Want to create something beautiful? Start painting

You always wanted to draw or paint, it’s time to start painting

Sometimes, this idea might seem too complex to pursue, but, in fact, all it takes is starting to draw or paint.  Simply get your art and – start painting. Learn as you go. You will need patience, courage, willingness to experiment and accept your mistakes. You should be ready also to put efforts, work and time into your learning process.  Nothing happens on its own and without actually doing it. Any drawing and painting starts with being able to see and use our senses. It does not start with knowledge of techniques and all kinds of tools and mediums. We acquire this knowledge gradually as we gain experience.

Experience and lack thereof

I have given countless classes and workshops over many years. It actually feels like I have been teaching arts all my life. It is obvious that all people, who would love to start painting or drawing, do not get past the first problems.  They give up this fantastic activity before they familiarize themselves with easy fixes. We can fix anything in painting or drawing along the way when it comes to creation. It sometimes only takes a few brushstrokes with dark or light color.

First we learn seeing

The important aspect of engaging in visual arts is the ability to see and to understand what one is looking for. Most people are sure that they have good enough eyesight and that they can see everything. That is not true at all. While we are seeing things around us, we are not seeing them in an artistic way because for drawing or painting we need to sometimes abstract the view or define the detail. I suppose the inability to perceive values, shapes, colors, lines and their relationship, as well as correct scale, depends on whether one is aware that these things exist.

Don’t trace, don’t copy

It’s not rare that artists simply copy an image or photo and then transfer this copy onto paper or canvas. Many artists do a lot of image editing with special software so that the image is ready to copy and to apply paint on it. That supposedly saves time and efforts and makes painting process easier. If you want to ever draw and paint without fear and with confidence and know why you are using a particular technique or step, go with freehand drawing and observation straight from the beginning. It will pay off in longer time, usually not in the first hour.

Drawing takes time, but it’s worth it

A complex drawing might take me between 30 minutes and 2-3 hours. When the drawing, value or tonal sketch is done, I have everything what I need to proceed to painting: values, contrast, highlights, composition and correct correct scale. I’m usually doing drawings in size of actual paintings as opposed to thumbnail sketches. I can do whatever I want with my sketch afterwards: use it for watercolor, pastel or acrylic and more. I can even flip it or use just some part for my next painting. I don’t need editing, adjusting, copying or enlarging. Therefore, if you want to be ever free from computers, screens, measuring devices, grids, start learning to see.

Pay attention to reference

I have noticed this many times: students do not see the reference photo or picture in an artistic way. They see a flower, a tree or fence, but that’s not the most important aspect. I am using frequently real objects: fruit, vegetables, flowers, flower pots, leaves, cups, bowls, glasses and similar things  for still life, and that can be a problem also. Until you start paying attention to shadows, values, correct size and scale, potential composition, contrast and layout, drawing doesn’t happen. Everybody can draw and paint anything as soon as they understand what they have to see in the subject.

Draw any subject

There are countless tutorials. They usually show how to paint one single subject.  If you first learn to draw, meaning draw anything, you can choose any subject without limitations. You just need to know what is important about the subject and look for it. That means paying attention to things which other people don’t even know about.  Start with placing your subject in front of you and look at it. Look carefully at dark and light spots, visible lines and shadows, direction and size and notice how light makes a difference. Starting with very light and general outlines try to get the exact form. We go from very general shapes and lines and move towards details. Repeat until the drawing becomes three dimensional, not flat.

My approach to creating acrylic flower paintings

I have elaborated a new approach to acrylic flower painting since many students want to learn painting with acrylic, but their results are quite often disappointing and don’t make them happy. We use the large-scale drawing, transfer it onto canvas and then follow with paint. This new approach uses the specific features of acrylic paints: short drying time, ability to work over dry layers; and turns them into the biggest advantage. Results are quite stunning. However:  results are great as long as one follows all steps and uses multiple layers of paint.

Everything matters

So far, I have given only live art classes because they make a lot of sense. Explanation and even watching somebody else painting do not always lead to good results. It matters how much water or how much paint, or what medium on what surface one uses. It matters how fast the previous steps are done and it matters how you move the brush and mix the paint. Everything matters, and we can correct mistakes right there  as they happen. It is great that somebody can explain why some things work and why some others don’t by doing it in the classroom.

Group art classes

Private art classes

Original acrylic paintings

View my floral art collections here:

Art collections by Inese Poga