Hello my rambunctious rabble! I’ve re-surfaced from a fortnight of travel and dangerous levels of socialising (for an extreme introvert) with a groovy tutorial for you today. I’ll be showing you a humble little technique I’ve developed using a couple of new art supplies I’ve picked up. Read the rest of this entry »
It occurred to my little OCD mind that it would be super cool to create yummy colour mixing recipes using a limited palette of acrylic paints. I have a feeling this is either completely inspired or absolute madness. I’m relying on you guys to tell me which. I will take silence as implicit agreement with the former. Read the rest of this entry »
If you’re as unfortunate as I and own neither a scanner nor a tripod, you probably find yourself wrangling with ever-so-slightly un-square photos of your paintings. In this easy, step-by-step Photoshop tutorial, we will learn how to square-up said wonky photo. This is a pretty simple tutorial making use of basic Photoshop techniques. Read the rest of this entry »
I love a good background painting tutorial, don’t you? This technique will leave you with a yummy, distressed, sepia-toned background. It is absolutely forgiving as you literally can’t do anything wrong. Read the rest of this entry »
Early adopter I’m not. I’ve finally scraped together a Nellie Windmill facebook page, just in time for the mass exodus to Google+. This feels very grown-up and a little scary. So if you’re like me and are hoping our Geek Overlords will fail in their evil attempts to foist yet another social media site on us, and you want to hang out with fellow reactionaries, come on over. Read the rest of this entry »
A few weeks ago, I blogged about finding my arty sea legs. I mentioned my plan to focus on two particular techniques and a colour palette I’ve come to adore. In this tutorial, I’ll introduce you to both.
The first technique I adopted after reading about it on the blog of Natasha Newton when she very generously shared her particular style of dry-brushing. The other, I developed in response to my problem of not owning any PanPastels in dark shades and having difficulty creating shadows. Previously, I would only use Rangers Walnut Distress Ink to create shadows when using PanPastels but this was very time-consuming so I added another step using a Burnt Umber wash.
Materials for creating the background
Materials for creating the foreground
To prevent the paper warping too much while you are working you can stretch the paper. Tape the paper securely to a strong board. Spray or wipe the entire surface with water and let it dry.
Paint the entire surface using a black acrylic wash with a watercolour mop brush. Let the first coat dry, then paint the entire background with a second coat. Continue applying coats until you have eliminated any streaking.
To create the vignetted background, we’re going to layer sepia tones of heavy-bodied acrylic paint from dark to light, allowing each successive layer to show through to create a blended surface. Start by blending Burnt Umber and a smidgeon of Mars black. Create several shades of this mixture by blending Zinc White if you have it, or Titanium White if you don’t, in ever increasing proportions. If you’re using Titanium White, you may find you need to add a little Raw Sienna the more white you add, in order to keep it relatively sepia-esque.
Apply a coat of the darkest shade using a dry brush technique with a stiff bristled filbert brush. Let it dry, or give it a quick blast with a heat gun. Apply the successively lighter shades in turn, allowing the layers beneath to show through.
Tip
Beware of the “tacky phase” when dry-brushing. I’ve noticed when using this technique that it can be difficulty to notice when the paint is in the danger zone between the wet stage and the “dry to the touch” stage. Be vigilant of the tacky phase and stop painting in that area until it’s dry.
Use a pencil to sketch your subject on the painted surface of your work.
Apply a Burnt Umber wash to areas where the shadows might rest with a round watercolour brush.
Apply some white PanPastel thickly to areas where the light might rest.
Colour subject with PanPastels. Apply the colour, beginning at the edge where the shadows might rest and work your way to the lighter areas. When using this technique, I always blend directly on the substrate, rather than mixing the colours first.
I added Ranger’s Walnut Distress Ink with a slightly damp liner brush to the shadows, used white PanPastel to re-define highlights and added the cloud to give the piece a bit more balance and contrast. Finally, slowly peel off the masking tape and seal your work with fixative.
Holy Moly, my very first tutorial! Quite the milestone. If you care to join me, I’ll take you on a pleasant, matt medium scented journey through the making of the above ATC.
I’ve had a few tiny canvases and ATCs lying around for a while. Not having had any inspiration strike, I began slapping on thin layers of leftover paint, which — after going through some ugly stages — ended up pulling together into a lovely layered look. For creating the balloons, I’ll show you a technique which is the bastard child of two different techniques I learnt from mixed media art goddesses, Kelly Rae Roberts and DJ Pettitt.
Materials for creating the background
- Any substrate (I used paper)
- Thin papers (e.g. tissue paper)
- Matt medium
- Clear glaze medium
- Acrylics
- Watercolour mop paintbrush
- Foam brush
Materials for creating the foreground
- Sewing pattern paper
- Pan Pastels
- Walnut Distress Ink (Ranger)
- Fixative for pastel
- Matt medium
- Low tack or tacked-off masking tape
- Kneadable eraser
- Mechanical pencil
- Small round brush
- Foam brush
Spread a fairly thick layer of matt medium on the substrate. Lay the thin paper down, creating folds, wrinkles, and exposed torn edges as you go. Brush on a light coat of matt medium on top of the paper, either creating more texture with the brush strokes or smoothing with a brush and your fingers as you go.
Tip
If the paper warps too much while you are working, gesso the back.
Brush a thin layer of clear glaze medium directly onto your substrate with a slightly damp brush. Immediately apply a thin layer of acrylic before the glaze dries. Continue layering various colours, allowing each coat to dry before applying the next, until you’re happy with the result.
Trace your design on sewing pattern paper with pencil.
Cut and/or tear away excess paper.
Spread a fairly thick layer of matte medium on the substrate. Carefully lay one end of the sewing pattern paper down, while gently rolling and smoothing the remainder flat with your fingers. Brush on a light coat of matt medium on top of the paper and continue smoothing with a brush and your fingers.
If you’re going for a subdued colour palette like mine, start by applying a layer of white pastel. Apply the colour, beginning at the edge where the shadows might rest and work your way to the lighter areas. When using this technique, I always blend directly on the substrate, rather than mixing the colours first.
When doing detailed work with PanPastels, don’t worry about staying in the lines. Simply erase any unwanted excess pastel with a kneadable eraser.
If, like me, you don’t own any PanPastels in dark colours, you might have to add more depth to your shadows. Dip a dry brush into the Walnut Distress Ink pad and apply it to any shadows that need darkening. Apply some white pastel to areas where the light might rest. Use a mechanical pencil to redefine any lines that have been coloured over. Seal your work with fixative, sit back, and admire!
Was that as good for you as it was for me? Probably not, given my unreasonable level of chuffedness. I’d love to do more of these in the future so do let me know what you think and potentially save me from myself!
Update: I often find something about a piece to spruce up and generally meddle with after it’s been proclaimed finished, and this one is no exception! I don’t own any PanPastels in dark colours, so shading with them is pretty limited. I wasn’t happy with the shading on the balloons so I went back and added Walnut Distress Ink by Ranger, which worked nicely. I’ve updated the tutorial with this step and changed the picture of the final piece to the newly shaded one.
Nellie Windmill is the project of Katherine Herriman... (that’s me). Hi! I'm a painter. I create more opportunities for daydreamer types to keep their heads in the clouds. But really, I just want to add to the beauty in the world. Since 2009, my nomadic studio dwells in a motorhome called "Nettle", somewhere in Europe. |  |
 |  |
 |  |
