April Class Recap and May Class

Before I recap our April class, I'll announce the date of our next class at the BCAC studio in the Ice House Mall in Barrington, IL:

May 4th, 2018

MAY THE FOURTH BE WITH YOU!!

(Thanks for the pun, Kimberley!)

Please email me to let me know if you'd like to attend this class, from 9:30- 3:30pm.  The topic for this class will be "Painting With Abstraction"

And now for our recap:

Four Apples, Four Application Techniques

Artists tell me that sometimes, it's hard to know which brush to use to get the effect that they're after.  We focused in our April class on brush selection and technique.  Each of the apples above were painted with the same color palette, but you can see that they appear very different from each other.  Application of the paint is everything!

THE FILBERT BRUSH

The Filbert Brush

This apple was painted using a filbert brush, which has a semi-oval top. This brush gives us very soft edges and a somewhat thinner paint application because it tends to dig in to the underlying layers if the paint is still wet.  In my example, the wet Burnt Sienna wash blended with the other paint colors, giving it a more subdued look.  Filbert brushes are wonderful therefore, for painting soft things and subjects with softer edges, such as portraits, furry animals, and clouds.

THE FLAT (OR BRIGHT) BRUSH

The Flat Brush

Flat brushes are great for crisp edges and thicker paint application.  Notice the left side of this apple and the defined edge there.  And even though I used the same colors as the example above, the colors didn't blend as much with my underlying tone and they remained truer.  I use this type of brush for most of my work.  It's a great choice for all subjects requiring hard and soft edges, as well as straighter lines.  I reach for this brush when I paint architecture, still life subjects with defined edges such as plates and glasses, trunks on trees, furniture, etc.

THE PALETTE KNIFE

Palette Knife

For the thickest paint application possible, you can't beat a palette knife.  And although you can get some nice hard edges, they probably won't go exactly where you think they will.  But that's the beauty of the palette knife-  since the paint and the knife have ideas of their own, we're forced to give up on our need to be exact or perfect. Any subject can be painted with a palette knife, and be prepared to use a LOT of paint, and allow the painting to surprise you!

THE ROUND BRUSH

Round Brush

Round brushes are usually used when we are drawing in our initial shapes before we start really painting.  In this example, I used a small drawing brush to "scribble in" layers of paint, one on top of the other.  This method gives an airy, soft appearance to your paintings.  If you'd like to try to make your paintings appear more impressionistic and loose, you may wish to try this method.

I hope you have a chance to try each of these methods to help you discover which one you'd like to try on your next painting!