Masking Tape Tip

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How to Create the Perfect Painting

Why not join us on a free online 6-week art course on How to Create the Perfect Painting. The course is already available and is almost a must for all artists.

Sign in here:  http://www.paintbasket.com/courses/perfect_painting/

See you at the course.

Are Your Eyes Open?

A few years ago I received an email via one of the Newsletters I subscribe to. This one had nothing to do with Art but had to do with self-improvement matters. I believe that I need to constantly analyze myself and check that the goal(s) I has set myself is(are) still online according to the graph of life.

Many business people take considerable time over goals and goal-setting. As an ex-engineer I had to do a great amount of that as part and parcel of my work duties. The moment the progress line on the graph showed any signs of serious deviation I had to give account of this to the management, who then asked me just how I would proceed to rectify the matter.
The heading of that email was:
Directed Dreaming with Your Eyes Open.

I don't wish to discuss the contents of that email, but rather to apply it to Art because this Blog is dedicated to helping aspiring and practicing artists. Normally the act of dreaming is taken to be when one is in bed and fast asleep. "I dreamed last night that ...." Some dreams are very vivid while others remain vague.

The art of surrealism is mainly paintings that are depicting what happens in a dream state - where we "see" things happening that in real life would be absolutely impossible. Surrealism and dreaming are very closely connected. The Little Oxford Dictionary says this of the word Surrealism: "..seeking to express subconscious activities of mind by representing phenomena of dreams, etc."

To be a true artist one needs to exercise one's imagination (thinking in images or pictures) and creativeness (the application of these thinkings). Now how does one do this? There are several ways and methods, but I feel the one of the greatest is in the act of "day dreaming". While at school my late father often called me "Dennis the Dreamer!" Today I see the results of this in my success as a highly respected art teacher and my ability to be able to transfer my expertise over to others -beginners or professionals alike. My portfolio of student's paintings is proof of this. (My website has postings of some of my students paintings)

Whatever you do, strive at excelling in creativeness and your imaginative senses. Do it by "dreaming with your eyes open". This way you will remember what goes through your mind. Doing it often enough will guarantee that the right sort of material, suitable for your art sessions, will be fed directly to your subconscious mind.

Trying you hand at Abstract painting (even if you don't like it) is a great method is exercising your mind and your creativeness. Give it a try – it can only improve your art!

Hints and Tips #1

What MUST your painting have?

1. FORM - ie., the composition must be appealing

2. INTEREST - it must capture the imagination

3. RANGE - of colours and tonal values

4. CONTRAST - play on lights against darks

5. PERSPECTIVE - both linear and colour perspective



What MUST your painting do?

1. ARREST - attention to itself and have stopping power

2. COMMUNICATE - what the artist feels to the viewer

3. DESCRIBE - a story or event

4 REWARD - enrich your and other's lives

5. LURE - the viewer right INTO the scene

Colour Wheel Video

Just to whet your appetite, here is a preview of a part of a Beginner's Art Video to be released in a few month's time. Hope you enjoy watching it. Made by Nolan.

Allow a few seconds for it to load

July Watercolour Workshop

On Saturday 3 July Dennis held a Watercolour Workshop for members of the Auckland Watercolour Society. The subject was based on a country barn and the road was changed into a stream with submerged rocks. Here are a few of the paintings produced.

Click here to see more photos

Too old is not an excuse

 

Who says you are too old to start painting? This  is only the 4th painting of 82 year old Keith.

He started absolutely from scratch with no painting experience. This what The Paint Basket Art Teaching Studio can do for you. What are your excuses?

Auckland Watercolour Society

Dennis was invited to give a talk on  June 16, 2010 at their monthly meeting. He spoke about the South African Art Scene and after that he gave a critique on the paintings submitted depicting the New Zealand Bush. The majority of the members paintings were of high quality. Both the talk and critique were well received by the members as he also gave advice and hints and tips, where necessary, on improving the paintings. Dennis was given a good write-up in their subsequent Newsletter. He recently became an active member of the Society.

Below is a photograph (taken by his wife Anna) of  Dennis during the talk. Behind him are 2 of his own watercolour paintings of South African scenes.

Watercolour Transparency Chart

Here is a very useful chart  which indicates the relative transparency, which paints stain, and which paints are normally grainy.

This chart shows you how to work with the very bright and extra strong colour of Viridian. Used on its own in a landscape painting it is very out of place and most artists do not know how to manipulate it. Viridian, in landscapes, should always be toned down with another colour.  By mixing these, and other colours, in varying proportions it can produce a  wonderful variety of very useful colours, as can  be seen in the chart above. This also applies to oils colours. Why not make your own chart and try these out for yourself in the colours you normally use? You will be surprised at the results. Happy painting.

Newspaper Clipping

Here is a clipping from the local North Shore Times. This is Dennis' first mention in a Newspaper article, excluding advertising, since coming to New Zealand. When available a photograph of the collaborate art and of his part will be added here.

 

Pretty awesome.

My contribution is on the left of the row second from the bottom.

(added 3 July 2010)

Seascape Workshop - 5 June 2010

On Saturday 5 June The Paint Basket held an interesting workshop where Dennis taught beginners some techniques on seascape painting. They did not have a specific picture to paint from as he wanted them to get in to the habit of not copy-painting. Dennis combined another picture with one of his son's (Nolan) paintings to form the one they eventually painted. It is not always easy for a beginner to paint the sea so that it looks alive. As you can see they did rather well for a day's (approx 5hrs) work. All work was on 16x20" canvas panels.

This is Dennis' demonstration painting. He says it still needs some touch-ups as it is virtually impossible for him to actually do a finished painting in a class situation. You can see next how close many of the participants came to imitating his painting. Here are a few of the student's paintings in progress.

Packing up after a day's hard concentration. Well done!

The next workshop will be on Watercolour Painting to be held on 3 July 2010 at his Torbay studio. Look out for that.

A Taste of what is in store.

The intention for this blog is to add interesting content on what Dennis does, and  is busy doing, as far as drawing and painting is concerned. His passion is art, and if he can help and show someone the way, then he will have achieved  what he has set out to do. For starters here is a  painting he has just completed this week from a photograph taken several years ago in South Africa.

 

This is a watercolour rendering of the photo above.

Size 700 x460 mm on Saunders 300lb Rough paper.

Painting from photographs should not be slavishly copied, colour for colour and brush stroke for brush stroke. Add and/or subtract elements that do not fit in with the composition of the painting. Shift and move them around to form a pleasing arrangement such as he has done in the painting. Painting from a photographic print, as opposed to a colour slide, normally produces a dull painting, therefore it may mostly be necessary to bolster and brighten up the colours. This is exactly what he has done here because the original photograph is much to much a monotone print. It is up to the artist to put his/her feeling and emotion into the work in progress. Make it your own and nobody else's. You are the architect of the painting you are designing and building. Most of all - have fun!