Art Center Information

Art Tips to Improve Confidence

Richard D. Burton: "Segment of "Woman in the Field" — Richard D. Burton: “Segment of “Woman in the Field”

It’s always best for artists to critique their own work and not seek the views of others. When they seek advice it probably means they’re not sure where the fault lies. There are six important areas that should be considered: Color; tonal value; composition; spontaneity, transparency; and subject matter. If these meet the artist’s critical eye, then the watercolor is a success no matter the critique of any other person. Remember, it is okay to have high aims as long as you understand every work may not be a masterpiece. However, aiming high and striving to achieve more with determination will create a rising excitement and assist you in achieving greater ability.

Here are some helpful tips to follow:

Pay attention to correct tonal values.
Develop optimum contrast.
Strengthen your weaker colors as needed.
If you can’t correct a problem, you may be able to save the painting by cropping it.
If the painting looks dull, add life to it.
Don’t fear exaggerating distinguishing details. This often works in your favor.
After you feel you have finished a painting, let it hang around for a couple of weeks before trying to critique it.
Be happy, but never become totally satisfied with your work. There is always a better you in there somewhere.

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Tip: How to Use Spattering Wisely for Texture

When you flick paint from a brush onto a painting, it is spattering. This is done to create texture in your painting, and if done in moderation, it can add additional entertainment as well as give an impressionistic effect. It doesn’t take long for a new artist to discover this technique.

The size of the brush will determine the size and shape of the spatter. The smaller and stiffer the brush, the smaller the spatter. When stroking an old toothbrush with the thumbnail against the bristles, a fine spatter will result. When flickering a large round sable, a less controlled spatter will result.

To create white dots so a dark wash can paint over them, many artists will spatter first with masking fluid.

A good technique to give watercolor a little “oomph” is to use spatter with selected color flicked onto the painting when the paper is wet all over. This will diffuse and lightly mix the colors while it is easy to manipulate; for example, red spattered with a large round in selected spots of a wet blue sky will meld together to give a transparent hint of red when dry.

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Art Featuring the Southwest

For many years, Frederic Sackrider Remington’s bronze sculpture, Bronco Buster, has set atop my library bookcase. I’ve always been fascinated by artist depicting cowboys and Indians.

I was born in New Mexico, hardly more than sixty years after sheriff Pat Garrett shot William H. Bonney, aka, Billy the Kid, deader’n a door nail. I even knew one person, A. J. Crawford, who claimed to know “the kid”personally. A. J. was ninety-nine years old when I was in high school.

The way I understand it, A. J. was a sheep herder during the Lincoln wars (war between the cattlemen and sheep herders in Lincoln County New Mexico). Instead of taking wages, he took sheep until he manipulated it into a small fortune. Later in life, he owned a chain of hotels.

My dad did contract work for A. J. painting his hotel rooms, and I couldn’t wait to meet him and have a chance to talk to him about his days in the old west. I finally got my chance one day while helping my dad. The little gentleman and I sat and talked for almost an hour until my dad reminded me that I was there to work. What an exciting day that was.

So, needless to say, the art of the Southwest has always been one of my favorite genres. Although I have not painted or drawn in the Southwest vein, my brother, Lynn Burton, and my daughter’s father-in-law, the late James Frederick have.

James Frederick: "Original American" Graphite on Paper — James Frederick: “Original American” Graphite on Paper

Another really great Southwest artist that I am privileged to say that I am familiar with is the artist, Gary Niblett.

Gary graduated from the same high school that I did. He was in my brothers graduating class one year before me. He went on to become an award winning artist. His work is copyrighted and can not be shown without permission, but if you are interested in viewing it, one of the sights that shows his work is embedded in my brothers painting, Chief and Skull. Just click on the picture, and it should take you there.

Lynn Burton: Chief and Skull (oil on Canvas)

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The Secret of Texture in Your Work of Art

Segment of "Red Truck — Segment of “Red Truck

The secret of texture when painting is to focus on the important and not small details. Every texture demands a different manner of painting, just as every object has its own unique surface. Is it rough, or is it slippery and smooth? Compare the surface of a rock to a blade of grass, and see the difference. It is not a matter for an artist to attempt to copy the textures they are seeing as much as it is to understand them.

An artist that wishes to depict texture in a believable manner should not only have the right brush or tool available but also the proper ability to express almost any subject they wish on paper. This takes imagination and practice. The important thing is to “feel” the textures and let the paint flow.

Last, but not least, keep your work honest. When painting texture, do not rely too much on artist’s recipes. Painting textures is enjoyable, but it can be the ruination of a painting. A viewer should be interested in the painting, not the technical process the artist used to create it. If you use judicious care when painting your masterpiece, it will have a sense of richness and depth in it.

Posted in art, art information, Artist, painting, textures | Tagged art, art information, artist, Lynn Burton, Richard D. Burton, Textures | Comments Off

Watercolor Textural Techniques

Richard D. Burton: Winter Kindling — Richard D. Burton: Winter Kindlin

The question many watercolor artist have when faced with depicting the tangle of shapes and colors they see is: “How am I going to portray this in my painting?” They may be looking over a field of vegetation with dappled sunlight reflecting off of every leaf or blade of grass. No one could paint it all, and only few would attempt to do so. The secret is to paint the illusion of whatever your subject is in reality, and then finish the painting with detail in well-planned places; mostly, in the foreground. The eye will interpret the abstract based on a few specifically defined areas. The challenge is creating the texture that represents that which the eye imagine it sees.

If you experiment with textural techniques, it probably will not turn out the way you imagined it, but it very likely might turn out to be a pleasant surprise and much better than you imagined it. My only advise is to use the techniques with well planned moderation. Be creative, but remember, over use of the techniques can make texture itself the center of interest.

Listed below are just a few popular textural techniques watercolorists use, they really are as numerous as one’s imagination:

Winslow Homer: Santiago de Cuba Street Scene, 1885

Throwing paint (flinging it onto the painting with a loaded brush).
Pouring or dripping paint onto the substrate.
Squirting it on with a squirt bottle.
Manipulating it with a paint knife.
Manipulating it with a roller.
Allowing the colors to combine and mix themselves wet in wet.
Sprinkling salt on it while still wet.
Sprinkling water on paint while it is still wet to manipulate direction.
Preserving planned whites with masking, or without masking.
Using fingers or fists to manipulate paint.
Fine splattering (not to be confused with flinging or throwing).
Stamps.
Stencils.
Sponges.
Crimped paper.
Cling wrap.
Scraping.

Having a conversation about the use of each of these technique is a blog post in itself, much too long for this one. Art Center Information will be discussing them in subsequent blogs.

Posted in art center information, art information, watercolor, Watercolor Texture Techniques | Tagged art, art center information, art information, artist, Richard D. Burton, Watercolor Texture Techniques, Winslow Homer | Comments Off

Tips to Create The Special Magic of Watercolors

Richard D. Burton (Segment of "Winter Farm") — Richard D. Burton: (Segment of “Winter Farm”)

When painting with watercolors, the colors you mix will be determined by the pigments you use. However, the most important ingredient in the mixture is water. Keep in mind, the artist controls the range of any color, from the darkest tone to the lightest of tints, simply by adding water. The whiteness of the paper showing through is the brilliance of watercolor.

Applied to paper, a weak mixture with plenty of water will always allow the color of the paper to show through. A strong mixture of watercolor will never be entirely opaque. However, an artist can create strong colors in their paintings by building them up with two or three colors laid on top of each other. It is important when doing this to allow each layer to completely dry before applying the next layer of color.

Tip#1: Avoid using watercolors in a concentrated mixture with a small amount of water. Pigments will have an unpleasant shiny surface and will not represent a look of watercolor.

Tip#2: The beauty of watercolor is created by overlaid watery washes. The translucency allows the colors to be created on paper rather than mixing on the palette.

Tip#3: cerulean blue, French ultramarine, burnt umber, vermillion, raw umber, and yellow ochre have a tendency to have the pigment to separate when the wash contains plenty of water resulting in an uneven speckled texture. However, this can be very interesting and add entertainment to the painting. Sometimes the unpredictability of watercolors is what makes the finished work beautiful.

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Tip: Use Acrylic to Underpaint for Other media

Lynn Burton: Blocking in color for "Adam and Eve" — Lynn Burton: Blocking in color for “Adam and Eve”

Texas artist, Lynn Burton, often uses acrylics to underpaint for his many oil paintings. “Many artists today use acrylics to do an underpainting for other mediums,” he said. “For example, you can even use them for alkyd and pastel paints.”

Tip: Use oil painting over acrylic, but not acrylic over oil painting. Acrylic will not adhere to an oily surface (even when the oil is dry).
When underpainting with acrylic, paint it thinly. Otherwise, the texture of the underpainting will affect your painting.
Remember, the thicker the acrylic, the poorer the adhesion is between oil and the acrylic.
Use the acrylic underpaintings to establish color and value in your painting. It allows you to “see” and “feel” your painting in advance and work out possible errors.

Lynn Burton: "Adam and Eve" - oil on board — Lynn Burton: “Adam and Eve” oil on board

Posted in acrylic, art, Lynn Burton, Underpainting | Tagged Acrylics, art, art information, artist, Lynn Burton, painting, Underpainting | Comments Off

Art Center Information’s Monthly Review of Popular Posts

Art Center Information has selected three popular posts to refer you to if you haven’t already read them. Please click the paintings next to the post to immediately go to them and read them. They are brief, informative an entertaining. Enjoy.

In post titled Tips: Sketching, Drawing, Planning and Painting, Mr. Burton wrote: I had this photograph taken of me posing for a future painting. As usual, when I’m in the mood to have a photo taken of a male model, I usually grab the first one that I find. So far, it’s always been me. Click on picture>>>

Nature’s Communication With Artists: If an artist develops an attitude to the natural world of attentively having a modest view of ones own importance, feeling that, as an artist, they must return to the actual moment of creation of their subject, looking deeply into the dynamics of its structure and thus participating in it, the connection between art and nature clearly manifests itself in the finished work. The link between art and nature has always been intimate.

Click on picture to the left to read entire article.

Give Your Artwork Oomph With Reflected Light: Our CEO and founder of Art Center Information, artist Richard D. Burton, recently was invited to speak to a group of artists. He discussed the importance of using reflected light in realistic paintings. The discussion was much too long to repeat on the limited space of this blog post, so we selected some important segments of it and proud to pass it on to our artist friends. Please enjoy the following excerpts: Click on painting>>>

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Tip: When Drawing People, Suggest They are Alive

Richard D. Burton: Graphite drawing of female

When drawing people, my art approach is to suggest they are alive. I have always tried to draw them with body language that would suggest they could be animated, as if any moment they would change their pose and actually move. The figure to the left is a bit dramatic, but it illustrates what I mean. Thfemale in the drawing seems to be posing as if for a photographer’s quick snap of the camera. You also have the feeling that any minute she will relax her pose.

Graphtie Drawing — Richard D. Burton: Segment of Graphite Drawing – Old Woodie

In the graphite drawing study for the painting, Old Woodie, I show the body language of the man much as it would be. However, the viewer has the feeling that any moment the action will change. He is staring at the pump with anticipation, suggesting his next action.

In this graphite study (left) f0r a future watercolor painting, a young girl sits on a planting ledge examining her fingernails in a manner that would suggest she is bored with her surroundings. 100_2131 3

A viewer gets the feeling that as soon as the old man finishes reading his paper, the scene will change. The young girl can certainly not keep her pose forever with the one leg up on the ledge. The boy with the orange will eventually finish peeling it and will eat it. The drawing suggests movement to come in the not distant future. Actually, the inaction in the drawing is an offset for the action going on around them. It was purposefully planned.

Preliminary drawing for a watercolor painting

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A Painting to Remember

Charles M. Russell: “C.M. Russell and his friends”

“My dad has a painting in a museum,” I often tell people. It is true. I don’t know if it’s stored away in the basement along with other lost treasures, or what. As far as how often it was ever exhibited, I only know of one day for certain. I’ve told the story in some of my magazine articles and blogs before, and I find it comical. However, I feel it’s worth another spin.
It all started back in the early 50’s (incidentally, that’s in the last century). My father was spending a spell in the Veterans Hospital in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He was recovering from surgery on his ankle caused by a war injury (that’s WWII). During the recovering period he spent time with brush and canvas, painting a portrait of a “leather faced” Indian (as he described him – there was no “political correct” use in those days) from a nearby reservation. There were other artists in the same situation at the hospital, and they all decided to have an exhibit and invite the public. My father’s painting caught the eye of an elderly gentleman who seemed pleased with the work. Before the show was over the two made an agreement, and the elderly man left with the painting.

Frederick Remington: "Dash for the Timber" (1889) — Frederick Remington: “Dash for the Timber” (1889)

It wasn’t long after my father was released from the hospital that the purchaser of his painting passed away and left his art collection to the Albuquerque art museum. I was just a young person at the time, but I did read the newspaper article.

Sadly, I do not recall the name of the gentleman that bought my father’s painting, but the article was about his great donation to the museum, which included works of Charles M. Russell, Frederick Remington, and other famous “southwestern” artists. But the only artist in the article that I was interested in was that of my father. The newspaper posted a picture of my father’s painting to introduce the article. It was described as a “leather faced” Indian chief by a “local artist.” I can’t explain the pride I felt realizing that day that my father was somebody!

Below is a photo of the only painting I own of the many that my father painted. It is a painting of Signal Peak in southwestern New Mexico. The peak was made famous because it was claimed that the famous Indian chief, Sitting Bull, sent smoke signals from the peak. There is a beautiful waterfall inside the mountain, and I look at the painting remembering the many times we used to go up to the falls for “family time.”

Arlen Burton: "Signal Peak" (Oil on Canvas) — Arlen Burton: “Signal Peak” (Oil on Canvas)

Posted in Arlen Burton, art, art museum, Artist, painting | Tagged Arlen Burton, art, art information, artist, Charles M. Russell, Fredeick Remington, painting | Comments Off