Whether an artist is specialising in pet portraits, landscapes, or traditional portraits, keeping colours as bright as possible is an important part of producing paintings that appear fresh an clean.
The way in which any colour appears is dependant on the circumstance in which it is seen. The way a colour is seen is effected by the colours next to it and on which it is placed. (more…)
Whether an artist is specialising in pet portraits, landscapes, or traditional portraits, keeping colours as bright as possible is an important part of producing paintings that appear fresh an clean.
The way in which any colour appears is dependant on the circumstance in which it is seen. The way a colour is seen is effected by the colours next to it and on which it is placed. (more…)
Stretched canvas is a very popular option for pet portrait artists as a support for their paintings. All the same, there are alternative supports that can be just as worthy when you don’t have any canvases to hand. Wood has traditionally be used as a support for oils and indeed, is one of the earliest forms of support for painting. (more…)
With some painting techniques, like those used by many pet portrait artists, detail is an important aspect of the finished picture. In light of this, it is crucial to create preliminary drawings, but what’s the easiest way to transfer the finished drawing to the canvas? Historically, artists have employed one of three methods to do this, the following explanations describe the principle behind them. (more…)
For a great many artists, including those who specialise in pet portraits, stretching their own canvas not only saves money on commercially prepared canvases, but also provides them with a much better result. On the whole, commercially prepared canvases are inclined to be rather light weight with only the minimum amount of primer required. When we prepare our own canvases we select the quality of canvas, stretcher bars and primer that suits our painting style, so creating something that will work perfectly with our finished painting and having a much improved chance of lasting in good order. (more…)
There are a range of materials that can be utilised as a support, but the pet portrait artist needs to deliberate the merits of the material used, so that it will provide the best longevity for their painting. Much will depend on the type of paint being used, oil and acrylic tend to be a more flexible medium so can be applied with reasonable confidence on fabrics that have been properly prepared. More brittle mediums such as tempera, gouache or pastel, require a more rigid support such as prepared boards. (more…)
As most artists and crafts people, pet portrait artists are a canny lot and, if they can save a bit of money by making their own materials, they certainly will. As with paints, pastels can be very expensive to buy and the best ones always seem to run out more quickly however, it is possible to make your own at a fraction of the price of shop bought ones. It is also possible to achieve better results, often manufactured pastels lack the intermediate greys, grey-greens and the half-tone required for rendering flesh colours. (more…)