- 1. Drawing & Painting with Style and Confidence Presented
by Anne Kullaf Anne Kullaf 2008 Loosen Up!
2. Workshop premise
- Many of my students tell me they are interested in loosening up
or that they feel their work is too tight. Often times, they sign
up for a class and expect to produce a masterpiece, rather than
using the class as a means of learning and experimenting.This
workshop takes the finished painting out of the equation and
focuses on practice and getting the most out of it. Using my own
sketchbooks as examples, I will demonstrate how exploring a subject
in multiple mediums and doing multiple sketches will build
confidence that will translate into more accomplished looking
paintings.
3. Workshop Overview
- This workshop will focus on helping you to build creative
confidence thereby making your paintings look more natural and
expressive. I encourage experimentation and practice as you learn
how to see shapes and values in a way that will allow you to draw
and paint in a more intuitive manner. Using charcoal for value
studies and oil or acrylic for color studies, we will explore a
still life set up in the studio.At the end of the workshop, you
will have several ideas that can be pursued as finished paintings
or simply used to develop practice routines for yourself.
4. What do we mean by loosen up?
- To me, painting loosely means painting with confidence in a way
that truly expresses what you want to communicate with your
paintings. It isnt so much about your style of painting, but rather
about the way you approach the process of painting:
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- Do you feel confident when facing a blank canvas?
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- Do you feel confident regardless of subject matter?
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- Do you experiment with new mediums and materials?
5. Practice = Confidence
- The best way to build confidence is to practice
- Its important to remember that it is ok to make mistakes while
you are practicinggive yourself permission to make errors, after
all, it is ONLY practice
- As for how and what to practice, a good place to start is with
shapes and values
6. Shapes and Values 7. Shapes and Values
- When you look at an object you are drawing, focus on really
seeing the dark and light values
- A wide range of values are what make things look 3 dimensional,
they add a sense of depth and space
- Try to translate what you see onto your drawing pad using
charcoal, try blocking in large areas instead of outlining
- Using the side of the charcoal helps in several ways: it keeps
your verticals and horizontals straight and provides a bold means
of establishing your darkest values
8. Shapes and Values
- Forget about the objects you are drawing and instead try to
capture the gesture of the elements in your composition.
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- Look at the cars in the sketch above. Think of them as one mass
of traffic rather than as individual taxis.
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- Are they rigid or smooth and flowing?
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- Is there a rhythm to the way they appear in the
composition?
9. Shapes and Values
- Draw what you see, not what you know
- Forget what you are drawing and focus on observing the dark and
light values that define the objects in your composition.
- Notice the different surface textures in the drawing
above.
- Shapes and values are used to define the objects and their
surface textures.
10. Shapes and Values
- Not thinking about what you are drawing will also eliminate any
fears you may have, for example:
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- I cant a draw a car, thats too hard. A car is just a box, with
the values properly placed it is as simple as drawing a cube
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- I dont know how to draw glass. You draw glass the same way you
draw anything elselook at the dark and light values and place them
on your paper or canvas as you see them
11. Working with Color 12. Working with Color
- To avoid getting mud, use colors that complement one another to
create shadows and darks, in other words, colors that appear
opposite one another on the color wheel
- Example: if you need show a shaded area on a lemon (yellow,
primary color) use violet (secondary color)
- Mix your secondary colors whenever possible instead of using
them directly from the tube
13. The Limited Palette
- Try working with a limited palette of 3 primaries, one dark
neutral and one white. One of my favorites is:
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- Cobalt blue - Burnt umber
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- Alizarin crimson - Titanium white
- You may experiment with other colors you like, just remember to
keep it to 3 primaries and one dark neutral plus white.
- If necessary, you can always add in a brighter primary for the
areas in highlightfor example, I often will use a cadmium yellow in
addition to the colors above when working on sunlit landscapes just
to get that extra glow in my greens.
14. The Limited Palette
- Notice the difference in mood of the 2 paintings above.
- Both were painted using the colors listed at left, this
illustrates the wide range of effects capable with a limited
palette.
15. Try new methods + materials 16. Try new methods +
materials
- Working with a new medium can be liberatingits new to you, so
no reason you should feel the need to be an expertexperiment and
HAVE FUN!
- Here are a few examples of different mediums and the advantages
and challenges of working with them
Fifth Avenue, study in pastel Anne Kullaf 2008 17. Try new
methods + materials
- Allows for a great deal of spontaneity
- Optically mix colors on the surface to create new colors (can
be challenging to those not used to working with color)
9 thStreet, study in pastel Anne Kullaf 2008 18. Try new methods
+ materials
- Highly versatile, can be used similarly to either oil or
watercolor
- Dries very quickly (drying times can be extended with gel
mediums)
- Excellent for under paintings done en plein air
Canal Street Figures, study in acrylic on paper Anne Kullaf 2008
19. Try new methods + materials
- My favorite (we all have one)
- Rich color can be achieved with layering
- Wonderfully expressive effects possible with brush work
- Archival qualities proven over time
Taxi in the Rain, oil on canvas Anne Kullaf 2007 20. Try new
methods + materials
- Highly expressive but unforgiving
- Colors not as strong/bold as oil
- Highly suitable for plein air
- Working from light to dark may be confusing for those of us
used to pastel or oil
Flowers, study in watercolorl on paper Anne Kullaf 2007 21. Try
new methods + materials
- Excellent for capturing values quickly
- Great for sketching plein air
- Bold quality can help you from getting too fussy with
details
Shapes & Values demo, study in charcoal Anne Kullaf 2008 22.
Paint directly from life
- Painting from a still life set up in your studio is a great way
to practice your observation skills
- Really try to reduce objects to their basic forms and
colors
- Remember to look for the shapes and values, forget about what
you are painting
All prima demo, study in oil on canvas Anne Kullaf 2008 23.
Paint + sketch en plein air
- Painting plein air is a great way to practice seeing shapes,
values & colors
- Plein air studies can be used to create future studio
paintings
- Working outdoors is challenging and good practice for capturing
changing light quickly
Tree, plein air study in oil on canvas Anne Kullaf 2008 24.
Leave your comfort zone!
- It is a good idea to sometimes try subject matter that you
would not normally paint.
- For me, that would be portraiture. I still approach it from the
standpoint of focusing on shapes and values, but there is a degree
of likeness that is needed for a portrait to be successful.
- I try to keep my strokes loose and resist the urge to blend,
trying instead to capture the lightness of childhood rather than
perfecting her features.
Kristen at the Pool, pastel studyAnne Kullaf 2008 25. Tying it
all together 26. Tying it all together
- Here are some things you can do to loosen up:
- Practice, practice, practice!
- Focus on shapes and values sketch in charcoal!
- Use complementary colors for shading
- Try working with a limited palette
- Try working with a new medium
- Experiment with new subject matter
- Paint from life, either outdoors or in your studio
- Have fun and always find something you LIKE about every sketch
you do and remember what it is so you can build upon it.
- Identify the areas you want to improve and practice those
specific skills so that you become more confident
27. Tying it all together
- In summary, loosening up will help you to get more fulfillment
out of the process of drawing and painting, as well as instill the
confidence you need to create more accomplished works.
- In other words, youll get more enjoyment and satisfaction out
of the process as well as better results!