Category: art instruction

Our natural artistic abilities

Children can draw and paint before they are able to speak and anybody can still draw and paint even if they have lost many other abilities. We can express ourselves through art naturally. It is just so that when kids grow up they frequently get engaged in devices and digital devices, as well as they believe there is no more time for art.

Brain fitness

The comparative research in brain fitness and memory boosting activities clearly showed that doing manual observational drawing and painting 2 times a week for a few hours grew the most new brain neurons and wired the brain in the way that it was much more active than with any other activities. Drawing and painting were compared with reading, writing poetry or fiction, researching internet and writing down discovered things, doing mind games and crosswords.

Outstanding visual memory and decision making

My personal experience is that observational drawing develops extremely good visual memory, not simply good and flexible memory, but outstanding memory which does not worsen over time and with age. Drawing and painting boost attention and focusing ability to a high degree, and most importantly, one becomes master decision maker because that is what drawing and painting is. Every single brushstroke and line is based on numerous decisions. At least, it should be. The memory improvement occurs when we absorb the subject visually, and our brain sends a signal to the hand with brush or pencil . That is also active brain exercising.

Style, decisions and originality

Curiosity and necessity are frequently the main driving forces of discoveries. Creativity is the base for any solution we find along the way. Since anything we create must originate in our personal perception and be based on our own decisions, one cannot ever learn drawing or painting by watching somebody else do it. As they paint or draw they make decisions which we are unaware of.

Be curious explorer

I have noticed the following. Most people who are about to attend art classes have new art supplies: new paint tubes, new sets of paints, new brushes and new paper and canvas. Everything is unopened and not used. The first time they open their paint tubes is in the classroom, therefore, nobody knows what their paints and brushes are like. It seems surprising to me. How do you know now what that particular paint or brush will do? We should start with exploring what we have.

Quality or lack of it

We have numerous art supply manufacturing brands nowadays. Some are fine, but some sell such bad quality paints, brushes or paper that it is hardly possible to use them. Just like with many other products, art supplies often will be: “you get what you pay for”. That is why you should always test everything.

Curious as a kid

Look at kids what they do with a new box of paints, pencils, markers or crayons! They open it as soon as they can and start using immediately. Kids are curious and they are creative naturally. What is stopping adults? It is hard to say, but they should try being as curious and as creative with their new art supplies.

Testing art supplies

I am strictly advising: test every color, test every brush, test every paper and canvas. Do it before the class. Open every tube and paint some areas with every paint color in your set. At first, we do this using each color separately. For watercolor, we add more water, then less water to see what range of tones each particular color gives. For acrylic, use a small bit of water and wash the brush with warm water and soap afterwards.

Testing two colors

Next step is to test two colors together, for instance, every other color with blue, then every other color with yellow, then every other color with red. Larger sets will have many blue colors, many red colors and at least 3 to 4 yellow colors. That gives you numerous shades and transitional colors. That will also allow seeing what exactly you have. Be curious, be creative and that will allow you to start out easier.

Creating your own color swatches

It is not important to use any color charts or wheels, but it is important to know what the colors you have are and how they behave when mixed. Create color swatches from all tubes you have. Add to mixed color swatches. That way you know what you have, what it looks like and whether it is worth using it.

Testing watercolor paper

It is very useful to test the watercolor paper, as well. We will have different results with different paper. Some papers buckle a lot and some won’t allow applying more than 2 washes. You need to know what your paper does when using water on it. Brushes are also not the same. If you test your brush and it absolutely does not perform, it is quite clear that you’d need a different brush. We only use 2 brushes for either watercolor or acrylic at the beginning.

Some of 2018 watercolors

Being curious and being creative will make art happen

Being curious and being creative is always helpful when doing art. It is so much better to discover your own favorite colors and color mixes than to just blindly follow some rules, charts or somebody else’s favorites. Be the creator of your own style. I am personally against rules in art. We need at least some areas in our life which are free of strict regulations and rules. Art can be that area if you give your imagination  space.

It is New Year. Maybe you have lots of new art supplies. Don’t wait to explore them. Always be curious and be creative, try them now. Thanks for reading!

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