Should you paint your current subject using vertical or horizontal format? Anybody who paints and draws, will most likely say: it depends. It really depends, and especially on the subject of a painting. If it is a commission, it will depend on client’s choice and placement of art.
Attractive vertical compositions
I think, when it comes to not that large paintings, I mean, sizes 16 x 20 in up to 20 x 24 in, I really love using the vertical format. I have sometimes adjusted whatever I see or imagine for the use of vertically shaped canvas. Long vertical images are compositionally attractive. It is possible to implement tall trees or abstract background, or separate parts of an abstracted image on a long vertical canvas. I’d love that. I haven’t been to art store recently, but I will purchase a few very long canvases just for images I have on my mind.
Summer meadow, acrylic on canvas
Bluebell forest, acrylic painting, original sold
Distant shores at dusk, acrylic on canvas, original sold
Trillium forest, acrylic painting on canvas
Barn reflection, acrylic on canvas
Trying to arrange the new studio space
Studio move is complete. It took me more than a month, and I obviously could not paint anything new during this time. For the most part, art supplies and painting tools have been sorted out. I am able to find most things what I am looking for. Watercolor paintings and drawings are still packed in huge folders, I mean, large size folders and folders containing numerous paintings and drawings. I have no access to these at the moment. Acrylic paintings are mostly packed up still, too, but it is easier to sort through them.
Arranging art supplies
We haven’t managed to hang any paintings on walls yet, but I have also to arrange and organize 5 rooms of our personal living space, as well as 3 classrooms for my studio, my large office and a beautiful outdoor space. I planted, replanted and took care of numerous plants before and after moving, not everything is done yet, but it certainly takes time and lots and lots of work.
New intensive summer art classes
I am preparing materials for the new intensive summer classes, and I hope they will be very successful. I intend to present easy and very attractive subjects to students: they are all new subjects. That is why I need to work out painting steps and techniques for easy steps for every project. We have good light here, large spaces, both, indoors and outdoors.
We have to keep art supply list short! When somebody wants to start drawing or painting, they sometimes buy too many painting and art supplies, tools and materials, and quite a few of them won’t ever be used. While we need paper, canvas or other surface to draw and paint on, it is important to have that surface which fits your art intentions.
It is also important to find out what the painting style or technique you want to use involves.
My favorite watercolor painting supplies
Buying watercolor paper
Watercolor paper is a very sensitive part of watercolor painting and by choosing the right paper you will enable yourself learning faster and paint better.
There are so many paper manufacturers! Most of thin watercolor paper will not do anything. In order to create beautiful washes, you need paper which takes in water and pigment: thick, heavy, cotton paper. My favorite watercolor papers are Arches brand and Saunders-Waterford. I use the heavier papers of these brands, always cold pressed because I love the grain on paper.
You can do test painting on lighter and thinner paper, it is just so, that you probably won’t get the best results and painting on thin watercolor paper will require more skill and more effort.
Art supply sets
We can see quite frequently sets at the art store: sets of brushes, sets of pencils, sets of paints and sets of canvas and even combined sets of paper blocks, canvas with drawing, brushes and other things. Sets are meant for testing brands and also for as if your comfort: just get a set and no worries.
Universal things never work for specific purposes. You are not going to do a universal painting, but most likely pick your favorite painting subject and technique; therefore, you need specific and tailored things, not anything that says paint or brush on the label.
Art supply setswhich won’t work
Some sets don’t make sense, for example, acrylic paint sets. You will use white color at least twice as much as any other color. Yellow color can be very problematic, and it goes fast, too. Depending on a personal preference, you might never like or find attractive some set colors. We generally do not need any premixed green colors because we can always mix up numerous tones. You will need a few primary colors, black and white. The problem is that all primary colors come in very many shades and tones. It is the best you choose from separate tubes and test many similar colors until you find yours.
These art supplies I use for drawing, they include pens
Quality matters
Craft acrylic paints will not have the same features what paints for fine art. They are generally very liquid. Liquid paints are useful if you want to pour them, but they won’t do well for painting.
Students grade acrylic paints are cheaper and contain less pigment, but more binding and filling substances. Some brands have fairly good paints, but most cheap paints feel like colored pasta, not paint. That depends on color, too. Red and some dark blue colors will be quite fine, but the lightest and darkest colors will fail when mixing.
My favorite art supplies for acrylic painting
Medium quality acrylic paints
Medium quality acrylic paints are fine for basic layers, but they usually have very weak white and yellow colors. That affects the painting to a great degree. We have to remember: as acrylic painting dries, it will become much darker and flatter without that initial contrast which is present on the wet painting. Therefore, we normally use third, fourth and more layers depending on subject. It is a good thing to leave acrylic painting alone between painting sessions to dry completely. Every next layer is easier to apply. Most artists use only good quality acrylic paints for top layers.
Brush sets
Sets of all-purpose brushes are simply useless. We use watercolor brushes (very soft, capable of absorbing and holding pigment and water) for watercolor painting, specific acrylic brushes, they can be as soft as watercolor brushes, but with shorter bristles. You certainly could use synthetic watercolor brush for acrylic painting. Acrylic is versatile medium and you could use fan brush, sponge, rough bristle brush for effects and sponge.
You will need a few brushes depending on painting size, painting subject and detail, but not 10 brushes for a small painting. The brush we use depends on our medium of choice and technique. If you are a beginner, get 3 (small, medium and large) brushes for your medium, that will do and you can buy everything else as you go.
Some of art supplies we used in recent art classes
It’s not the brush, it’s the painter
I use only 2 brushes for watercolor painting: number 12-14 round with fine tip and number 6 round for small parts. I usually paint large size art. For acrylic, I can paint the entire painting with 1 flat brush, or 1 Filbert and then use adjusted fan brush. The main thing is usually to know how to use the brush to its full potential. It is frequently not the brush, but person who paints with it.
The specific supplies you need will always depend on size, technique and painting subject. It feels good getting supplies on sale, but one has to be careful when deciding whether you will ever use these particular materials, tools and supplies. Keep the art supply list short!
Organize art supplies and painting tools
Students love leaving everything in a big suitcase type of bag and then they cannot find anything when they need it. We need not only to organize the folder, bag or case of art supplies, but also our work space before we start painting. All tools, brushes, pencils, all paint tubes, palette, palette knife, sheets of paper towel, mixing pad, paper or plate, water containers, eraser, sharpener – everything must be within reach. You should keep on your direct work space only tools, brushes and paints which you are going to use. Overcrowded work space will disturb you and slow down.
My advice is: have less art supplies, thus, keeping the art supply list short. Try also buying better quality art supplies and keep them neatly organized when stored and when in use!
Flowers and paintings are a natural fit. Don’t you think? I started to take some pictures, and there were flowers which I had used for watercolor class as a reference material nearby. Colors came out more balanced, and the ambient impact was flawless.
I decided to sell both: flowers and plants as we move ahead. I think it is a great idea because I have numerous plants and numerous paintings. In fact, I have many hundreds of paintings.
Enjoy the recent paintings
This time, you can enjoy my recent flower paintings surrounded by more beauty of live plants and blossoms.
The beautiful contrast between daffodils from the garden and spring magnolia painting, or maybe it is a compliment?
Acrylic paintings of roses with hyacinths, the large one is 20 x 16 in or 51 x 41 cm and the pink rose is 12 x 12 in or 30.5 x 30.5 cm. It is the same subject, but different look
Lovely colors, lovely paintings: bright white calla lilies and the pink rose
Drawing for the 3-hour rose workshop is visible behind the painting. I painted this pink rose as a demo for flower painting workshop. Colors of painting and live daffodils look gorgeous together.
New priorities in art instruction
I also rescheduled and regrouped my priorities in art instruction. When it comes to art instruction and teaching, I enjoy students, who have genuine interest in learning something new and in developing their skills as opposed to those who just hope that painting paints itself. Everything requires work and efforts. The result of flower painting is very pleasing.
Small groups: big attention
My space can accept quite a lot of students, but I decided to have rather individual and private classes or small size groups. That gives me the opportunity to review all important aspects of getting somebody started in drawing, watercolor and acrylic painting. Large groups suit more the art entertainment, like painting in bars and restaurants. They don’t care about quality or skills one develops, but I certainly do.
Experience helps
Also, individual or private art classes require very high level of art instructor’s skills, and not everybody has them. Well, I do. I have huge experience and I have definitely explored practically everything when it comes to creation of a drawing or painting. I am extremely good at drawing, as well as I have worked out my personal watercolor and acrylic painting style. It sure takes many years, not hours.
Preparation of an art class
I know how people use to think that art class does not require much preparation time. It is straight the opposite. I frequently adjust not only the painting subject, but also level of difficulty, and pay attention to availability of materials and reference materials. That can take sometimes 4-6 hours. The follow up classes on the same painting subject take less preparation time, but it is never less than a few hours. I have to review what every student has achieved so far, what and why they need to work more at. I switch from one painting subject to another if student or group cannot handle it.
Advantages of private or individual art classes
I believe, private or individual art class is the best solution for people who want to seriously engage in art or feel uncomfortable with other people around them. It will definitely lead to faster achievements and results. More ideas about painting flowers with acrylic: Create beauty
Please, review schedule and let me know if you are interested in any art classes: Sign up for classes
I am always happy selling a painting to people, who love art. You are welcome to contact me via Contact page and visit the studio at any time which suits my and your schedule.
Meditate with color and line and treat yourself with an extremely wonderful experience!
Copyright notice: Copyright of displayed paintings, drawings, images of work in progress and images of finished paintings belong to artist Inese Poga. The use of painting and drawing images is prohibited without a written permission. That includes no pinning on Pinterest.
Spring paintings feel like a good choice when nature awakes
When else if not now to engage in creation of spring paintings? One can tell how much I love spring by just having a look at what I have painted recently: spring flowers, spring scenery and spring landscapes. I think I feel seasonal changes on a mental level very strongly. I cannot imagine I would be painting snow right now. Still life in that regard is the most neutral subject, but I felt I needed something more impressive.
My personalized realism
Most people believe I paint reality, but I do not. I use quite frequently real things, like I used real daffodils for the front part this time; however, I always beautify the reality and make any subject my personal reality. That means I give the subject my colors which I love at that moment, enhance the layout, and add extra contrasts or values, just to make everything more of what I experience at that moment.
Nature does not always cooperate
The truth is the spring has been slow again in Ontario. We even had very winter-like weather a week ago. Therefore, to facilitate the feeling of blooming and warmth, I just paint it. I decided to mostly post one image at a time whenever possible. Most people never read posts, so, they only have a glance at the featured image and move on. That is why most paintings, advice and images which are in the article go unnoticed.
Taking pictures
Taking pictures with iphone is very difficult. The extreme contrast is fine for any regular pictures, but not art. My solution is taking pictures with backgrounds, extra items, paints, brushes and similar. That works for the most part, but the painting area one works on, can be very messy sometimes. I mean, there are paint tubes, dirty paper towels, plates with leftover paint, brushes, sponges, jars with dirty water and all kinds of other things. Therefore, some pictures look messy by accidentally displaying some item which completely doesn’t fit the view.
Just imagine how it looks on my wall
My pictures still display more contrast than they should. Everything is usually well-balanced in my actual painting. I work in layers and for many hours in order to achieve the color balance. As you know, acrylic paints, at least the ones which are available in Canada, become much darker as they dry. One has to calculate that in when applying paint. It can happen so that sometimes white or yellow paint is very weak, and fixing the value imbalance requires extra work.
Available for purchase
Any of paintings are available from my studio. Paintings which are displayed in this post are 16 x 20 inches or 41 cm x 51 cm. I have to mention that because pictures look all the same on the internet. Anyway, enjoy the Daffodil barn and spring paintings! Daffodil barn got lots of great comments on Facebook and Fine Art America site this time, in particular, in acrylic artists’ groups. Please, see links to other posts and FAA sales site.
Spring is already here. Art studio is a place which is always in bloom. Art studio has all seasons at once, and spring is presented to a high degree. Spring also means, one can take a canvas or sheet of paper and head out to be closer to the big awakening. Spring nature is an excellent subject! How much time do we really spend in nature and with it? Only with nature, without checking your phone or texting, or listening to music instead of bird songs? The research finds that it is a very insignificant amount of time compared to what we spend in a car and indoors. So, head out!
Outdoor drawing and painting
Outdoor drawing allows not only being close to the nature, but also experiencing a great presence of our subject. Many people use plants, flowers, leaves, blooms, trees, and other live natural subjects in their art. Being able to create a good reference drawing comes from observation. Outdoors is the best place to observe all growing and blossoming things and to understand how they change along with seasons.
Being close to the painting subject
Outdoor painting teaches us how to use fewer art supplies, but use them more effectively. Being in a close distance to our painting subject and having a chance to observe it is an extreme bonus. All tracing and photo editing software can never compare with direct observation. It is because of the presence. Any painting you do using real things and looking at the real painting subject will look more convincing. We can definitely feel the presence of painting subject or lack of it in the finalized art.
Direct observation and drawing
I feel that my duty is to teach other people enjoying things which are not costly, but rather a true source of happiness, pleasure and satisfaction. It would be tough going through life without art and beauty.
Daily drawing practice
We can keep our brain flexible and our cognitive function in great condition by simply drawing and sketching every single day. Just like you go to the gym, you need to engage your brain to its capacity with pleasurable things like art even when out of work and school. Observational drawing and painting is number one brain booster.
The best medication for mental issues
Drawing and painting are the best medication for any trouble, but especially mental issues, such as depression, grief, persistent, obtrusive thoughts and anxiety. We shouldn’t ignore the importance of new and challenging activities as brain fitness exercise. While one paints, they also completely forget about things they are addicted to: food, snacks, alcohol, drugs, smoking and devices, as well as phone. This gives us the much-deserved break from mind pollution.
The immediate result of painting is not the ultimate goal
It is often assumed that the only goal of drawing and painting should be the immediate result. We should not forget that here is so much to gain from the process. If you stop being concerned about the result, you will find out how rewarding the process is. Everybody achieves good results if they practice and keep painting, but certainly the process of creation is the one that deserves to be finally acknowledged and considered the main part of creativity. Along with feeling relaxed, trouble-free and happy, you will also create art that becomes better and better over time.
Picture taking
I tried to take pictures side by side, just to keep colors more relevant. My phone camera has too much contrast and my pictures come out extra bright. They have strong dark contrast which is not present in art. The real paintings are well-balanced. That is a good reason to make a trip to my art studio.
It’s not only color which is not true on photos, it’s also contrast, but especially the size. Size makes a big difference, but it is impossible to see that on the internet. Everything from very large to very small art will seem to be the same size.
Spring, barn Nostalgia series, 24 x 20 inches, or 61 x 51 cm, acrylic on canvas
Anyway, enjoy the new art, and you are welcome to attend my popular art classes.
My art products and prints of paintings on Fine Art America:
