Sunday, October 18, 2009

Learn How to Draw for Beginners

Author: Ralph Serpe
Learning any new form of art is always a challenge, and as a beginner, I am certain you have many questions about drawing. We all need a helping hand when just starting out, so I put together this list of handy tips to help you on your way to becoming a better artist.. I hope you enjoy!
  1. If at all possible, always draw from life and not photographs.
  2. When drawing, less is sometimes better. Do not attempt to draw every line and detail that you see or you will give your viewer too much information to absorb.
  3. Do not try and get all of the information in your drawing completed at one sitting. Drawing is a process. Layout the general idea of your drawing and then slowly add in your details.
  4. Do not be overly judgmental about your drawing before it is completed. This may cause you to become discouraged and give up.
  5. Do not take on subjects that are too complicated at first. This will certainly cause you to become discouraged if the drawing isn't as good as you expected it to be. Start with simple subjects that you know you can complete and then progress to more complicated ones.
  6. Forget everything you already know about a particular subject before you start drawing it. Draw what you see in front of you and not what you know already about that subject.
  7. Make sure you have excellent lighting. Nothing is more frustrating to an artist than poor lighting. If you can't see you can't draw. If you do not have a well lit room with natural sunlight to work in, then check your local art supply store or search online for full spectrum lighting products that mimic natural sunlight.
  8. Get yourself a pad of newsprint paper. Its very cheap and great for practice and doing preliminary sketches.
  9. Keep your pencils sharp. There are drawing techniques that require a blunt pencil point , but for the most part, you should keep your pencil points sharpened.
  10. Vary the weight of your lines. Use a variety of different lines in your drawing by pressing harder or by lifting your pencil. This may seem like an obvious thing, but when an artist becomes deeply focused in a drawing, they can sometimes forget to use this simple technique.
  11. Keep a sketchbook with you wherever you go. Whenever you have a free moment, practice your drawing. It doesn't matter if the subject is a light post, an insect or a garbage pail. The more often you draw, the more observant you will become.
  12. Do not over use smudging and blending techniques to achieve values in your drawings.
  13. Never throw out any of your drawings. Keep a neat portfolio of everything you draw. This is an excellent way to see your progress over time.
  14. Avoid looking at your drawing too often. Make sure you are constantly focusing on the subject and only glancing at your drawing. By doing so, you won't constantly judge your drawing, or think something is wrong or out of place. Focus on the subject and draw what you see.
  15. How to hold your drawing instrument - Hold your pencil in a way that is most comfortable for you. Some hold the pencil just as you would hold a pen or pencil if you were writing. Others hold a pencil with the pencil between the thumb and index finger, with the rest of the pencil resting under the palm of your hand. Whichever method you use for holding your pencil, make certain that you do not hold the pencil too tightly.
  16. Practice the contour drawing technique - This very basic technique is simply drawing the outline of your subject without any shading to indicate form.
  17. Practice the hatching technique - This drawing technique uses a series of parallel lines drawn close together, in the same direction, which gives the appearance of value.
  18. Practice tonal or value drawing - In this approach to drawing we are indicating the various changes of light and shade in our picture without the use of strong edges and lines.
  19. Practice the blind contour drawing technique - Similar to contour drawing, only you do not look at the paper. The point of this exercise is to force you to better observe what it is you are drawing. You should have no concern over the outcome of your drawing so it is important not to peek.
  20. Practice the upside down drawing technique - Drawing upside down is a wonderful exercise to awaken the right side of your brain. When you turn an image upside down, you are making it somewhat abstract and unrecognizable. This forces you to draw what you see as opposed to relying on your memory to draw something.About the Author:

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Thursday, October 8, 2009

Oil Painting

Chinese oil paintings and realist oil painting

Chinese oil paintings since the beginning of the fall, and "realism" and "realist painting" has a natural link, or from a certain sense, the beginning of the period of Chinese oil paintings is the "realist painting." Chinese oil painting in the way of development, "realism" and "realist painting" has always been associated with it.

Chinese oil paintings and the history of the development of China's social and cultural development, changes in the history closely linked, it is accompanied by a knowledge of Western and other natural and cultural knowledge to enter China. The starting point for the development of Chinese oil paintings, is well documented from the Ming Dynasty in Ningbo, Zhejiang Jiajingnianjian the Portuguese in the establishment of the Hong Kong Trade Shuangyu base, the painting will bring this art form in China.

Later in the Wanlinianjian (European Renaissance painting at this time is an important period in the history of the development), due to religious reasons, the Italian missionary Matteo Ricci to a painting of God, Our Lady of the paintings to China. According to records, the 1610 Tour Wen-hui's "portrait of Matteo Ricci" has realistic approach, clearly the relationship between brightness, which can be deduced, You Wenhui of China earlier study and practice of European oil paintings. To the Qing Dynasty, many Western missionaries for the court is satisfied that, with the Qing Emperor Kangxi in Beijing between the missionaries and Gongtinghuashi Lang Shining as the representative, he worked in China, the life of 51, after Emperor Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong three dynasties . He used the Western oil painting concepts to the performance of the Chinese characters "Xiangfeirongzhuang map", opened a real painting with Chinese content of the precedent.

Some scholars believe that this also is China's realist painting "The first map." The development of early Chinese oil paintings are generally three ways, first missionary to preach the culture, and second, followed by the court to accommodate the culture of painting, and the third is in the cultural and economic exchanges in the "civil painting." Chinese oil paintings start from the beginning with "realism" style. Some scholars from the Guangdong exported start painting on that Guangdong is the birthplace of Chinese oil paintings, where you can find Chinese realist painting at the initial start of the cultural and artistic works. Some scholars from the Shanghai Museum soil Hill Bay Exploration focus on painting, oil painting that China's modern master Xu Yong-ching, Ding stunning, ZHOU Xiang, Zhang Hui charge, Zhang Yuguang, such as Ren Bonian, "have received here in Western art education . Territories Bay Hill painting in the Museum, is the court in the northern West painting interrupted,''the Guangzhou coastal export oil painting after painting''in the re-rise of China and Turkey.

Although the time across a century, but the history of Shanghai has once again chosen to Western painting East wind of a historic turn for the better, but also laid the future Shanghai will become the basis of a major Chinese oil paintings. "Soil Bay Hill Museum paintings produced sculptures, practice painting, oil painting and home-made paints, specialized manual sketching, realistic atmosphere rich, To become "China's cradle of Western painting." Chinese oil painting in the process of development, Transocean Xunmeng, gains Western Modernist painting of the first practice, also gains the Lingqi realist painting, mechanical Moreover, the two can not be separated. "Westernization Movement" to promote Chinese painting in the spread of emerging art education has driven the rise of realism style. The rise of Western painting groups also promote the development of China's realist painting. Founded in Shanghai in 1915's "Oriental Art" in the form of groups to promote the spread of Western painting, to promote a scientific attitude to artistic creation, to stand as the main means of painting, drawing Dan Gaoxiang take into account indoor and outdoor paint, and actively promote outdoor Painting, further carry forward the style of realism.

After the outbreak of the Sino-Japanese War, Chinese oil paintings into a tortuous and difficult period of development. This "difficult" and the people's suffering, linked to national survival. Is the most significant artists, in particular, a number of important artists in this period of adversity, in the baptism of war, inspired by passion, real life experience to the suffering and national disaster, in-depth, experience in the rear shoulder Anti-Japanese National Salvation of the great historical mission, this generation of artists in the blood flow to the country and the nation's destiny, art and life of passion, and the development of Chinese oil paintings were integrated into the subjects of great practical and enhanced the art of profound practical significance.

After new China was founded, the reality of the revolution consciously become the mainstream of Chinese painting art, artists, "as the keynote optimism to the revolution, depicting the revolutionary war and socialist construction in the history of life thriving scene. Uncertainties, accurate and powerful, many Painter common pursuit of the arts realm. "Realist realistic painting was exceptional conditions have been greatly developed. 1955, the Ministry of Culture decided to organize the Central Academy of Fine Arts oil painting courses, employing Soviet the teaching oil painting. courses taught sketching teaching system, students focus on improving the basis for sketching and modeling capability, that art comes from life, to encourage students observe the life and works of attention to the social function, the requirements reflect the fiery creation of real life, and guide students to Themes and topics of the master plot of concern.

There is no doubt that this course actively promote the development of China's realist painting, after training a group of Chinese oil painting industry active in the backbone. Of course, after training in the arts reflect on this practice, there are experts believe the other hand, sketching their teaching methods "and not a sketch of China's experience in teaching the integration of China's sketch of teaching methods and style of the sketch based on a single. "In subsequent years, advocates of revolution and revolutionary realism, the combination of romanticism, political and artistic standard, facing the reality of China through ups and realist painting, distort, to reflect on the years and rational thinking.

During a return to the reality of the "native intelligence", advocated by honest approach to the grim portrait of life, to the performance of simple theme Native revealed living in difficult environment in the people's heat and warmth of the noble dignity. During a realist painting of China's serious reflection, in summing up both positive and negative lessons for China on the basis of realistic painting of the new knowledge and new exploration. After the seemingly silent and variables, the Chinese contemporary realist painting is still active, being mature. "This door''origin''in the growing depletion of the art form has been dissolved in Chinese people's aesthetic habits, renewable pleasing to the Chinese oil paintings. Realist painters who are not in order to make an example, it inadvertently to the contemporary Fufan Art presents a necessary accomplishment: To master a kind of art form, is bound to a long-term extraordinary efforts. "

Realist painting walked all the way, hastened the birth of modern Western art of the genre, in the time of the birth of Chinese oil paintings, but also a realist deep zone de Patinagem de traces the art of oil painting. Or that Chinese oil paintings come out in time, undoubtedly have the impression of Western painting and after all the art schools affected, but in essence said that the Chinese oil painting at the starting time of the basic characteristics of a "realist painting." China's realist painting of Faren and foreign missionaries preaching the culture is closely linked to that of imported Western painting is not only oil paintings, watercolors, copper engraving, and other kinds of painting, the study of Chinese oil paintings of realism started to explore the introduction of Western art, Depend on a variety of types of art painting and its artistic spirit.

The study of Chinese realist painting, but also explore the Westernization Movement, Restoration Reform Movement, the New Culture Movement and other Chinese political and cultural development background, when Kang Youwei Although the history of Western painting there were misreading, but the realism of the Western oil paintings still have problems Insights, in his "Travels 11 countries in Europe," Rafael praised the painting as "T Yi Yi Miao, lively, more Rao Yun Xiang, Cheng Yi also God," and "show its health-Yun, who must have independence "And" far from angry, Shenmiao forced true, the name is true also, "These kind words are" realistic. " Kang Youwei respected realist "classic" and his words deep. Chen Duxiu in the "art of revolution - by Lu Zheng," also said, "the painter must be realistic, and be able to play to their talent, painting their paintings, ancient Kejiu not charged." Chen Duxiu on the "art revolution" And "realism" and "spirit of realism," the idea of the May 4th Movement in the new culture of science, carry forward the spirit of democracy have had a profound impact.

Chinese oil paintings in the development process, from time to time there are "local" and "outside," the academic struggles and the "local" to the advent of Chinese oil paintings dating back over 2,000 years ago with Oil for painting pottery patterns. Academic issues can still explore. And the general sense, of "realism oil paintings and Chinese oil painting", often starting in the cultural missionaries to preach. Of course, in recent years, there are writings discussed how the evolution of classical realist painting to contemporary "as a new" painting, which involves China should advance with the times realist painting of a problem.

About the Author:
oil painting