Tag: HOW TO PAINT
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Vanishing Lines in Perspective
Vanishing lines are imaginary lines used to create accurate perspective in a painting. They are drawn on the top and bottom horizontal edges of an object, along the object and then extended all the way to the horizon line. For instance on a building, there would be a vanishing line along the top of the roof […]
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The Horizon Line in Perspective
Horizon line is a confusing perspective term because when you hear it, you tend to immediately think of “the horizon” we see in nature. That is, the horizon as in the line where the land or sea meets the sky in the distance. In a painting, the horizon line might be this if you’re painting a landscape, […]
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Art Composition Rules
By Marion Boddy-Evans Art composition rules provide a starting point for deciding on a composition for a painting, for deciding where to put things. The Rule of Thirds is the easiest art composition rule to follow in a painting. It’s a basic rule popular among photographers, but equally applicable to the composition of paintings. Applying the rule of […]
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Art Jokes: You Must Be An Artist If…
What are the signs that you’re an artist? This collection of definitions of what makes an artist started with a comment on the Painting Forum from Hamlet which got the rest of us going…! I’m not telling which of these art jokes originated with me, nor how many definitions apply to me, except to say I’ve never […]
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Elements of Composition: Rhythm
Don’t think that rhythm is something that belongs to music only, or perhaps poetry. It’s also one of the Elements of Composition, helping to lead the viewer’s eye across a painting. The example I’ve shown here is of a extreme landscape format, considerably wider than it is tall. To get the viewer’s eye from one edge to the […]
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The Fried Egg School of Painting Composition
By Marion Boddy-Evans Question: The Fried Egg School of Painting Composition “Is it a rule that the focal point of a painting should not be in the middle of the canvas? What if you have, let us say, a face with a crown on the head, nothing else other than the background, would that be wrong?” — Vivien S […]
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Absolute Beginners to Painting: 16 Commonly Asked Questions
By Marion Boddy-Evans Looking at a great painting it can be hard to remember that every artist was an absolute beginner at some stage. But it’s true, no-one is born with a paint brush in their hand, everyone learned from scratch at some stage. This list of commonly asked questions will help you get started on […]
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How to Sign a Painting
Adding your signature to a painting is like adding a stamp to it that reads “finished”. It’s a sign that you’re satisfied with the painting and no longer consider it a work in progress. Is It Really Necessary to Sign a Painting? It’s not a legal requirement, but if you don’t add your name to […]
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How to Create a Body of Work and a Distinctive Style as an Artist
If you’re looking to get gallery representation, or to sell your art in some other, more innovative way, we have to assume that you already have a body of work that consists of at least 20 or 30 works in a style, medium, colors, and subject matter that distinguish you from every other artist in some way. […]
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Choosing Art as a Career
So you want to be an artist… is this a realistic career choice, or are you going to live in a cockroach-infested flat for the rest of your life, fulfilling the “starving artist” stereotype? In short, the odds of being a successful fine artist (someone who makes a living by creating original, one-off pieces of […]
