I am
a beginner in nude sketching. This is my daunting account of my first
experience in this endeavor.
I was
late for
class that day so I hurriedly climbed two flights of stairs to catch a
seat in the gallery room jam-packed with wannabe artists. My mentor
motioned me to the vacant seat in the front row down the gallery, so I
obliged. When I reached my seat, I sat still for a while to catch my
breath and prepare my drawing materials. I hardly noticed the glaring
lights and the figure at the center of the gallery which appeared so
negligible given the huge size of the room. I assumed the figure was
the subject of the day's sketching lesson. As I raised my head to take
a look at it, my jaw dropped.
Lo
and behold! A
live nude model was standing in all her naked glory. I thought it was a
big leap from our previous "still life" session. I was quite tense so
my charcoal pencils kept on dropping to the floor. My heart was
thumping while trying to capture a proportional perspective of her nude
figure. Since the seatswere arranged in a circle, I got the rear view
of her figure.
Generally
speaking, I think it is easier to draw the rear view than the frontal
view. The rear view has lesser details even if the quality of tone in
the back muscles needs some extra work. Besides, I personally think the
rear view leaves much to the aesthetic imagination, and is therefore,
more interesting.
The nude model did
pretty well in her stationary position, only taking a break for 10
minutes to stretch and walk around in her panties. Ah, the boys loved
it while the girls were apathetic (or tried to be). The session lasted
for almost an hour. At the end of the session, we gave the model a
round of applause before she headed straight to the dressing room.
The
next day, we
had a male nude model for our subject but I think I did better in the
female form. There's a great difference between drawing male and female
nudes. In the female body, you draw a series of curves because the
muscles are usually hidden by 80% fat. In the male body, there is a
change of technique because the muscles are more defined.
I did
not pursue
nude sketching after these few sessions. I think it's one of the most
difficult types of sketching to attempt. You can get away with drawing
landscapes like trees, mountains and rivers because nobody knows how it
looks in particular. But if you do a human figure incorrectly, everyone
knows if there's something wrong with it, even those who know nothing
about art. It's a similar case with portrait sketching which I also
tried for some time using charcoal. I also discovered pastel painting
which is my favorite medium because it is not so messy and wet as in
watercolor or oil.
I am
glad to have
tried my hand at nude sketching. I know I still have a lot to improve
on. The human body is an awesome art form that reflects our Creator's
sublime ingenuity. Life drawing, particularly the nude form, is an
artist's fitting gesture of appreciation and gratitude for this
wonderful creation.
See
more of Likha's works and read about them in My Fan, My Portrait Sketch
and My Eyes, My Love Stories
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com
Steps of Oil Painting For Beginners By
Elizabeth Reoch
As
you begin to
learn about oil paint and painting in general, you will require a few
basic working materials. The sheer number of choices in paints can be
overwhelming for beginners. Supplies needed for oil on canvas can
quickly add up. After twenty years of working in oils and developing my
painting techniques I have discovered a few shortcuts. Here then is a
guide to help you maximize your creativity while keeping the cost of
supplies under control.
Paints
You
can find
starter kits in almost every art store and even in discount stores.
Pick up one of those packages to get Cadmium Red, Yellow Ochre or
Cadmium Yellow and Ultramarine Blue paints. This selection of paints
can be mixed into all the colors in the color wheel. The kit will also
come with a small tube of white and black paint. The tube of black
paint will last longer than all the other colors as very little is
needed when mixing your colors and shades. I recommend that you invest
in a large tube of Titanium White for your highlights. When you are
first learning how to paint, these pigments are the only ones that you
will need. As you progress with your work and your subjects, you will
want to collect a more sophisticated palette. Having a variety of blue
pigments like Cobalt blue, Prussian blue, Cerulean blue can add depth
to your paintings. I also find that there are some beautiful greens and
browns that lend authenticity to seasonal depictions.
Brushes
There
are square
brushes that help you create straight lines and round brushes that can
either give details or texture by dabbing them onto the canvas. Pin
tipped brushes for hyper detail and fan brushes to sweep the paint to
look like water or windblown leaves. Each of these types of brushes
come in many sizes and qualities. Some people feel more comfortable
with brushes made of natural hair and others prefer synthetic brushes
that are more commonly used with acrylic paint. There are stiff brushes
and soft brushes that can have either short or long handles. As a
beginner, learning painting techniques for the first time, you will
need to have a variety of sizes in each of these types except for the
fan brush, of which you will only ever need one. The good news is that
you can find starter brush kits in either the natural hair or the
synthetic hair in discount stores and in art stores. These brushes are
just for beginners since they will often lose their hairs on your
canvas or bend out of shape. I recommend that you start your collection
of quality brushes with a large square brush for large sweeps and a
small round brush for finer detail. With my style of oil painting I
often use several brushes at one time, holding up to three brushes in
my hand for quick changes of colour or texture depending on the
painting technique I need to use at that moment. For this reason I keep
a large collection of starter brushes on hand that I will dispose of
once they have shown signs of deterioration.
Palettes
The
iconic image
of the Renaissance artist holding the large wooden palette sloppily
covered in paint held in the left hand while the brushes were held in
the right hand is very unpractical. I personally have spent too much
time trying to clean my palette at the end of a project to allow anyone
else to waste their time trying to recreate this practice. There are a
few practical choices out their where you can easily dispose of your
palette when your painting is complete. You can buy pads of disposable
palettes made out of wax paper, cover your favourite wooden palette
with plastic wrap or buy plastic palettes at the discount stores for
under two dollars and dispose of them when you are finished. Oil paints
take a very long time to dry out so you can cover your paints with
plastic wrap in between painting sessions to save your paints and your
disposable palettes.
Canvases
and Easel
It is
not
necessary to have an easel when painting with oils but it is the
easiest way to secure the canvas preventing the paint from getting
smudged. An easel also allows you to step back and examine your work
from time to time. You do not need to buy an expensive easel; any easel
will work as long as the canvas is secure. The choice of canvas depends
on your composition and how you want your painting to be displayed. If
you want to frame your canvas at the end of your work then you need to
consider the prices of the frames. For those just learning how to paint
with oils you can find many inexpensive canvases if you are willing to
shop around. I have never limited myself to painting with oils on
canvas. I have a few series where I painted directly on wood either
letting the wood grain show or covering the wood grain with an acrylic
medium.
Solvents
The
issue that
generally turns people away from painting with oils is the extra
complication of needing a solvent to thin out the paints (instead of
using water which does not mix with oil) and the chore of clean
brushes. Today, Low odour turpentine, citrus based paint thinners and
traditional turpentine's can cause respiratory difficulty. Repeated
exposure to turpentine in a low ventilated area can be extremely
dangerous and can cause a chronic medical conditions. For the past ten
years I have been using cooking oil to dilute my paints and help to
clean brushes. It is a practical and inexpensive solvent which is
environmentally friendly and allows me to paint in any environment with
or without good ventilation. Cleaning the brushes with cooking oil is
not as easy as cleaning with solvents but it is much easier on your
skin and on your general health. You need to wipe down your brushes
with the oil and then use simple soaps to scrub off the remaining paint.
There
are a few
extra items that you may want to include in your paint box of supplies.
A palette knife to mix paints and to help with the impasto painting
technique, a collection of rags or paper towels to wipe your brushes
and a tool box to keep all your supplies together, clean and dry. These
last few items will round out the painting materials you will need to
paint with oils.
Elizabeth's
goal
for this web site is to show her creative process as a visual artist:
keeping a record from the beginning of the composition (finding the
image) through the preliminary sketches, showing the under-painting and
then revealing the final image. Her hope is to go beyond just
delivering the final painting. The goal is to give the owner of the
painting a feeling of the process, and an understanding of how their
piece of art was created. To teach painting techniques to art
enthusiasts who want to learn how to paint.
