Anybody paint?

EricTheWeary

Not the gloss and emulsion type stuff. 

i occasionally visit art galleries and my favourite TV tends to be things like Sky Portrait Artist and Landscape Artist ( not the horrible BBC equivalents). I used to draw a lot as a yoof and into my 20s and our holidays are invariably driving to quiet places ( Scotland again this May and driving down to Northern Spain this summer). Fair bit of down time when we are away and I tend to be less interested in catching up on my reading so something fairly focused for a few hours might be good for me.When MrsTheWeary retires next year more trips are on the agenda. But I don't think I've painted a picture since primary school.
My time with a guitar is pretty limited but it's not really conflicting with that slot in my life so 'play the guitar instead' probably isn't the answer. Gentle mental therapy might be good! 

thecolourbox

I used to paint and absolutely loved it, but without the dedicated time to do it regularly it became frustrating to me as I wasn't always able to do stuff that six months prior I had done with ease. Just practice though isn't it really.

I was a bit abstract I think due to lack of technique but I did do the occasional proper painting

Philly_Q

Not actual painting, I never really got to grips with the techniques, but I used to draw a lot, pencils and pen-and-ink.  Largely copying things out of Asterix books, Mad magazine and Marvel comics, but then I got quite good at drawing in those styles myself.

I used to spend many hours drawing, up until my late teens, then I discovered guitar music and gave up art in favour of something I have absolutely no aptitude for.

terada

I prefer specific bodypaint

breakstuff

Same as @Philly_Q I used to draw a lot as a kid.Just pencil work with black and grey shading.Did a few family portraits and used to enjoy drawing birds of prey. 

Dabbled with painting in my late teens but this is the only example I've still got. Painted it about thirty years ago on the back of a Levi denim jacket. I recently unearthed it from the back of my closet to show my kids. 

 https://imgur.com/a/2sXfh0l

boogieman

My wife does watercolours. She started with a couple of weekend beginner courses to get the basics down and now does weekly classes at the local library. She likes those because the tutor makes them do different subjects every week, so she’s pushed to try things she wouldn’t have thought of or doesn’t necessarily like. Some things work better than others but it’s all good experience. 

EricTheWeary

Philly_Q said:

Not actual painting, I never really got to grips with the techniques, but I used to draw a lot, pencils and pen-and-ink.  Largely copying things out of Asterix books, Mad magazine and Marvel comics, but then I got quite good at drawing in those styles myself.

I used to spend many hours drawing, up until my late teens, then I discovered guitar music and gave up art in favour of something I have absolutely no aptitude for.

Basically the same. I used to draw cartoons for Peeping Tom, the student union magazine for Coventry Polytechnic. 

Funkfingers

I used to. Pretty much stopped after a year on an Art & Design foundation studies course. Then, moved towards graphic design. Then, printing.

Philly_Q

breakstuff said:

Same as @Philly_Q I used to draw a lot as a kid.Just pencil work with black and grey shading.Did a few family portraits and used to enjoy drawing birds of prey. 

Dabbled with painting in my late teens but this is the only example I've still got. Painted it about thirty years ago on the back of a Levi denim jacket. I recently unearthed it from the back of my closet to show my kids. 

 https://imgur.com/a/2sXfh0l

That's good!  I did something a bit like that on the back of a jacket, a picture of Hendrix, all in red on a black background. 

I also have (assuming it hasn't fallen to bits in the loft, and nothing to do with painting) a denim jacket on which I embroidered the cover of the 1975 Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow album.  That turned out really well.

Philly_Q

EricTheWeary said:

Philly_Q said:

Not actual painting, I never really got to grips with the techniques, but I used to draw a lot, pencils and pen-and-ink.  Largely copying things out of Asterix books, Mad magazine and Marvel comics, but then I got quite good at drawing in those styles myself.

I used to spend many hours drawing, up until my late teens, then I discovered guitar music and gave up art in favour of something I have absolutely no aptitude for.

Basically the same. I used to draw cartoons for Peeping Tom, the student union magazine for Coventry Polytechnic. 

Excellent, you should definitely have a go at painting!  Or try drawing again, if the painting doesn't work out.

Sassafras

I used to custom paint motorbikes for a living. Gave it up in favour of my interest in hard drugs.

underdog

@thecolourbox love the 2nd painting man 

thecolourbox

underdog said:

@thecolourbox love the 2nd painting man 

Thanks, I did that one with toothbrushes, those double sided sponge scourers, and an old library card. Quite a fun project not painting with brushes!

EricTheWeary

boogieman said:

My wife does watercolours. She started with a couple of weekend beginner courses to get the basics down and now does weekly classes at the local library. She likes those because the tutor makes them do different subjects every week, so she’s pushed to try things she wouldn’t have thought of or doesn’t necessarily like. Some things work better than others but it’s all good experience. 

I could use probably use some lessons but things like that never seem to get fitted into my life at present. Another one for the retirement list maybe. 

Sassafras

I used to watch Watercolour Challenge of an afternoon if I had nothing better to do.

boogieman

EricTheWeary said:

boogieman said:

My wife does watercolours. She started with a couple of weekend beginner courses to get the basics down and now does weekly classes at the local library. She likes those because the tutor makes them do different subjects every week, so she’s pushed to try things she wouldn’t have thought of or doesn’t necessarily like. Some things work better than others but it’s all good experience. 

I could use probably use some lessons but things like that never seem to get fitted into my life at present. Another one for the retirement list maybe. 

Ah well Mrs B only started when she retired. 

Jaycee

I did some Acylic a few years ago on mdf , they came out fairly well. There was a tutorial on youtube so I just followed that. I will try and post some pics

Nomad

I occasionally slap paint about...



(I know my sky is nothing like reality.) Oils, using what's called a pochade box, which is basically a self-contained studio that packs into a small suitcase type of thing. Mounts on a lightweight tripod - all very portable for outdoor use. The canvas panel is 12" wide.





If you want to paint, then give some consideration to what media you might prefer (such as oils, acrylic, watercolour). They all require equipment, some more than others, and they all need some technique to get the best out of them. Oils stay wet for ages and can be hard to control because they blend on the canvas (often desirable, but can turn into mud), acrylics can dry so fast you don't get a chance to blend, and watercolours need planning because the paints are transparent - layers of different colours make new colours, which you ideally want to be able to predict. None of them is especially hard to learn, but a bit of learning is needed.

Watercolours are probably the easiest to get started with because using them is pretty intuitive and they don't need much equipment or extras - just paints, paper, brushes and water. Oils and acrylics tend to be more technical in their execution, have more paraphernalia, and usually have various gloops to add to the paint (called mediums, they're used to change the behaviour of the paint, like how fluid it is, how fast or slow it dries, etc). That said, don't pick something that sounds like an easy start if you have something in the back of your mind that epitomises painting for you - no point getting watercolours if the hankering is for oils. 

There are plenty of free lessons on the likes of YouTube, and countless instructional books and DVDs are available if you want to spend money (many books can be had cheap at remainder book stores and the like). Tutor type lessons can be had for sensible money if you join a local art club or investigate adult night classes run by the council, but they tend to be at set times. Books and videos let you set your own schedule and pace.

Whatever you do, once you've decided on what media to start with, don't go and buy the cheapest set of no-name paints like a set of tiny tubes of oils for 7 quid. The only thing you'll learn with them is that they're cheap shit that's best avoided (feeble colours that run out too quickly, and don't mix well). Go for at least student grade from the big makers (like Winsor & Newton or Daler-Rowney in the UK). Same goes for brushes - avoid the bumper packs of cheap shit and aim for decent student grade. The doing of painting is making marks in paint on a surface, and cheapo brushes make this harder to do because the bristles simply don't work as well. If you've got the readies, feel free to splurge on artist grade, but note that you're unlikely to notice the difference until you have some experience (and some student grade colours and brushes are very good anyway). If you're just messing about to get the hang of things, or unsure of which type of media you'll settle on, student grade is absolutely fine.

EricTheWeary

Nomad said:

I occasionally slap paint about...



(I know my sky is nothing like reality.) Oils, using what's called a pochade box, which is basically a self-contained studio that packs into a small suitcase type of thing. Mounts on a lightweight tripod - all very portable for outdoor use. The canvas panel is 12" wide.





If you want to paint, then give some consideration to what media you might prefer (such as oils, acrylic, watercolour). They all require equipment, some more than others, and they all need some technique to get the best out of them. Oils stay wet for ages and can be hard to control because they blend on the canvas (often desirable, but can turn into mud), acrylics can dry so fast you don't get a chance to blend, and watercolours need planning because the paints are transparent - layers of different colours make new colours, which you ideally want to be able to predict. None of them is especially hard to learn, but a bit of learning is needed.

Watercolours are probably the easiest to get started with because using them is pretty intuitive and they don't need much equipment or extras - just paints, paper, brushes and water. Oils and acrylics tend to be more technical in their execution, have more paraphernalia, and usually have various gloops to add to the paint (called mediums, they're used to change the behaviour of the paint, like how fluid it is, how fast or slow it dries, etc). That said, don't pick something that sounds like an easy start if you have something in the back of your mind that epitomises painting for you - no point getting watercolours if the hankering is for oils. 

There are plenty of free lessons on the likes of YouTube, and countless instructional books and DVDs are available if you want to spend money (many books can be had cheap at remainder book stores and the like). Tutor type lessons can be had for sensible money if you join a local art club or investigate adult night classes run by the council, but they tend to be at set times. Books and videos let you set your own schedule and pace.

Whatever you do, once you've decided on what media to start with, don't go and buy the cheapest set of no-name paints like a set of tiny tubes of oils for 7 quid. The only thing you'll learn with them is that they're cheap shit that's best avoided (feeble colours that run out too quickly, and don't mix well). Go for at least student grade from the big makers (like Winsor & Newton or Daler-Rowney in the UK). Same goes for brushes - avoid the bumper packs of cheap shit and aim for decent student grade. The doing of painting is making marks in paint on a surface, and cheapo brushes make this harder to do because the bristles simply don't work as well. If you've got the readies, feel free to splurge on artist grade, but note that you're unlikely to notice the difference until you have some experience (and some student grade colours and brushes are very good anyway). If you're just messing about to get the hang of things, or unsure of which type of media you'll settle on, student grade is absolutely fine.

Cheers.

To the best of my memory I’ve never used oils or acrylics and it feels a bit intimidating. When I’ve watched people using oils I like the almost sculpting process of it although buying oils, canvas,etc, seems like an expensive way to end up making a mess when I don’t know what I’m doing. 
Possibly just getting my eye in more with sketches is a sensible enough start although I like the idea of the wide sweep that a paint brush gives. 

Budgie

I do it full time, it’s my job.

My advice would be to avoid watercolours as a beginner. It’s a medium which is seemingly easy but in reality it is probably the most difficult to use unless you are confident. You tend to get one chance to get it right, it’s very difficult to add additional layers without damaging the previous layer and this usually makes for a muddy and disappointing finish.

I would probably suggest starting with a decent brand of acrylics. I use Liquitex and Golden mainly, due to the excellent pigments. You don’t really ‘need’ acrylic mediums but they can be useful. The only one I use regularly is a glaze medium by Golden. The beauty of using acrylics is that you can easily work over the top of a previous layer, which means you can use them in washes just like watercolour or thicker coats without destroying the layer below. I would say that intuitively, most people will layer their paintings - that is, starting from the darkest areas and becoming lighter with layers over the top, with the lightest areas at the top. You can’t really do that with watercolour as you need to work in reverse, ie the lightest areas (usually the white of the paper) are left and the darkest tones are last. If you make a mistake, and you will, acrylic is far more forgiving as it’s a permanent medium. Watercolour isn’t and will dissolve again.

As mentioned above, buy decent quality. Student or studio level is generally okay for paints and the quality of synthetic brushes has massively improved over time. If you intend to work on paper, again, and I’d say this is more important than anything else, buy good quality, the cheap stuff is cheap for a reason, it’s crap and you’ll be disappointed. Something like Bockingford is a reasonable starting point. If you intend to paint onto board, just use MDF and prime it with gesso or acrylic primer and you’ll save a fortune compared to buying individual boards form art shops. 

Lastly, don’t be put off by failures. With painting you’ll have plenty until the process starts to click. You really do learn quite quickly what works and what doesn’t. If you need any advice, just shout!

DiscoStu

BLACK!!!