Ask The Artist

[Susan]

Hi Nolan, Dennis and all other artists here.  I am having problems with my skies still.  At the moment I'm trying to perfect my basics instead of racing ahead with animals and the like which aren't doing too well.  Anyway, I use acrylics, and when I put a darker shade at the top, a lighter shade in the middle and maybe white at the horizon and blend them in so the sky looks more natural, I end up with streaks all over the place or I end up with three distinct colours which look totally unatural so I end up having to cover them with clouds to hide the mess 

I use different acrylics, some very cheap one's and some medium to expensive one's.  Could it be that, or maybe my brushes are too hard?  It's driving me nuts  because I can't seem to get the basic blending right at all.  Any advice would be so much appreciated.  The streaks look awful, you can see the canvas right through.

Also Nolan I was wondering if my trees are getting better and are less like soldiers?  I uploaded my latest one today.  My kangaroo on his own who still looks like a donkey is still sitting on the floor as the week has flown by and I've had little time to do any painting so I still have to finish him but this one is another attempt at trees.

Thank you!! 

[Susan]

Funny posts? What are you suggesting?     I'll give you funny posts!   

Sara you're so kind, thank you for your response.  Well that is for sure an idea but even with subtle tones it's hard and what is going on with those streaks?    But yes, more subtle tones, that's a great idea and I actually hadn't thought about making them more subtle.  Perhaps there's a lesson in that, perhaps I just need to be more subtle in general... 

That kangaroo I was talking about last week is still on the floor unfinished.  I say unfinished, I've not touched it for over a week.  He still has donkey ears and a cow face and there's really not a lot I can do to fix him now so I may just fill in some grasses and put him up tomorrow.

Nolan suggested a grid system ... er.. I have yet to find where that is so I need to put some time aside and hunt that down, it's possibly on his YouTube channel.  So much to learn and really one needs to practice every day time allowing.  Thank you for the compliment on the latest one.  Those kangaroos are hopping so they are less complicated than one standing looking at you which is what I'm trying to do with the other one so I'll just keep plugging away.   

Hope you're well Sara, what are you working on at the moment?  It's way past midnight here and have to get some kip soon so if I don't reply you'll know why and I'll get back to you tomorrow.   

[nolan]

here is your painting for easy reference :

Details

What I have done is changed the shapes of each clump of leaves to give each an abstract shape. This makes the tree look more natural :

Details

You can watch this video to see how I tell myself a story to force those abstract shapes :

Painting lessons - How to paint trees and bushes in oil painting

Hope that helps Susan 

[Val]

  Hi Susan... I'll be joining you in acrylics very soon. Let me know how you solve the sky problem...I'm hoping I'll be able to blend them a bit like w/c. Oh boy...more colourpuddles!   
Cute avatar by the way. 

[nolan]

hopefully this weeks live class on Paint Basket TV will solve that problem for you

[Susan]

Nolan this is INCREDIBLE!!!!!  Now I HAVE watched that vid before but CLEARLY it didn't sink in...    And when I brought up BOTH my paintings and compared them, it suddenly DAWNED on me!!!!  I get it but I can't put it into words... eeek!  When I SEE something I get it, but I can't get it if it's written or verbal instruction for some reason.

Also, when I used to hear that abstract painting was so difficult and I used to scoff..  until I tried to do one myself I realized that it really does FORCE the brain to work in a different way.  It's like being unindoctrinated by the 'institutions' of schools etc, to allow oneself to be the individual and breaking through that matrix.

I LOVE the story about the family...  and I can now SEE that all my CLUMPS were lonely!!!    Even though I kind of knew they didn't look right I couldn't seem to get them to connect and be more RANDOM!  Perhaps I need to be more random as a person?  Who knows, I think I'm random enough as it is!  But this has been a massive help and I really appreciate this.  I do think now also that through painting one truly uncover the soul and what could be holding one back from being the sovereign beings that we all truly are.

You are like angles on the net and I have renewed my sense of wonder having gone a tad off the rails with my paintings last week and DOING NONE as I look at them on the floor half finished in disgust.  Ugh!  It's been a rough week... 

The thing is, I LOVE trees so much and if I had my way I'd just paint them and nothing else!  So it's important that I get them right.

Thank you again so much Nolan for taking the time to do this for me... 

[Susan]

LOL Sara!!  No need for white flags!  I was just jesting with you!  I think we artists are such sensitive souls!  Well I know I am! 

So you're painting a Goldfinch, that sounds divine!  I think it's great that you're 'slow', it shows patience and a striving for perfection as well as a gentle flow which is wonderful.  I am too fast and get frustrated if I've not finished a painting in a day which is ridiculous I know.  You are also very brave to work with oils although I do think oils look much more professional and the colours are brighter and glossier.  I can't wait to see him when he's finished!  I started FIVE paintings this week and got nowhere as my skies were such a disaster I don't know what's going on but now that I have some excellent instruction from one of the masters  I'm encouraged to get on with them this week.   

[Susan]

Good stuff Val!  Looking forward to seeing how you get on with all those colour puddles!   

Glad you like the new Avatar, I couldn't resist her! This is a true story, it was in the Australian Herald a few weeks back.  A photographer went to Indonesia to photograph this particular and elusive monkey, he was carrying a few cameras and hung one on a tree so he could move a little further in the area he was, or maybe he went for a toilet break who knows but they weren't going to print that, anyway, he came back to find this female had discovered his camera, noticed her reflection in the lense, fiddled about with it and took a whole load of snaps of herself!  I mean you couldn't get a shot like that if you tried!  Was he blessed or what?!  They put a full pic of her in the paper so I cut it out and framed it and she's on my wall with the intention of trying to paint her some day.

Isn't that the most amazing story?  You should click on it and blow it up, I've never seen such beauty and love in eyes before and every time I look at the framed photo on my wall I smile no matter what's going on! Truly adorable.

So anyway, yes, Nolan is saying we shall see on the live web TV show this week what I am doing wrong with this streaking that's going on in my skies so I'm looking forward to that!  Hope you're doing well and you're boat isn't listing too much.

Happy painting!   

[Val]

Hi Susan... Acrylics are on hold until I can get easier colours to work with. Had to mix different acrylics and it didn't work out so well.    Maybe when the next supply ship comes in they'll have more.

Thats a great story about the photographer and the monkey. Just shows you never know what life will bring you next! I think she'd make a great painting.

I'm still trying to get the videos to play...still haven't seen one in its entirety... and this is one of the best internet suppliers down here! 

[nolan]

Val the videos run through our Youtube channel, so maybe see if you watch them directly on our Paint Basket Youtube channel?

[liz]

I thought the monkey story was a RIOT!  I'll be sure to show Emily the post and picture of the photographer monkey!

[Val]

Thanks Nolan, I'll give that a try. 

[nolan]

You may as well subscribe while you're there 

[Val]

Well, its one step forward... got it to load about 15min. before it hung. Will have another go later. I am determined 

[nolan]

next time, immediately forward to the 15 min mark, then it will continue loading from there and skip the first 15 mins