Art by Wendy: August 2021

Aug 19, 2021

Stretch Your Art Muscles with a Challenge - Painting & Drawing Tips

"We need Artists Wendy, can you give us a hand?"

OMG! I knew what it was about. The call was for Artists to make Street Art for the Covid Centers. All supplies included. Simple Shapes. Theme: Nature.

Sounded Great till I read the fine print.. . .

Supplies Supplied for the SURREY STREET ART PROJECT

The size: 3 ft x 4 ft. The medium: Acrylic. You know how often I paint in acrylic. Once. It turned out not too bad but still, I fought it the whole way. I never felt that confident. I didn't think I wanted to go through that again.

The Artist Call

But, they needed artists. All supplies included. I had thought about it, but was kind of letting it fall off my calendar. Now I was caught. I said 'yes'.

I sent in a plan.

My Plan - keeping to simple shapes is not easy for me. I love the detail.

Wednesday came and time to pick up my supplies. Surprise! Problem with canvas supplies, it is now 2 ft x 4 ft. OoooKay. 🤔 I think I can adjust my plan to fit that space.

I must admit I felt a bit panicky. Will my deer still fit? Will it look funny if I just make my rocks bigger? I rushed home. In my studio I unpacked my supplies and quickly got to work. Only a few colours: blue, yellow, green, white, rusty brown. I decided a blue underpainting would do well with the brown tones of my deer. I quickly covered the whole canvas with the blue. 😀

Then I waited. . . .

Underpainting was down but I had to block in some rocks. I couldn't relax till I could see how my rocks would work.

I thought acrylics were suppose to dry fast. This blue was taking forever.

Finally it was dry. I blocked in my rocks. Hmmmm... Not bad. I took a pencil and outlined my deer. Things were going to work. 😀 I felt relief. Suddenly I felt like this project might really work out. OMG. it was 11pm. Time to quit for the Day.

Very relieved to see my deer would fit in nicely.

My anxiety ramped up the next day.

Can I get enough of the deer into the space so he looks good. I need to cut off so much of his legs. Time to get serious. I began painting the rock to get a feel for my colours and to see how the paint would work on the surface. (gessoed corrugated plastic) Since I don't work that large I needed to fiddle around with a place to work. The Plastic surface was rigid enough for the paint but wiggled a lot as I painted. Once I had a bit of the rocks done, I drew more detail for my deer in the space. He looked good. (Well I thought so anyway) My plan was going to work. Life was good again.

Wow! Now I am excited. Sky and rocks looking good.

OMG!! I can't stop!!

11:30pm and I am still painting in my studio. I painted my rocks and sky. Things were really getting exciting. But those acrylics just couldn't keep up with me. I started to add my clouds, but the blue was still wet. I knew I should stop but . . . Finally I was forced to. Everything was wet. I couldn't wait to start on the deer.

Starting to do the details

Finally my Deer comes Alive. . .

I grabbed the biggest of the brushes and began to block in my deer. I loved how my browns and golds reacted with my sky and rocks. It was very exciting to see him take shape.

Went to a small brush. . .

I really tried to stay with the big brush as long as I could but some details just cried to be painted. The face and the tail I felt were crucial. They had to be right.

Close Up of my Black-Tailed Deer

Final touch ups and he was DONE!!

BLACK-TAILED DEER - 2ft X 4ft

Stretching your Art Muscles and Taking on a Challenge can be fun.

But don't get me wrong, it is a Challenge. There will be problems to solve, anxiety will rise and fall throughout the process. The results may not be great. But remember, it is all about the journey and the things you learn along the way. (Note, you don't see me blogging about my FIRST acrylic painting I did a few years ago.)

This time around, my challenge really gave me knowledge. I learned more about colour mixing - there wasn't many colours to work with; I could see how my glazing with watercolour really was effective with glazing with acrylics; I saw ways to let go of my detail - my sky and rocks have minimal detail and yet fill the space in an interesting way. I acquired a lot more information on how painting and drawing connect and this will help in my teaching. I was lucky this time as well. My challenge resulted in a piece of work I was really pleased with. It was a real confidence booster.

I am a self taught artist and one of my learning techniques has been to give myself challenges. I invite you to set yourself a few Challenges and follow the journey. You will be amazed where they will take you.

Oh, and if you are in a Surrey Covid Center check out the art. You might even see my Black-tailed Deer.

Wendy is on Youtube:

Wendy has FREE Tips & Techniques on Video now, many with supporting blog posts and FREE download PDF's.

See a full linked listing here - artbywendy.com - workshop - Videos by Wendy

OUTDOOR SKETCHING SEASON is Quickly Disappearing !!

Only a few Scheduled Sessions Left:

Wednesdays, Aug 25, Sept 1 & 8 - 10-12:30pm

Saturday, Aug 21, 28, Sept 4 & 11 - 10-12:30pm
(Private Sessions/Small Group sessions available upon request)

Twice a week, Wednesday and Saturday mornings, I will take small groups out for Outdoor Sketching. Get Tips and Techniques for Sketching in Nature. Beginners to Advanced Welcome. Max. 3 per class. (Other times available upon request)

Mediums supported: pencil, pen, watercolour, watercolour pencils and coloured pencils

Location: Parks in North Surrey and Langley

Cost: $50 per session

Supplies: Bring your own supplies, don't hesitate to contact me about your supplies

Rainy Days: Not fun to plein air in the rain. You can defer to another available day or join me in my studio and work with me. (when Covid rules allow small inside gatherings)

Contact Wendy to Book Your Spot!!

Looking to Move your work to NEW LEVELS?

Online Coaching/Teaching (3 sessions 30 minutes each $75)

Are You and Your Inner Critic looking to expand your discussions. Here's how it works: Send me a few pictures of your paintings. I will prepare material to facilitate a discussion based on your goals. I am a sounding board, coach and teacher, with suggestions, techniques and tips to help you meet your goals and move your art forward. More info here. Looking forward to Zooming with you.

Many find this post helpful: Turn your Inner Critic into your BFF

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Have a great Artful Day,

Wendy

Aug 8, 2021

4 Tips for Painting Mossy Rocks (Logs, trees, stumps . . .) - Painting and Drawing Tips

Green, fluffy, soft moss.

Here on the West Coast of BC, moss is a very common element in any nature setting.

Trees, stumps, rocks - everything eventually ends up with a mossy covering.

It is a magical place in a moss covered forest. All the sounds seem muted, the greens glow, whether there's sunlight or not. And everything has a feeling of softness. The lumps and bumps of branches and rocks are puffy and round. A magical place.

Very pleasing to the EYE. . .

However, very challenging to paint!!

The problem is two fold. Everything is green. And everything has a puffy, soft feel to it. Those can be very challenging to paint.

You definitely need to love to paint and draw the mossy covered trees, stumps, fences and logs in our forest. You need to enjoy playing with the greens and love the challenge of getting that puffy, thick look.

Mossy Tree - You must admit, this looks like a fun thing to sketch

I love playing with 'Mossy Look" . . . .

I have found several secrets that give me success. Give them a try and see if they can work for you.

4 Tips for Painting Mossy Rocks ( Logs, trees, stumps, well actually anything moss covered.)

My reference picture and my outline drawing of a mossy rock in the creek bed

Note: I have a video on this topic which is available here. You can also download the Reference Picture and draw along with me. The Mossy Rock Reference Picture is available here.

1. Edges

I always find that the Edges tell the story of the object. The Edges are your way of telling the eye that things are not all the same.

As you can see on the drawing below, Areas 1 & 3 denote where the smooth rock changes into a lumpy surface. Note there is a slight raised area where the two surfaces meet. This is key in telling the eye there is a change.

Area 2 tells the eye that the edge is fringed and uneven, more evidence that the rock has something coating it.

Mossy Rock with drawing points noted.

Area 4 and the other marks on the rock give a sense of depth to the surface. Because Area 1 & 3 already told the eye it is not smooth, the eye is ready to accept that there is something on the rock.

Area 5 provides contrast. Here there are several rocks that are smooth, further suggesting that the big rock is different.

2. Colour

Some of the Greens that I like to use

Creating great moss is more than just painting with green. Above is my most common green mixes when in the field. However, it is important to note that other colours are found in moss: yellows, rusts, oranges, browns are the most common. I like to use purples in my shadows and bits of red as well.

Adding colour to my moss - it is more than just green

3. Texture

Creating different textures within your painting helps to suggest depth to your moss. The slick smooth surface of the rocks suggest that my moss covered rock has a some kind of coating on it. Using glazes to add layers of different colours to the moss also suggests depth. The more layers there are the more puffy the moss appears.

A Mossy Rock in the Creek Bed

4. Shadows

The final touch is the shadows in the moss.

Not the edges of the shadows - there is a hard edge and a soft edge

In the cross section above, note the shadows. To emphasis the puffy feeling the shadows need a hard edge and a soft edge. This is an extension of No. 3 - Texture. As you make those different layers look for that hard edge and blended soft edge. The more layers you have the more thick and fluffy it becomes.

Have fun with your sketch - making that moss fluffy and thick is half the fun of painting our forests. I found these tips have helped me deal with other types of drawings as well. ie. hair, fur, trees. . . . Anything that I want to seem thick and fluffly.