Finding new art techniques you can call your own

There are many styles of art and so many different mediums to choose from that it becomes difficult to decide on a style to specialize in. In art school I was told to loosen up and to speed up. There were times when a deadline would be drawing near and if you had a really tight (slow) meticulous style and medium you worked in, you could get crushed by not being able to finish in time.

So I decided to create a faster way to get a colored drawing done.

There is a technique in traditional painting where you have a base tone painted on to the canvas that is more or less a middle value. You then paint in darks, then lights in order to complete the painting. So what I decided to do was to take a piece of translucent vellum that could accept paint without beading up or curling and paint on the backside of it a creamy base color. Then on the front I could use colored pencil and goache for the colors and highlights to complete the image.

As the great portrait painter, John Singer Sargent instructed:

" You begin with the middle tones and work up from it . . . so that you deal last with your lightest lights and darkest darks, you avoid false accents."

While the technique of oil painting is not nearly the same as pastel or colored pencil, it still makes your job much easier to follow this simple blueprint.

Expand your knowledge and mix and match

In order to expand your creativity and make your own unique style or technique, learn about all the various different mediums and techniques and always be on the lookout for ways to incorporate these techniques in new and novel ways. Notice what works together and what doesn't and don't be afraid of using the computer to help you achieve effects that are either difficult or impossible with traditional techniques. The great artists of the past would be using computers if they had them; so should you!

One basic example

• Draw your sketch > scan in to computer > paint digitally > print out to inkjet printer > spray with a clear coat and paint on the inkjet paper > let dry and scan back in to the computer and do as many times as you need to achieve the effects you want!

Don't let me spoil your fun though, try to think of your own mix and match of techniques! Google up every art technique and see what suits you best!

V.

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Please follow me for more art and creativity tips!

Some things I have planned are:

Doodling is good for more than wasting away idle time. I'll show you how to become a better artist by using your doodling time to hone your drawing skills!

I will show another novel way of speeding up the process of completing a highly detailed pen and ink illustration by using a copy machine and coated paper to create a scratchboard effect with no fuss and no muss!

Please leave comments, any questions you may have and suggestions. Thanks!

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