular style which will be as unique and different as you are because your art style is you and no one else. Having an art style doesn’t necessarily mean that you need to be eccentric and dress with rainbow coloured hair and glitzy glasses, your art style is something that comes from within.
Finding your own particular unique art style takes time, just as knowing yourself doesn’t happen overnight, so be patient and have fun!
If you are interested in knowing
more about different art styles, a great place to start is by checking out
different Art Galleries and Art Museums. For example, The Metropolitan Museum
of Art has a great website www.metmuseum.org as well
as The Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) www.moma.org where you can check out all different sorts
and styles of artworks.
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| Science and Charity, 1897 (by Pablo Picasso) (Photo: Wiki Art Public Domain) |
Why My Painting Got Banned from a Coffee Shop
Offensive is defined as causing someone to feel deeply hurt, upset, or angry,
actively
aggressive, attacking.
Art
is usually considered to be something that expresses an idea or emotion.
Therefore,
by its very definition, some art may be considered by some to be offensive.
However,
what is considered offensive to one person may not be at all offensive to
another. Should the offended person have
the right to dictate to everyone else what they will or will not see when it
comes to public display of artwork?
For
example, some years ago I was participating in an outdoor art festival and our
little group, consisting of four artists altogether, had a display of nude
figurative artworks. Nothing erotic,
just an homage to the beauty of the human figure. Many people were admiring and purchasing our
artworks on display. However, as the day
went on, we heard some people yelling. A
group of about twenty people, holding placards, came marching across the park
towards us yelling and shouting their dismay at our ‘obscene’ display which
according to them we had no right to be displaying these works for public
viewing. Thank goodness their small
protest did not last long, and they went away and left us in peace. Our art did not display anything different
from what is displayed in the great master artworks of the Italian renaissance,
however differently, our works were displayed in an outdoor park at an art
festival and not in a church.
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| White Lotus (L. Germaine) |
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| Alone With My Thoughts (L. Germaine) |
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| Sweet Humility (L. Germaine) |
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| Java Decaf (L. Germaine) |
In
these three examples, these people clearly found my artwork offensive. However, there were many other people who
were not at all offended by the back view of a woman’s body or a sleepy tiger.
If
the purpose of art is to invoke feelings in others, doesn’t that include
uncomfortable feelings too such as anger, hurt, sorrow and madness or is it
limited to only feelings of joy, happiness and euphoria? Instead of blaming the artwork or the artist
for how they feel, maybe people should begin by asking themselves why a certain
piece of artwork invokes such strong feelings in them.
Art
is created for everyone’s pleasure or for some, displeasure.
“There is no such thing as great art or poor
art. Art is subjective expression. As such, it can be judged only as popular or
unpopular. What is banned in Boston may
one day receive a million-dollar bid at Christie’s. Art has, therefore, no use for critics but
frequently finds itself amused by commentators.” – Ron Brackin