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Hello, would love your advice
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Message
Posted
Hi Guys. I hope you are all well :)
My name is Matt and I am a complete and utter beginner to painting. I used to love drawing as a child but as with most things I find if you dont use it, you lose it. One of the reasons I didnt take art at GCSE was because I didnt like the idea of painting (you cant rub out paint!? lol)
However the last few weeks I have found myself enthralled by abstract landscape paintings and cant get enough of looking at different images and techniques. I especially love the work of Helena Barnes (look her work up on instagram - an artist who paints the mountains and landscapes of scotland and wales) I recently invested in some acrylics and proper paint brushes and my canvas boards are due to be delivered today, I am so excited to start painting but at the same time dont want to "ruin" my new canvas boards haha
I guess what Im asking for is what advice would you give someone in my position. would love to hear your stories and things youve learned along the way just having a quick browse through your threads it seems this forum is a wonderful friendly place so I am excited to join :)
As a side note I used my 3 year olds poster paints on normal paper on the weekend and I am not joking when I say her landscape was better than mine!! I got my paints and brushes yesterday and used an old cereal back (I just had to paint on something I got the itch) and that was much better (and by much I mean it looked like a 5 year olds not a 3 year olds contribution) but.... im a keen learner and so excited to pick up tips and tricks so please do share any useful videos or links etc that you enjoy (also I am about to work my way through the tips and techniques section here:)
Thanks and sorry for the essay!!
Matt :)
Posted
Welcome Matt and great to see Helena Barnes name mentioned; she has her own website and I too love her work. I've just posted one of my own in the hgallery painted in similiar style. As for your development do take Ron's advice: it's all about practice. Set some time aside every day even if it's only an hour or so but keep at it. I sometimes think it's a bit like regular exercise: sometimes you don't feel like but, believe me, consistency is the key. You'll very soon start to see benefits and this will spur you on - it gets into the blood.
Posted
Drawing is an important element in your progression as an artist, but is all too often ‘put to one side for later’.
Obviously you’re excited to start working in colour so good luck with that .
There’s plenty of sound help such as work in progress demos on this website - go to menu, navigate down to Tips & Techniques, select your medium and you’ll find a wealth of inspiration and help.
I’ve got a dozen or so demos in the oil section for the relative beginner.
A note on supports. Canvas boards are great, I use them all the time, but think about buying a pad of canvas paper to start off with. It’s a lot cheaper for a start and you can experiment without it costing the earth!
Fabriano Tela blocks are excellent, Jackson’s Art have these I believe.
Edited
by Alan Bickley
Posted
Welcome, Matt. What an exciting journey you are embarking on. You’ll get good advice here, and I can’t add any more to what’s already been said. Jackson’s is a good website for products, I use them.....I’m like a kid in a sweet shop. Also, Ken Bromley is another good supplier.
I admire the works of Paul Klee, he was part of the Bauhaus. I’ve only recently gone over to ‘full abstract’ painting. I painted semi abstract/contemporary for years.
Just have fun, and try not to be too precious, especially with acrylics.....you can always paint over your mistakes (or what you perceive to be mistakes).