Art Hints and Tips

When children show their first inclinations toward artistic talent, parents can sometimes go overboard — the refrigerator engulfed in drawings of rainbow scribbles and happy sunshines, framed doodles of stick figures hanging over the fireplace. You’d be hard pressed to find a person around these parts who wouldn’t encourage the budding artistic talent of a child, yet you’ll find thousands of opinions on the best methods for honing young creativity.

Jean Van’t Hul, a mother of two young daughters and creator of The Artful Parent, recently wrote an interesting post about her child’s newfound love of drawing. Ever since her daughter, Maia, learned how to draw a bird at school, she’s been drawing the creature the same way, line by line. Hul felt torn: should she give her daughter what she knew would be a well-received how-to drawing book, or should she seek out more natural methods? After opening her blog post up to comments, Hul found varied answers. Some parents felt step-by-step instruction gives confidence to a young artist, while others feel it’s inhibiting and too formulaic.

Though she made a decision, Hul still remains ambivalent, as documented in her follow-up blog post. Perhaps it’s not wholly possible to gauge the effects such drawing tools have on us, but they certainly play a huge part in our upbringing. As a child, I was obsessed with Ed Emberley’s step-by-step drawing books, which are ingrained in my memory. He taught me how to draw witches, cats, trucks and snakes. Yet for all the hours I pored over his books and practiced each step, my drawing style today has no trace of Emberly’s influence. Still, the question is a powerful one: should children be guided, step-by-step through their early artistic development, or should they be given free range to create without instruction?

Story by  chaps676 - Published on Dec 22, 2011 in Read

A few tips on ways to make the oil painting experience easier, cleaner and less costly and wasteful.

Use washing up liquid to clean oil paint off yourself.

Remember that you don’t need to use harsh White Spirit to get paint smudges off your hands. Washing up liquid (detergent) will work just as well. You could also buy these specially formulated, non-toxic wipes and soap to do the job (Above: Colourfull Art Wipes and Master’s Soap)

Wipe your brushes before immersing them.

Things You’ll Need

• oil pastels
• drawing paper
• blending stick
• turpentine and paintbrush
• scraping tool

Oil pastels are tools that you can use to draw colorful pictures. Oil pastels may look like crayons, but they produce results that are much smoother, brighter and easier to blend than crayons. Once you have your oil pastels, you can begin to make dynamic art. You just need to learn how to get the most out of using them

Once your piece is created it is important to store or display it correctly. 

Making the Most of Fixative

Pastel pictures are fragile as the particles on the paper are not surrounded by binder. A coat or two of fixative will give that little bit of protection, saving the picture from smudging in a portfolio or if brushed against by mistake.

A light coat of fixative will also help to stop pastel dust sticking onto the glass once the picture is framed. A coating of fixative improves the lightfastness of pastels, this is particularly recommended for any colours which are ‘B’ rated. Too much fixative however will cause considerable colour change to a pastel picture as the fixative wets out the pigment.  

Using aerosol fixative:

• Use at room temperature for an even spray
• The fixative spray should be used in a well ventilated room
• Shake the can before use
• Keep picture horizontal or slightly tilted
• Hold can 25 - 30 cm from your work
• For an even coating, start the spray at the side of the work and spray from top to bottom
• Apply light coats only, to minimise colour change

Avoiding Colour Change

Some styles of pastel work look best without fixative and some artists just don’t like working with it. Here are some methods which will reduce the fragility of unfixed pictures;

• Use pastel board, a coated board which holds the pastel better than paper.
• Use heavy weight water colour paper, so the work flexes less as it is moved around.
• Apply Clear Gesso Base as a pastel primer to paper. The effect will be less coarse than
  using pastel board.
• Fix between layers of pastel as you work, leaving the final layer unfixed.

 The fragile dusty surface of a finished pastel is best protected behind glass. Glazed frames should use a mount (mat) or spacer to ensure the glass is not against the picture. This will allow air to circulate and help to prevent condensation. Remember to fix the picture lightly before it goes into the frame; without fixing, pastel dust can build up on the inside of the glass as a result of static.

Storing Unframed Pictures

With a little care, pictures can be safely stored in portfolios if they are not yet to be framed. Firstly, apply a light coat of fixative for some initial protection. The main thing is to prevent the pictures from slipping against each other.

Place each picture between a mountboard and a sheet of tissue paper and place in a loose portfolio or a folio sleeve. Continue stacking your work in this manner and if you don’t fill the portfolio by the end, do so with spare cardboard which will stop anything moving about inside.

How to Get Started Working with This Versatile Art Medium

Select Watercolor Brushes

Watercolor brushes can be expensive, but they are worth the investment. If well cared for, a good brush will last for years nad help you produce outstanding watercolor paintings and artwork. Here is how to find the perfect watercolor brush to enhance your artistic endeavors.

Care for Watercolor Brushes

Dirty Paint Brushes

Paint brushes can be an slippery, colorful mess after oil painting. Here’s a way to clean them up and keep them in good shape for future art works.

First, wipe off any excess paint with dry rags. Oil paint is flammable, so the rags should either be immediately disposed of in an outside garbage can, or stored safely in an tightly sealed container.

Oil paint is not water soluble, and brushes and tools must be cleaned with something that cuts oil—like turpentine. Turpentine can be reused over and over, and one way to make the best use of it is to build a simple brush wash. You’ll need a glass jar with a tight-fitting lid and a clean, short tin can, such as a tuna can or cat food cat, that fits inside the jar. Poke holes in the bottom of the can using a hammer and nail (pressing through the outside of the bottom, so that the rough edges are inside the can), then place the can inside the jar, with the open end pointing down, so as to create a false bottom.

Fill the jar with turpentine to at least an inch or two above the top of the can. Now take your oily brushes and swirl them around in the turpentine, pressing the bristles lightly into the bottom of the can. The paint with sink to the bottom of the jar, leaving the turpentine above the can clear and ready for brush cleaning. Keep the jar tightly lidded when not in use.

Now you need to clean the turpentine off your brushes. This can be done with castile soap and water, or you can use specially designed paintbrush cleaner, available at art supply stores. Fill a cup or jar with warm water, then soap up your brushes, rinsing and resoaping as often as needed, until your brushes are no longer oily and are free of pigment. (Although some pigments may stain your brushes, especially if you are using natural hair bristles. Don’t worry too much about this, so long as your brushes otherwise feel and smell clean.) Make sure to rinse the soap out completely.

Clean Your Brushes After Using Watercolor Paints

Watercolor paints are a delicate medium that can produce a variety of effects, and to get the best use out of them you need high quality brushes that are well taken care of. Here are some steps for cleaning your watercolor brushes and keeping them like new.

As with other water-based media (such as gouache or acrylic), you’ll want to keep your brushes moist while you’re working, to keep the paint from drying on the brush and staining or deteriorating the bristles. The bristles on watercolor brushes are more fragile than those of other paint brushes, and the quality of a watercolor painting is dependent on the quality of the brushes. To keep the bristles from kinking, warping or bending, lay your brushes in a wide, shallow bowl filled with water in between color changes while you are painting. You might want to change the water a few times during the course of the painting, if it gets too muddy.

When you’re ready to clean up, however, a cup, glass or jar is more convenient. Fill the glass with water, and one by one swish your brushes vigorously to rinse as much pigment out as possible. Try to avoid pressing the bristles up against the side of the glass, as this could damage them. Keep the other brushes lying flat or standing bristle end up in another cup.

Lightly drag each brush across a bar of castile soap or brush cleaner (available at art supply stores), then gently suds up the bristles in the palm of your hand. Rinse well. Wash and rinse your brushes as often as needed until they are clean and free of pigment.

Brush cleaner can also be used to condition and shape your brushes. Using clean suds and your fingertips, mold the bristles into shape and allow the brush cleaner suds to dry on the bristles. Remember to dust out the residue next time you use the brushes.

Wash your hands well, too. You might want to use a special “painting only” towel to dry off, in case there’s a smudge of wet paint that you missed on the back of your hand.

Allow your brushes to dry in an empty glass standing bristle end up.