The 7 Painting Success Principles
The following principles will give you a solid foundation for anything you chose to paint, regardless of subject or medium.
These are the why behind the how.
You’ll discover why you should be selective with composition, why colour mixing ‘works’ (and why it doesn’t), and see the benefits of dramatic use of contrast.
I’ve complied a reference list of posts and free video tutorials that fall under the 7 principles below, so you can easily find what you are looking for and can work through the articles chronologically, as if I were to teach you in my studio.
1. Coloured Ground
- How a prepared Canvas can drastically improve your painting - Use an Old Master technique to rapidly improve your paintings
- How to apply a coloured ground with acrylic paint + video - Video demonstration on how to apply a coloured ground
2. Contrast
- The Importance of Contrast in Drawing & Painting - How tone & value are one of the most important things to learn when painting
- How to instantly add depth to your mountains in acrylic landscape painting - Learn how Da Vinci used science to create depth
Free Video Course using Coloured ground & Contrast
- Jug Still Life Course with warm and cool colours – Part 1 (video)
- Jug Still Life Course with warm and cool colours – Part 2 (video)
- Jug Still Life Course with warm and cool colours – Part 3 (video)
3. Composition
- The secret of good composition - How variety is the key to creating interesting compositions
- The Rule of Thirds in landscape painting + video - A simple rule to ensure a balanced composition
- Are you unwittingly creating a compositional cardinal sin? – How to spot a visual ‘jarring’ in your drawings
4. Colour Mixing
- How to choose a basic colour palette for acrylic painting - 5 key colours that will help you understand colour mixing
- How your hairdresser can teach you to mix colour - How hue, value & saturation are the 3 keys to perfect colour mixing
- The 3 tricks of complementary colours you can learn from Van Gogh – Understanding the colour wheel
- The hidden hues of colour mixing + video – Mixing muddy colours? You might just be using the wrong pigment
- How to balance warm and cool colours + video – How artists have used colour theory throughout history
- Are these 3 black paint myths holding you back? - Don’t use black? How your art teachers had it all wrong
Free Video Courses using Composition & Colour mixing
- Acrylic landscape painting techniques – Part 1 (video)
- Acrylic landscape painting techniques – Part 2 (video)
- Acrylic landscape painting techniques – Part 3 (video)
- Acrylic landscape painting techniques – Part 4 (video)
- Monet style Impressionist Acrylic – Part 1 (video)
- Monet style Impressionist Acrylic – Part 2 (video)
- Monet style Impressionist Acrylic – Part 3 (video)
- Monet style Impressionist Acrylic – Part 4 (video)
5. Perspective
- How to draw perspective for beginners - Simple techniques for adding depth in your drawings
- How to instantly add depth to your mountains in acrylic landscape painting - Learn how Da Vinci used science to create depth
6. Negative Space
- Are you unwittingly creating a compositional cardinal sin? – How to spot a visual ‘jarring’ in your drawings
7. Glazing
- How to Paint a Portrait in Oil – Part 5 - What is a glaze and how can it improve your work?
- Beginners Acrylic Cherry Still Life Course – Part 3 & 4 (video) - A demo of applying a coloured glaze to the final stage of the painting
Free Video Course using Colour mixing & Glazing
- Beginners Acrylic Cherry Still Life Course – Part 1 (video)
- Beginners Acrylic Cherry Still Life Course – Part 2 (video)
- Beginners Acrylic Cherry Still Life Course – Part 3 & 4 (video)
P.S. Once you know the why, and want to learn the how to, you’ll find other techniques and video tutorials that follow this approach, along the top bar.
Cheers!
