Unusual Art Materials and Ideas
According to Mark Balma, Leonard Da Vinci was an innovator in the realm of painting, as well as his many other inventions. In the previous tradition before Leonardo, painters would start out with a toned ground or imprimatura to set the canvas tone somewhere between bright white and very dark. …
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2019 is Leonardo da Vinci’s 500th Anniversary. In the articles and videos that follow on this page, Leonardo specialist and artist Mark Balma explores Leonardo’s painting materials and techniques. Mark Balma’s portraits include four U.S. Presidents and two paintings in the Vatican’s permanent collection. His fresco murals can be found …
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David and Goliath – a painting by Samuel Shelton.
The Process: I started the painting by making a traditional hide glue gesso which was painted in a number of layers on a braced panel. I toned the surface with burnt umber and walnut oil, let dry, and made a careful …
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By William F. Martin
For years I struggled, attempting to paint a portrait that displayed a relatively accurate likeness of the subject. I tried gridding, sketching, accurate drawing, using “classic proportions”, etc., etc. However, all these methods resulted in rather stilted, and stiff representations of the subject, with a likeness …
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Many people use Masonite or birch boards rather than canvas for painting supports. Usually, artists use boards because they desire a smooth surface, allowing for great detail. But sometimes there may be a reason to create a textured surface for interesting and unusual effects. One way to do this is …
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Most of us have replaced our CRT computer monitors with LCD monitors, creating a significant problem for artists. LCD monitors are thin and light, and may produce less eye fatigue because they to not have the scan refresh lines of a CRT. For most users, these are definate advantages. However, …
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Recently someone asked about problems with underexposed images on a camera. Sometimes if you are at a gallery reception, messing with the f-stop is too much of a hassle, and the “Auto” setting can result in underexposed images. An excellent way of dealing with the exposure problem is to process …
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Painters often use a maulstick to steady their hand when working on details. The Dutch word “maalstok” means “painter’s stick”. The traditional maulstick has a bulb on the top covered with leather or cloth, and it rests on the edge of the canvas. Some people stick a tennis ball on …
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An artist friend in California sent an email with this idea. Historically, charcoal and pencils have commonly been used for under-drawings on canvas. The problem is, graphite can show through transparent paints, and neither charcoal nor graphite deal with the issues raised by color. One solution is to do the …
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It is always interesting to hear about the different ways artists use Oil of Spike Lavender. This is a description from one artist who recently wrote us:
“Oil of spike lavender is less toxic then natural orange turpene and is actually better than turpentine as a solvent, something I did …
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