cd sketches

https://unsplash.com/photos/XyFS-DeUxkg I started painting plein air two years ago, but prior to that, I had only painted from pictures and occasionally from still life setups. And in my mind, I thought that painting from life and using a reference were essentially the same thing. I figured "A camera is going to see the same thing that my eye can see, so what's the difference?" Now that I have been painting plein air pretty regularly, I can certainly say that painting from life and painting from a reference are different experiences. In this article I am going to go over some of what makes plein air different than using picture references and hopefully inspire you to try and get out in nature. Focal Lengths  The first reason that painting from a picture and painting from life will give you different results is because your eye has a different focal length than your camera. If you are into photography you'll know what I'm talking about, but if not that's okay, ...

Just like everything else in the world, art and artist are evolving. More and more artists are making the switch from traditional to digital. Is digital the future? Does traditional art serve a purpose anymore? Well, In my opinion yes digital art is the future, but traditional art still does serve a purpose. In this article, I aim to ease some of the fears traditional artists have but still give an honest take about what I believe the future holds.  Photo by Mo Eid DIGITAL AND AI ART ARE PROBABLY THE FUTURE! Whether we like it or not, traditional art as a large scale means of illustration or media production is probably on the way out. Digital artists are able to work faster which means they can keep up with the demands and deadlines that managers and overheads want to keep. AI art* only further exacerbates the "issue". With the advent or artificial art generators, "original" art can be produced in just seconds without the cost of paying an artist. So in a commercia...

If being involved with the online art community for a few years now has taught me anything, its not to take what people say on the internet to heart.  PEOPLE REPEAT WHAT THEY'VE HEARD Sometimes when you ask someone a question or if someone is prompted to state their opinion, what you'll get isn't really what they believe. What you'll likely get is what they've heard other people say. People aren't doing this purposefully, it's just easier. Each of our lives are so intricate and our brains have to keep so much important information. Giving someone what you've heard is just far easier on your mind than actually taking time to give a well thought out answer.  Photo by Matheus Bertelli PEOPLE WANT A UNIQUE OPINION (be the one to say it) If you browse YouTube you'll be bombarded by crazy sounding titles (even for something as simple as art). Titles like: ONLY IDIOTS MAKE THIS ART MISTAKE or WHY I'M DONE USING GOUACHE are not that far 1fetched from wha...

In the internet art sphere, limited palettes have been pretty popular for quite a while. Limited color palettes are exactly what they sound like. When painting or drawing, instead of using a large amount  of colors (12-24), a limited palette only relies on a small amount of colors (2-5). Because limited color palettes are so 'limited' (obviously) they rely heavily on improvisation and color mixing. Both limited and non-limited color palettes have their pros and cons, this article aims to explain some of them. If you've never used a limited color palette, you may be wondering to yourself, why would someone want to use less colors when they could use more colors. While painting with less colors may seem like and unnecessary handicap, I promise it does have its benefits.  For one, when you use less colors, you begin to get very comfortable with how those specific colors interact. And, if you chose a yellow, red and a blue, you will learn everything you need to know about how t...

 If you are an artist and you don't keep at least two sketchbooks, you could be doing it wrong. Of course, you can do whatever you want, but, keeping two sketchbooks is undoubtedly better than just one. In this article I hope to give you some pros of two sketchbooks and open your mind to the reasons why many artists have two sketchbooks.  Photo by Ivan Samkov From what I've seen, most artists have, at the very least. two sketchbook. Many of them even have upwards of five sketchbooks going at one time. And I'm not talking about art supply collectors either, I am just talking about normal artists who make art. For the most part, artists keep one messy sketchbook and one more refined cleaner sketchbook. They can both be the same size or they can be different sizes, but the overall idea is to have different sketchbooks for different purposes. The Messy Sketchbook The funny thing about an artists messy sketchbook is that you'll probably never get to see it. So, I can really ...

Photo by Chase Baker on Unsplash  Since 2020, Plein air painting and Urban Sketching seem to have had a boom in popularity. The popularity of Plein air and urban sketching videos on YouTube have caused many people to try it for themselves. And while this is great for the art community and individuals alike, I feel like a lot of us fail to recognize the etiquette and safety concerns that need to be addressed. In this Article I am going to cover some Plein air and Urban sketching etiquette that should be maintained, as well as tips that will keep you safe while making art outside. 1. Mind People's Privacy I know we have all see videos on YouTube of sketching people from life or sketching someone's house from life, but, many people aren't going to like that if they catch on to what you are doing. While you may have wholesome intentions of improving your art skill, not everyone knows that. And in a world where many people are isolated from their neighbors and hold their privac...

Photo by Polina Tankilevitch from Pexels Is digital more or less difficult than traditional art? Though the general consensus has begun to change over time, there is still a pervading thought that digital art is easier than traditional. Though my experience with digital media is very limited, I aim to bring some clarity as well as allow you to question what you may have thought prior to reading this.  Digital does have its shortcuts When people argue that digital is an easier and therefore an inferior art medium, they typically point to these shortcuts. For one, when making art digitally you can undo with just the click of a button. When making art traditionally, depending on the medium, there may not be any way for you to undo a mistake. Next, the ability to easily bring references on screen and trace them gives some traditional artists a lot of grief. I could sit here forever and tell you all of the tools that digital artists have that make their job easier but I'll just name a f...

     From the very beginning of being involved in the online art community, I've noticed that many artists love to toss around the phrase "quick sketch". And now that I have been posting my art online, I have also become all too comfortable calling my work "quick sketches". Whether it be intentional or not, I think that we should be more careful with what we call a "quick sketch"      Before I started posting my art on social media, I just assumed that artists were being completely honest and that what they called a quick sketch was the same as what I would call a quick sketch. I thought that every artist I saw online was just skilled beyond my years. But the more that I involve myself in the art posting ecosystem, I've realized that we're all liars (intentionally or not). I've noticed sometimes that if I am unhappy with a drawing/painting, I will immediately feel more inclined to call it a quick sketch. A subpar sketch can easily become mo...

      As with anything else in life, making art is an up and down ordeal. Very rarely will someone's art consistently get better and better without getting worse at any point. A common misconception though, is that improvement will be linear, but, improvement often looks more like a rollercoaster than an elevator. If you come into making art with the idea that you will see quick, steady improvement, you will only be disappointed. Instead, it's much more productive if you just enjoy making art and see the improvement as a bonus. I am not suggesting that you should be content with never improving, but what I am saying is that if you are unhappy with how your art looks, try enjoying the process, and watch how much more time you spend making art.  The funny thing about making "bad" art is that the more "bad" art you make the more good art you will eventually make. This isn't really an original idea but I feel like everyone needs to hear it. In a way, you sor...

Here it is, the biggest and most controversial question in art; Is it cheating to trace? While there is no clear answer to this question quite yet, in this article, I aim to bring some clarity to this mystery and maybe allow you to question what you believed before reading this. What I mean by "tracing"  In this discussion, I think it's important to make it clear what I mean by tracing. I am not talking about tracing another artists work, I am specifically talking about tracing a reference image so that you can paint overtop of it. These are two very different things.  My experience with tracing has been much like any other artist. Of course when I was very young, around age 10, I traced all the time. I even remember tracing this scene of SpongeBob and Patrick at the beach from a nickelodeon book. At that age, people have no issue with you tracing. You can show it to your parents and they'll even go as far as to complement it. Then around age 15, the only art I was ma...

     If you are yet to go out Plein air painting, it can seem a bit intimidating having to drag out all of your painting supplies with you. But, in reality, if you can consolidate some of your supplies, its possible to have a light and simple setup. In this article, I will go over my essentials for Plein air painting. And I'll link to the products I personally use.  1. Paint The first and most obvious thing that you need to bring out with you Plein air painting is, paint. Whether that be gouache, watercolor, acrylic or even oil, paint is essential. Technically speaking, you can 'paint' Plein air with markers, colored pencils or even graphite, but that is typically considered 'Urban Sketching'. Along with paint, you're also going to have to be mindful that you need somewhere to hold and mix your paint. This is where a palette comes into play. For watercolor, most Plein air painters I know of either use a metal tin palette, or a specialized watercolor travel palet...

 I've always felt that the term "Self-taught" was quite an odd one. To me, it seems to be a very unnecessary way for an artist to classify themselves. In my (often pessimistic) mind, there's only three reasons why someone would make a point to title themselves as a "Self Taught artist" and only one of them seems valid. Option 1: My art is very impressive, therefore saying I am "Self Taught" is a flex. Option 2: I have a non-conformist mindset and I think that going to art school makes someone a less authentic creator. Or Option 3: My art is good and I want others to know that they don't need to be able to afford traditional schooling to make good art. You can decide which option I think is valid.  Photo by Deeana Arts from Pexels Another reason I feel odd about people calling themselves "Self Taught Artists" is that that  title is so ambiguous. Is being self taught as simple as not pursuing a degree in fine arts? Don't many of us ...

     One of the best ways to improve your artistic eye is to paint 'en plein air'. While getting outside and painting from life is a fun thing to do and the goal of many artists, finding a place to paint isn't so easy. There have been a number of times where I have wanted to go out and paint from life but I just couldn't think of anywhere to go. This problem is only worsened if you live in a 'boring' town. In this article, I will pull from my experience and give my best advice on how to find somewhere to paint Plein air.  1. Google Earth     While I have already covered the topic of using Google Earth directly for painting reference, this tip is different. If you are struggling with finding somewhere to paint, give google earth a shot. If you go to google earth and zoom around your local area, more often than not, you will find somewhere you'd like to paint. Google Earth is great for scouting out potential painting spots without wasting your time and gas, d...

 Even though watercolor is probably the first kind of paint most people will ever experience (as kids in a classroom), it still has a reputation as one of the more difficult and less forgiving mediums. For me, watercolor was the metaphorical gateway back into making art after nearly three years of not drawing or painting, so it was what I used to learn how to paint. Like every medium, watercolor has its pros and cons, and this article will dive into some of the most notable ones. PROS 1. Portability One of the best things about watercolor is that its very easy to bring around with you. Many different brands make travel palettes that allow you to carry watercolor paints in a pocket sized form-factor. If you are a more frugal painter, you can even make your own Altoid's palette for less than 5 five dollars. Watercolor can be poured into half or full pans. This lends itself well to plein air painting and urban sketching as well. Along with the small form watercolor can be put into, it...