Painting Tips

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Monochrome Oil Paintings: Helping You Learn to Oil Paint Faster

Today we will discuss Monochrome oil painting and how it can help you learn to oil paint faster.

Monochrome paintings have a long history. They’ve been used for the foundation of transparent glazing and for underpaintings of opaque oil paintings.

But they can also stand alone as finished works of art.

Most monochrome paintings are created with just one pigment plus white. But you can also use a reductive approach and leave out the white.

For the reductive approach you will need to use an oil primer or non absorbent acrylic primer, like that from Michael Harding. Gesso is too absorbent to wipe back to the original white.

Now let’s discuss how monochrome painting can accelerate your oil painting skills, because that’s why you’re probably here.

First, monochrome paintings can help your opaque color paintings be more successful. By working out the composition, drawing, and values in one pigment, it enables you to paint with more confidence when you add color.

Second, monochrome painting can help you master brushwork and manipulating paint because you don’t have to worry about mixing color. This can help you get the feel for how oil paint handles much more quickly.

In fact, most traditional painting schools have students start with graphite and charcoal first and when they finally graduate to using paint, it is usually monochrome painting.

By focusing on just one pigment, you can master values and putting paint exactly where you want it, without having to struggle with color mixing as well.

As an added bonus, it can save you tons of money. Many people cite expense as a barrier to learning oil painting. By using one pigment, say, burnt umber, you can learn oil painting for a fraction of what a full palette would cost.

You can get a 37ml tube of M Graham burnt umber for under $10.

Stay tuned for the next article on painting on a budget.

What pigment do you like for monochrome paintings?

Let me know in the comments. I’d love to hear from you and help you on your painting journey.

Stop back tomorrow, and everyday, for more tips.

Stay inspired,

Bry

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How to Start an Oil Painting: Exploration, Block in, or Drawing?

Today we will discuss three different ways to start a painting—exploration, value block in, and a detailed line drawing.

All are acceptable. We have to find what works best for us and our subject matter. First let’s look at the method of exploration.

One benefit of exploration is you get to discover interesting paint applications along the way. This is great if you have trouble fully envisioning what you want your completed painting to look like.

Often, painters will simply indicate where major landmarks will be. In a portrait, for example, you might simply mark the location of the eyes, nose, and mouth, and then let the painting evolve from there. One downside is that it can involve lots of scraping off, layering, and trial and error.

Another option is to complete a detailed line drawing first. This can be completed free hand via sight size or other measuring method or by some means of transfer, such as a projector if you are enlarging a smaller drawing.

This process can be helpful if you are not comfortable drawing with paint. It lets you work out all the drawing details in graphite or charcoal. It can be easier to make corrections if you are more comfortable with dry media.

One downside is that once you start painting you lose your drawing. So if you make any mistakes you have to scrape off your paint or make adjustments wet into wet. It can also make a painting appear a little stiff with less confident brushwork if you are trying to remain in the lines. It also doesn’t provide good value information.

Finally we have the value block in. In this method you essentially complete most of the painting in monochrome. Like a graphite drawing, it lets you work out any issues in drawing and composition before putting on thick paint. The thin paint makes it easier to make corrections.

Unlike a line drawing, this method also provides you with value information. This can help when mixing colors, and it can minimize scraping off and trial and error.

This method works well if you are comfortable drawing with paint, but to do so, it’s helpful to have an oil ground or non absorbent acrylic primer, like the one offered by Michael Harding.

Traditional gesso is too absorbent for this technique and thus you can’t fully erase your mistakes. Oil primers enable you to wipe off paint to correct mistakes and create reductive highlights. I like the oil ground from Gamblin.

While there are certainly plenty of other ways to start a painting, these are a few of the most common, and all work rather well. The choice is yours to determine which suits your style of painting.

Do you draw with graphite or with paint? Let me know in the comments. I’d love to hear from you and help you on your painting journey.

Stop back tomorrow, and everyday, for more painting tips.

Stay inspired,

Bry

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How to Oil Paint Thick Over Thin Without Solvents or Turpentine

Today we will discuss how to oil paint thick over thin without solvents.

One of the main reasons I hear people say they don’t oil paint is because of solvent and medium toxicity. Is this a barrier for you?

But what if I told you that you could oil paint without ever using solvents. It is possible: Rembrandt painted this way. And so can you. I’ll teach you the secrets. So let’s start with toning grounds.

Instead of solvent, use just a drop of walnut oil (I like M Graham) to make the paint glide easier over your painting ground. Using small amounts of oil will ensure you have strong paint layers. Using solvent thins the paint too much and can make paint layers brittle.

Next, wipe off all the excess paint and oil. The result is a lightly stained ground. A ground is just your first paint layer, usually gesso or oil primer. So then how does one paint without mediums after that? The secret is in the paint.

Some oil paint is made with extra fillers that can make it very stiff. This makes it hard to mix and apply unless you lay it on extra thick. The key is to use paint with just oil and pigment as the ingredients. This will let you paint in thin layers without having to thin it with a medium.

Two examples I like are Michael Harding and M Graham. Their paint is very soft and easy to mix and apply. It will enable you to paint in thin layers and slowly increase the thickness. But aren’t they way more expensive?

Yes, it is more expensive. But if you consider that it is only a few more dollars per tube than, say, Gamblin, it doesn’t amount to much more because you are saving money by not using mediums while you paint. Still too expensive? Here’s a tip.

Try sticking to series 1 paints and earth colors. You can make an amazing landscape or portrait painting with yellow ochre, Prussian blue, and Venetian red. They are quality paints and dirt cheap compared to cadmium colors. Pun intended. 🙂

Cadmium colors are nice for their opacity and high chroma but not always necessary and very expensive. And you have to be extra careful with them around kids and pets.

So let’s recap what we learned. You can easily tone painting grounds with a little walnut oil instead of solvent. And to paint thinly without mediums, consider investing in premium paint that only uses oil and pigment as ingredients.

Oil painting doesn’t have to be complicated or toxic. With just a few simple materials you too can enjoy the buttery feel of oil paint on your brush.

Do you paint solvent free? Comment below. Or ask me a question. I’d love to help you on your painting journey.

Stop back tomorrow, and everyday, for more painting tips.

Stay inspired,

Bry

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How to Simplify an Oil Painting and Get Better Results

Do you ever feel overwhelmed when you start a painting? For today’s tip we will discuss how to make a painting less complex so you can be more successful.

When starting a painting, you have to get the drawing accurate, then mix the right color and value, then apply the right brushwork. It’s a lot. So why not just focus on a few principles instead? Some of the most famous painters did just that. (More on that later.)

It’s very hard to get every element right in a painting. So try to pick just one or two areas if you feel overwhelmed.

For example, you can make a monochrome painting that mostly focuses on drawing and values. Plenty of master painters make these types of paintings. It will help you learn drawing with paint without getting too bogged down in colors.

Once you get comfortable with that, then maybe try a painting with a limited palette. You’ll still have to mix colors, but you can focus more on values. The limited palette will keep you from trying to match every color in the rainbow.

Plenty of masters painted this way. Zorn often used a palette of just cad red, yellow ochre, and ivory black. That’s it. His colors probably weren’t fully accurate to those seen in life, but he mastered the values in his portraits.

Maybe you’re not big on drawing or photo realism. Then maybe color should be your focus. Don’t stress over mastering the drawing. Work on color schemes and tricks like optical mixing. Monet was a master of this. There are few crisp lines in his work. Often his goal was experimenting with color, not necessarily drawing.

This isn’t to say never work on drawing or banish all colors, especially if you want to improve. Just don’t overwhelm yourself.

Don’t try to master your symphony all in one take. Work on the various components and then work on blending them together.

What topics would you like to hear discussed here? I’d love to hear from you and help you on your painting journey.

Stop back tomorrow, and everyday, for more painting tips.

Cheers! —Bry

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Copyright Protection for Visual Artists: The Truth and Misconceptions

Today we will discuss how copyright law works and how you may not be as protected as you think.

Full disclosure: I am not an attorney. Please research laws for your own country and circumstance. These are general guidelines for artists in the United States.

As soon as you complete a work of art, you hold the copyright to that work. But unless you register that copyright, you don’t have very much protection.

The most you might be able to do is have someone take down your work from their website or stop selling prints of your work. And even then, you might not be afforded those protections because some countries don’t follow US copyright guidelines.

If you do not file your copyright, you cannot collect statutory damages or legal fees. Damages for copyright infringement can be very significant.

You could collect up to $30,000 if someone unwillingly infringes your work and $150,000 if someone willingly infringes your copyright.

So, for example, if Target steals your greeting card ideas and puts you out of business, the most you could do, if you are lucky, is get them to stop. You could not collect any money for the damages caused by putting you out of business.

So, as you can see, someone could steal your entire business and you would be left with nothing unless you register a copyright.

And you must register in a timely manner because you can only collect these benefits if you register within three months of publishing a work. And you can’t collect damages and fees if you register after infringement occurs.

It’s only about $30 to register with the copyright office at copyright.gov.

If you do it before you publish your work, you can do it as an entire collection. But after you publish, each must be filed individually.

WHAT COPYRIGHT TIPS DO YOU HAVE? Leave a comment. I’d love to chat with you.

Stop back tomorrow for more painting tips.

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How to Simplify Oil Painting Materials and Supplies

For today’s tip, we will discuss how to keep oil painting supplies simplified and organized.

It seems obvious: an organized studio makes it easier to paint. But life is busy and sometimes it’s hard to stay on top of painting supplies. That’s why I use this simple method.

First, I use a limited palette of just three primaries, burnt umber, and white. That’s less paint to purchase, store, and manage.

Aside from a few drops of M Graham walnut oil now and then, I don’t use solvents or mediums. That’s also less to organize and manage. The M Graham oil paint I use is so soft it doesn’t require mediums.

Now here’s a great tip. I keep my brushes in a small paint roller tray with Gamblin Safflower oil so my brushes are always ready to use, and I rarely have to clean them. Less time cleaning means more time painting.

My Princeton aspen oil paint brushes in Gamblin safflower oil and a small paint roller tray​ from Home Depot
My Princeton aspen oil paint brushes in Gamblin safflower oil and a small paint roller tray from Home Depot

(You can learn more about how I clean my brushes with oil and no solvent on the Gallery Bry YouTube channel.)

I always have paint on my palette, and I keep it in the freezer so the extra paint does not dry.

It’s these simple tips that enable me to create a painting at the drop of a hat and spend less time organizing and managing supplies.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE TIP TO STAY ORGANIZED⁉️ Leave me a comment. I’d love to chat and answer your questions.

Stop back here tomorrow for more oil painting tips every single day.

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How to Sell Your Art Online Successfully: Art Marketing Ideas to Sell Your Art for Beginners

Do you want to start selling art online but don’t know where to start? Then keep reading because this is just for you.

After reading this post you will learn several places to sell your work online and various ways to market it. This is just a starting point and I will cover all these topics in far more detail in future posts.

The first thing you need is to have a body of work to sell. You can post a single painting for sale, but it helps if you have at least 10-20 works of art to fill a shop. It shows customers you are serious and gives them a feeling for your style.

Next you need a shop. If you are just getting started, sites like Etsy, Ebay, and Saatchi are good places to start because they can be cheaper than maintaining a website. Do a little research to see what platform you like best. I started with Etsy and it has worked well for me. These sites are also good places to start because they have millions of users and can get you some traffic if you have yet to grow your own collector base. But you still have to do your own marketing; you can’t simply post art and wait for the sales to roll in. That doesn’t happen and that’s why many people get frustrated with sites like these.

Ideally you will want your own website because it looks more professional, and, more importantly, it gives you more independence and enables you to play by your own rules. Until you have your own site, you are essentially building a house on rented land. And if the owner of that land disappears or changes the rules, you could lose your house. Having your own site will give you control over the presentation of your art and enable you to collect contact information for a mailing list too.

Having a mailing list is essential because it gives you a direct line of communication with your collectors. It also is a secure way to always stay in contact with you audience. Social media like Instagram is a key component to marketing, but if it ever goes away or becomes ineffective, you will always have your email list. Nobody can take that from you. You need to be in control of the line of communication with your collectors.

There are many providers of email marketing software. Mail chimp has a free option if you have a list under 2000 subscribers. But there are many other companies so research them and see which works for you.

With that said, social media like Instagram is still essential to marketing your art. Currently, Instagram is one of the best platforms for building an audience for your brand, completely free. But mastering Instagram is a skill that takes much practice, testing, and research. It may be free, but you have to invest a lot of time for it to be effective.

I offer consulting calls and can help you master Instagram. I’ve been organically growing my following by more than 1000 followers per month, and you can too. Email me to schedule a call.

Another powerful marketing platform is YouTube. Providing educational videos is a great form of content marketing. By teaching others, you get to help people learn painting, and it also helps them discover you and your own paintings.

So let’s review, to successfully sell artwork online, you will need a cohesive body of work that can easily convey your style, a shop (ideally a website), an active and growing mailing list, and a solid presence on Instagram YouTube or other social media platform.

If you are missing one of these components, it could significantly impact your sales. Above all else, you need to be flexible and able to change your system at any time. Technology changes at a rapid pace, and if you don’t change with technology, you will get left in the past, and so will your sales. You have to be hungry. You have to want it more than your competitors. Always be on your toes.