Hello
Welcome to the FLOAT-YOUR-PIGMENT Newsletter #221, Brushing Up
After 3 weeks on the road, 12 separate classes with 164 students I am back home and ready to help out those students that have been waiting for me to get back to my weekly classes. I always bring back fun new products and stories... see you all in class soon!
This weekend I will be heading to Duluth, Minnesota to do some Plein-air painting and if there is anybody wanting to join me on a drive and hike to take photos and do some sketching email me and I will let you know where us artists are going to be. Maybe we will run into some of the amazing watercolorists from Minnesota like Cheng-Khee Chee, John Salminen, Andy Evansen, Karen Knutson or Dan Mondloch. What's in the water up there I plan on drinking some of it!
Next week The Mainstreet Art Centre will be hosting a workshop by the amazing John Lovett in my Studio/Classroom in McHenry. I am happy to help out Frankie Johnson the owner of Mainstreet Art Centre in Lake Zurich and welcome John and all the wonderful students from neighboring towns.
I should also mention that I saw that Frankie will be hosting a workshop in France at the Le Monastere Adventures, which is the same location and workshop venue as I had just done this spring. I highly recommend this workshop venue and Frankie is an awesome instructor.
For everyone that has been asking me where they can get a Holbein Ballpoint Masking Pen... they are now available at Vermont Art Supply.
David
Yes to Class at the Civic Center in Libertyville, Thursday, August 22nd 1pm to 3:30pm
Yes to Class at the BeckerArt Gallery in McHenry, Saturday, August 24th 9:00 am to 11:30 am
|
Practicing with your Brushes
I have always found it interesting that artists don't really practice using their tools or instruments. It just seems like artists just paint paintings and that I guess is the way they practice their craft. That's really not the best way to practice using your tools of the trade.
A brush comes with no instructions when you buy it, but you are supposed to know how to use it. As a teacher, I need to instruct my students in brush handling and then have them practice, practice, practice.
Each brush you own is a tool that you need to learn how to handle. Each brush is a bit different and handles differently when doing different brushstrokes. Practicing with every brush you own is something you should be doing even if you are a skilled artist. Warming up with some brushstrokes or trying new brushstrokes is good for every artist no matter what your skill level is.
To practice, your brushstrokes take the watercolor paper you usually use and paint on one side of the paper as many different brushstrokes as you can come up with. Do each brushstroke as many times as it takes for you to feel comfortable creating that brushstroke with ease. See video below on how I practice with a brush.
Practice, Practice, Practice!
David
|
This page above was practicing with my 1 1/4" Flat brush
This page above was practicing with my number 4 rigger brush
These are not paintings above they are just practice pages to learn how to paint with my brushes.
WORKSHOPS and DEMOS in 2019
Cheap Joes WORKSHOP, Boone NC, Sept. 9th - 13th CANCELED
Dillman's Watercolor WORKSHOP, Lac du Flambeau, WI, Sept. 23d - 26th
For Information Click Here
McHenry Community College CLASSES October 2, 9, 16, 23 Class is SOLD OUT
LaGrange Art League WORKSHOP, LaGrange, IL, October 18th - 20th
For Information Click Here
Products of the Week
Practice with water brush paper that clears back up when it dries
|
The product I'm posting this week is a practice paper you can use your brushes on to practice brushstrokes and it dries clear and you can use it over and over again.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Asked: When I practice things can I just use my cheap paper that I won't ever do a painting on?
Answer: I guess one can use cheap paper but it would be so much better to use the paper you will be painting on to also practice on. It doesn't make sense to practice on a sheet of paper that you won't ever be painting on because cheap paper handles so different from quality paper. If you do all your paintings on quality paper then you should also practice on quality paper, then it will all handle the same.
|
|
|
|
|
Cheng-Khee Chee is an artist from Minnesota that I have always admired, his work I had studied as a student and still do to this day. Fascinating how he gets such wonderful washes in his work.
|
|
|
|
Shop Amazon by clicking the logo below to help me fund this newsletter... Thank You! For any other info please email me at david@davidrbecker.com
|
|
|
