Friday, June 29, 2007

Watch This Guy Paint!

Dan Dunn puts on quite a show...I particularly like the two-handed brushwork!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIJtKxdRQzY

He is also darned good with a spraycan:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1yRGIgz_Ks&mode=related&search=

And paints nice birds:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ye2svGQy8w&mode=related&search=




Sunday, June 10, 2007

Photographing Art with a Digital Camera

Photographing Art with a Digital Camera
When I bought my digital camera, I thought it would be clear sailing—just snap those pictures and upload them—whoa—no! Color was off, images not clear, etc., etc. Looks like this could be the same as learning to use my old 55mm Minolta, and I am still working on getting satisfactory images of my art up on the web. However I did find an informative website on shooting art with a digital camera: http://bermangraphics.com/digital-jury-resources/digital-cameras.htm.
The main points are:
(1) Use a tripod.
(2) Set the ISO at the lowest setting possible—this gives you better resolution.
(3) Set the camera to capture the most pixels possible.
(4) Set the white balance to suit the light conditions, i.e., florescent, incandescent, daylight, etc.
(5) Unless it is an SLR digital, don’t use the zoom.
(6) Turn off the flash.
(7) Fill the frame with your art, and make sure edges of art are parallel to the edges of camera viewer frame/LED.
(8) Archive the original that you download, make copies to tweak, crop, etc.
I am still working on this--images are coming through on the blue side.
Also, note that the Art League has a class on photographing your artwork, starts 6/24.

Thursday, June 7, 2007

Good Painting Websites

http://www.steveflemingartist.com/. If you attended Steve Fleming’s demo at the Paint Alexandria workshops, you know that he is a didactic entertainer and a brush master. I have just discovered his website. It features six lessons, which are informative monographs on: Brushwork; Paint from Memory; Painting Sunny Days; Abstraction/Simplification; Painting Process; and Value Pattern. While Steve is a watercolorist, much of his discussion is applicable to any mode of painting or two-dimensional work, and the lessons are well illustrated.

http://www.sovek.com/. Charles Sovek is an impressionistic New England artist. He has a terrific website, full of lessons on drawing and painting (Lessons from the easel); short monographs (Speaking of Art); and articles that have been published in various magazines. He has also written a number of books. Many, many of his paintings are up on the website. He is lively and colorful painter. This is one of my favorites.

Tuesday, June 5, 2007

Painting, etc.

If you decide to go out and paint and want company--either send an email with date, time, and place, or put it in a comment, and I will post it under the "Time & Place" section.

If you have a web page (google pages are free) with your painting posted and want it linked to the blog, send over the URL. Also, if you have digital pix of any of your art, I'd like to post some on the blog on a rotating basis.

Friday, June 1, 2007

Frames by Mail

If you have been tearing your hair out over the cost of framing, check out www.americanframe.com. They have metal and wood frames, and if you need mats, will cut the opening for you. Free Berkshire mat with frame order. They have a terrific tool, just put in your image measurements, pick out mat border size if needed and the tool calculates the size of the frame. Metal Nielsen frames do not come with hanging wire, but wood frames do. The prices are very good, as are the shipping rates. And delivery is within 7 business days. A wood frame for a 9x10 painting costs around $12 for the least expensive. Two other mail order companies, about which I know nothing, are www.framefit.com and www.framesbymail.com. One of my watercolor teachers recommended American Frame Co. She mentioned one company that did a terrible job of cuttng mats, but I do not recall the name.

Let's Paint

Painting: Sat. June 9, am. waterfront park behind Duke St. Annex.