PART 3
AND....More detail.....
although the questions dont appear here..you'll get the gist
*ha ha ha ha ha* orrighty then.
I assumed what Id written was already too much information, and I thought youd say um..OK.. well thanks, um I just wannedda know about the paint thanks. *G* OKAY... here we go....
question 1 )The answer is Nicaragua for 50 thanks Adrianna. OR.... you would sit on a tall stool with a back support...while painting a small picture , but usually with larger works....standing is best, so you can walk back and forth toward and away from the canvas, to get an idea of how its all looking , balance wise.
question 2) easels vary considerably. Ive built my own , but usually they are adjustable to the canvas sise, by undoing a lever or wingnut. Most easels have 3 legs for stability, but adjustable ones have 4 because of the sliding type clamps.
question 3) the sketch is kinda irrelevant, you might do it now... and paint it someother time...or do it immediately. depending on wether youre happy with it. The sketch is your chance to play with the composition while you can still rub it out
question 4)&5) OK painting a picture can be done heaps of ways... usually Id do the sketch...then paint in a "block in" stage which is like simplifying the colours to the main areas and getting rid of , or "killing off" the white. This is like forming a colour balance early on, so that later in the painting you arent trying to fix up sections, that youve already invested too much time on. this part is quite fast .. maybe an hour or two. Next... you will wait for this to dry....then start "rendering" thats when you begin working on the details of the separate subjects in the picture....(drying maybe overnight) the rendering can take a day.. a week, a month, a year...but most paintings are done in a week. this is rarely in long sesions....maybe 4 hours at a time at most.... lots more time spent looking at it rather than touching it.because the painting is all about its appearance, and not how much work you did. once the rendering is complete...you will go around and carefully "highlight and shadow" the different elements..
question 6) while painting...the block in stage....you focus on what you're doing and dont think about other things. but while you;re rendering.......you often dissapear for hours at a time. I usually think about a swedish waitress named Sally. I call this odd period "Freespacing"...you really do go away in your head....and come back and ask whodunnit. Musicians and songwriters talk about the same phenomenon. Its just like when you're driving a long trip on holidays...and suddenly you realise you just drove a hundred k's and dont remember anything about it, and "who" was driving.??
Question 7)&8) you mix your colours as you go... and use one brush for each colour usually. you put each brush between your separate fingers looking like Edward Scissorhands.... you keep cleaning brushes here and there, but mostly so the paint doesnt dry on them. an impressionist will likely use a few brushes , but not care what colour goes on what brush, because they are using maybe 3 colours on one brush at a time. A realist , will be much more specific. Painting can get messy.... but its as individual as the person doing it. I know some folks who leave a session absolutely covered in paint. for me.. I wouldnt worry about wearing my sunday best, while painting in the middle of the sheepskin rug. whereas Bree, needs a football field and a firehose. new brushes are prefferable. they last depending on how they are treated. Im hard on mine so they last about 2 or 3 paintings. In between sessions brushes are cleaned with turps(yep in a jar by the easel)..and then you dip them in vaseline to keep the fibres from getting split ends. Turps removes the Vaseline when its time to use them again. Changing colours you will clean the old colour off the brush, in the turps jar.. then wipe it on your rag, (usually old bathtowel) sometimes your shirt.or the curtains , oooh baybee *G*
Question 9) periods of staring followed by short bursts of frenzied attack. then more staring. People always walk in while youre staring and assume youre having a break. its the biggest difficulty convincing them you're busy. They ALWAYS assume you just dont like them. This on its own is a very long subject.but basically. the biggest problem artists have, is that people around them who dont paint, simply dont understand what your doing. or moreso "WHY" creativeness absorbs you completely , like I said about the capsicums..etc. I honestly do consider everything as part of my job. Im not being silly here. Im as serious as I can possibly be. Sleep... food... holidays...music... everything becomes a contributing factor, when you are obsessed with paint. If I had my way... artists would live in a separate world, with total freedom to live as their conciousness dictates. Instead its often like being a person whos work is admired , but whos lifestyle is laughed at. as though your creativity was a quirk of your obviously "wierdo" nature. and is appreciated like when a mentally insufficient person is a brilliant pianist. People love to focus, on what they call your "gift"... which is endlessly frustrating. Its like these "gifts" were handed out and THEY didnt get one. rather than the truth, which is that creativity is really just "EFFORT"... driven by some passion, and an excercised ability to "PAY ATTENTION".
Question 10) Lighting is very important.....natural is best, but for conveinience....artificial is mostly used. the brighter, the better. Daytime is best, but due to constant interruptions... night is usually favoured. Question 11) see question 9)&10)
Question 12) when you make a mistake on the canvas......if its still wet... you can carefully remove the offence with a little turps on a cloth stretched over your fingertip. this is why we paint in stages....so the whole surface isnt removed just for a tiny mistake. otherwise...you can simply paint over mistakes. Oil is very forgiving.
Question 13) (you ask very perceptive questions Mel.) um... during a painting...interuption is only good , if its food, or sex, or the company of someone who doesnt want you to "focus" on them... or who wants you to fix the friggin washing machine. This usually happens while you're lost in "freespacing" and you have to take the person and stick them in a cow afterwards. Usually when someone says..."mind if I watch?" it translates as."I have no life, can I annoy yours?"
Question 14) Portraiture is a very different bag. Ive little experience in doing it live...although Ive done lots of "life drawing" but from reading alot about it, I beleive its a very honed ability to get to know a person, and try and capture the more typifying aspects of them.Its like good photography....is more about how you make the model feel, than it is about what lenses you choose.
Question 15) Ive done several reasonable watercolours....the difference is that its very unforgiving. its an art for either someone who doesnt care what happens, or someone who is extremely careful. Oil paint goes where you put it. Watercolour goes where it wants. So you have to plan where it "might" go. Question 16) nooooo not at all. its been an interesting experience seeing these things in writing. Ive saved copies on my puter, incase anyone ever asks again .They may even be useful to some of my students, when theyre starting out.
OH.. just a note about the money side... paint and materials cost $6 a tube.. $5 a brush..$25 a canvas...frames about $200 Galleries take anywhere from 25% up to 95% of the sale price. The most I ever got was 80%... the least was 6%. prices are generally guaged on size. paintings of 18"X24" go for around 500 to 3,000 up to huge bits of 9ft x 5ft. which may range from 8,000 to whatever..... Theres a small collection in Port Douglas worth $275 each...and one still in Japan for $85,000 no mattter what the percentages.....most artists live a fairly frugal existence, with breif periods of wealth.
Oceans of waiting , punctuated by islands of bliss. hope this is a good insight... and the best of luck with your writing....Im really happy to see you following a dream and not waiting till the childeren are 90. ONYA Mel. cheers.
Greg.