Paintings

Painting Michael

Get The Best From Your Drawing And Painting... Don’t Add Too Much Detail

Imagine standing on a mountain top. As you turn your head you can see a wonderful view. It is so breathtaking and beautiful. You feel inspired to pick up your brush and paint what you see... but there is so much. How do you begin?

This makes art difficult to do... there is so much choice. If you attempt painting and drawing all you see you are doomed to fail. You can’t possibly reproduce everything.

As you stand facing your canvas, ready to paint, you should focus on the main subject. It could be anything that captures your imagination... it may be a chunk of stone or a tree... it may be a mountain goat or a bird of prey.

Concentrate on what you consider is going to be signficant. Eliminate anything that will divert attention. Add everything your subject merits to make it look real. Leave everything else flat and featureless to bring your subject forward. All else is irrelevant, other than to frame and give meaning to your subject matter...

* When the rough shape of far away hills can be illustrated by a single block of even-toned gray-blue... why add more?

* A strip of sky color can be used for a winding river in the valley bottom... isn’t that plenty?

* When a forest could be painted with a single dark green brushstroke... why do more?

In 3 stages you can create an impression of distance...

* The main subject and foreground details should show plenty of detail... Using vibrant colors and sharp contrast levels.

* Middle distance requires less detail... Color tones and contrast levels should be muted and softened.

* Far distant hills and scenery have reduced texture. It can be produced with the sketchiest of outlines... Needing flat color tones of grays or sky colors.

Generally, oils and acrylic paints are great for close-up detail and texture. Watercolors are better to learn the level of tone and detail for distance painting.

It doesn’t matter what you choose to draw or paint with. The key to good artwork is to focus on the main subject... everything else should be removed unless it adds and supports.

Michael Dale is the author of 1- Color Is Best (the quick and easy way to learn to paint watercolor) and 3- Colors Are All You Need (mix any color you want fast using only 3 colors). Go to Paint-And-Draw.com to find out more.

You can also find a drawing and painting course edited by Michael Dale at http://www.drawingfoundations.com

About the Author

Michael started painting seriously when he was 16 years old and still at school.

At that time there were only a few artists who specialized in Steam Trains (like all boys he wanted to be a train driver). The best train painters were David Shepherd and Terence Cuneo... he wanted to paint like them.

It took many years to achieve this artistic ambition. What was amazing was that there was a whole lot more to learning to paint than just steam engines. There is a whole lot of other stuff that needs to be done to make each painting interesting and lifelike.

In the process of learning to paint with oils Michael realized that he had to understand landscape painting. Around the world trains cross through countryside that changes by the mile… from open fields to dark hills… from deserts to mountain ranges. The weather changes colors and texture. There are people and animals that need to be painted.

There was so much more to learn…

As time went by Michael discovered he could draw and paint many different subjects. It has been a great adventure that allowed him to draw with charcoal, pencil and inks. Also, there have been the thrills of painting in oils, watercolor, acrylics and pastels.

Michael wants to share his painting and drawing knowledge with you and introduce you to other great artists who are enthusiastic about Art... Artists who are keen to help you become the artist you want to be.

Homework help please!! What can you tell me about Michael Angelo's painting, the Sissy Teen Chapel?

Why was the painting about a bunch of young pansies?

You should be smacked. The project was commissioned by the Pope who came up with original "program" or design which was elaborated on by Michelangelo. Michelangelo was a deeply devout Christian and the subject is therefore a natural choice for him Despite your naughtiness you raise an interesting question. How did Michel Angelo square his gayness with being a catholic? Oh thats right he was, as far as we know gay. The Genius was Gay. It is the convention to assume that he based his female figures on the more "perfect" male form and thats why they look a little butch. By the way he didnt like painting - he preferred to sculpt so he probably thought the idea of painting the chapel was gay too. Great minds think alike.

Pop Art Speed Painting Michael Jackson

Tags: art, artist, flower painting michael klein, illustration, painting, painting michael angelo, painting michael jackson, portfolio

This entry was posted on Thursday, January 15th, 2009 at 11:27 am and is filed under paintings. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.