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Oil Painting Terms – The Essential Guide for Beginners

oil painting terms glossary

Oil painting terms can be embarrassing.

I was standing at the front of a queue in a packed art shop in London. There were 15+ people behind me, and I felt more embarrassed than I could remember.

I had been researching new art materials and product releases, and I’d spotted something new out, and I was convinced the store stocked it.

After waiting for what seemed like days, I was at the end of the queue and overconfidently asked: “Umm…do you stock alkalid paint?”

It seemed like the shop suddenly fell silent…

Continue ReadingOil Painting Terms – The Essential Guide for Beginners

A 2012 Thanksgiving Thanks!

wooden oil palette

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I’ve been reflecting on all the positivity and creativity that has come through the Art School blog.

So I’d like to thank you all for your support & encouragement this year. The most rewarding thing for me is seeing students progress in their drawing and painting where they’d previously been struggling.

I’ve also broken through the 500,000 views on YouTube, Woohoo! so thanks for watching and more videos will be coming soon.

I’ve been working hard on the ‘Simple Guide to Colour Mixing Course‘ which should be launched in the next couple of weeks.

In pumpkin pie envy, me and Vanessa are off to the Pudding Club Extravaganza in our local Town Hall – think 50 puddings and 2 fast spoons!

Have a great weekend,

Will

 

Continue ReadingA 2012 Thanksgiving Thanks!

How do you Approach Lighting a Portrait Painting?

artist&illustratorsportrait

This week I’ve been featured in the U.K’s best selling artist magazine, ‘Artist & Illustrators‘.

The article was on understanding ‘How light sources can add impact to your portraits’.

It looked at three professional portrait painters and how they approach portrait lighting set ups of their subjects.

Below is the conversation I had with Martha Alexander from the magazine…

Continue ReadingHow do you Approach Lighting a Portrait Painting?

Glossary of Acrylic Painting Terms – The Ultimate Guide for Beginners.

acrylic painting terms glossary

Ever come across a painting tutorial and been stumped by new terms and phrases?

What is an Interference colour? Or a Tar Gel?

Inspired by one of the art school’s readers (cheers Carl!) I’ve compiled a guide to the most commonly used terms in acrylic painting.

Glossaries for oil painting, colour mixing, styles and movements are coming soon (sign up for free email updates so you don’t miss out)

Lets get going!..

Continue ReadingGlossary of Acrylic Painting Terms – The Ultimate Guide for Beginners.

Golden Heavy Body vs Open Acrylics Paints Review

openacrylicreview

Which is Best?

Imagine the scene.

You’re halfway through your painting, it’s going really well.

This could be your breakthrough piece, a personal Mona Lisa.

A quick look on your palette and you spot the perfect mix to finish the piece, you dip the brush in with vigour, and guess what?

Its dried on the palette.

You then try to mix more of that exact colour,

2 minutes goes by, then 5 minutes, when we hit 10 minutes and review our mixes, the initial colour has become a distant memory.

Emergency tea break with chocolate is needed.

So what’s a painter to do?..

Continue ReadingGolden Heavy Body vs Open Acrylics Paints Review

How to Paint like Monet – Part 1 of 4

how to paint like monet

Lessons on the Techniques of the Impressionists

A step-by-step Impressionist Acrylic Painting

How do you achieve a more painterly impressionistic approach with acrylics?

In this series, I will be posting a weekly video lesson that you can follow along at home. It’s free to subscribe to the blog to receive updates so you can keep up with the painting progress.

The first technique in mastering an impressionist style of painting is in the actual name itself,  ‘Impressionism‘.

We are trying to achieve an ‘impression’ of the subject, rather than a detailed copy, so squinting your eyes at the subject, to blur the details is one of the first tricks to adopt.

This tutorial is ideal to leave some of your fears at the door, have fun and loosen up a bit, ready to get started?…

Continue ReadingHow to Paint like Monet – Part 1 of 4

How to Choose a Paint Starter Set for Beginners

(Without making an Expensive Mistake)

dry paint pigment

With so many paint colours available and new ranges being released every week, which colours should you buy when you first start painting?

The overwhelming feeling that descends when trying to buy paint colours either online or in your local art store can often lead to the safe bet…

The pre-boxed starter set.

The paint companies have designed them to help you, right? The best paints for your needs when you are just beginning…or so you would think.

But are they a good choice?

Are you getting the best value for money or are they sending you down the wrong path? I’ve devised a simple technique to help you decide which starter palette is right for you.

Ready for a little paint history lesson to understand what you should be thinking about on your next trip to the art store?…

Continue ReadingHow to Choose a Paint Starter Set for Beginners

The 3 Key Secrets of Portrait Painting Success

The Art_of_Painting_Jan_Vermeer

The Art of Painting (detail),  Johannes Vermeer, 1666

You might think you need more time, or the perfect paint brand or a new brush.

When the weekend comes and you’ve finally managed to find some ‘you’ time, the blank canvas stares back at you and the finished portrait, you so desperately wanted to achieve, seems a world away.

Your motivation is high, your drawing’s good but the jump from pencil to paint has hit a wall.

Flicking through an art magazine or shopping for a new paint colour suddenly seems like an attractive idea.

You’ll start next week when you’ve got the exact colour you need.

But what if these actions are holding you back?

What if you forced yourself to try and achieve more with less, give yourself some constraints and your portrait painting could make giant leaps forward?…

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How to Paint a Warm & Cool Still Life Painting – 3/3

using acrylic glazes

A step-by-step warm & cool still life acrylic painting  using only 2 colours

This is the final post in this limited palette painting series using acrylics, I have been posting a weekly video on my YouTube channel so that you can follow along at home. It’s free to subscribe to the channel so you can keep updated with the painting progress…

Continue ReadingHow to Paint a Warm & Cool Still Life Painting – 3/3

How to Paint a Warm & Cool Still Life Painting – 1 of 3

acrylic still life warm & cool colors

With only 2 colours

You know the scenario,

You decide to paint a simple study of a lemon; the painting starts out okay until you get to the fun bit, the yellow of the lemon.

As you begin to stare at the yellow to try and judge it’s the intensity you ask yourself  – how yellow can you go?

The more you look, the more you convince yourself that this is most probably the most yellow yellow the world has ever seen, so only the strongest, brightest lemon yellow will do, straight from the tube.

You paint it on with enthusiasm, only to reflect on your handiwork and find the results are a bit disappointing, it looks too fake, dare you to say it, too lemon.

So what can you do?..

Continue ReadingHow to Paint a Warm & Cool Still Life Painting – 1 of 3