How to Paint an Abstract Tree with Oil Pastels

In this short How To Blog, I want to point out the reasons why anyone wanting to be arty, creative and expressive with colour should consider trying oil pastels.  

Oil Pastels are a great art medium that is often overlooked because many people associate crayon type art mediums with children's artworks and school projects.


Oil Pastels are basically pigment sticks of waxy, creamy colour that you can use like a crayon onto a variety of surfaces from canvas boards to watercolour paper. The waxy/creamy consistency varies with brands and you can start with a cheap box of oil pastels from your local discount store.  The cheap varieties do not blend like the artist quality, expensive brands from the Art shop, but if you just want to get a feel for them, then they are completely adequate to experiment with.

The ones I have used to create my Abstract Tree oil pastel painting were not the expensive artist ones, they were medium quality oil pastels with a reasonably creamy consistency.

To follow this Blog How To, you will need to have ready:  

My Studio Work Space

A box of  oil pastels with a good range of bright colours.

Some black matte acrylic paint, a large paint brush and a very small detailer brush.

A Canvas Board (Canvas Boards are canvas glued onto a solid cardboard backing). These are cheap and great to use with pastels because you can press hard onto the board to get thick coverage of colour and blending.

Lots of newspaper to put under your artwork on a table and paper towels.  Oil pastels are MESSY! So work somewhere where you can clean up easily.


Some Matt Spray sealer from an art supplies store. Oil pastels are messy and smudge very easily so when you have completed the painting you will want to seal it. Please note that any pastel, (oil pastels & chalk pastels too) never really dry out completely so they are very fragile and easily damaged.  The spray sealer will help protect your work, but it can still be damaged if touched, scratched etc. This is one downside to pastels.
  

Step One

Paint your Canvas Board with the black paint. Two even coats is enough.  I love the effect of oil pastels over a black background.  The colours really 'pop' and you get the black canvas grain coming through behind the colour.

Step Two

Make sure that the black paint is completely dry before proceeding.  Looking at my Abstract Tree as

Progress photo - guide lines are in and colour started

a guide and using a light coloured pastel (say light grey) draw out the tree shape onto the canvas board.  Press LIGHTLY and let the tree branches flow in arched lines rather than straight lines.

Let the branches touch each-other or even intersect. You are laying down the basic shapes at this stage and if you put a branch in the wrong place DON'T PANIC! you can change this as you go along.

Step Three

Choose some colours to start painting in your tree.  Again look at my completed painting as a guide to colour blending. Pick colours that are harmonious together such as:

Oranges, reds and yellows
Blues and purples
Greens and blues

White is used quite a lot in this painting as a blending colour. White blended with any bright colour will produce different tones of the same colour hue.  If you have problems getting several colours to blend, add some white and it will help the blending process.

So start with a selection of several harmonious colours and lay the oil pastels down in each 'section' where the tree branches form a shape.  You can go over the shape with layers of colour numerous times until you get the right blend and you will need to use your fingers in the oil pastels to help this process.

TIP:  Constantly wipe the ends of your oil pastels with the paper towel after you have used them. Oil pastels will pick up other coloured pastels and if you don't clean them as you go, you will create a streaky mess of unwanted colours.  Same goes for your fingers when blending, clean them often during the painting process.

As you work your way around the painting, add different colour groups as I have to create vibrancy and visual interest.  Alternatively, if you want to create this abstract tree in a limited colour palette (e.g. you pick just three harmonious colours or one colour plus white for tones) you can do this by just repeating the colours you have chosen all over the painting.

You will find that some of the oil pastel will crumble and sit on the surface of the painting as you work so every so often just tip the canvas board on its side and tap off the excess pastel onto the newspaper underneath your work area.

Have FUN seeing how your colours blend and interact and every now and then, stop and just look at your painting from a distance to see how the coloured sections are looking next to each other and to view the overall balance of colours in your painting is to your liking.

TIP:  If you blend several colours and they don't work, look wrong or go muddy you can just use a butter knife to scrape off the oil pastel from that section and start again :)

Step Four

When you are happy with your blending and your colours and the whole painting is finished, except for the black tree trunk and the branches, leave the oil pastel painting to 'set' maybe for a day or two.

As I mentioned, oil pastels never really dry completely but they will set over time.  Some of my previous oil pastel paintings are dry to touch after a year or two, but they will always be more fragile than a standard acrylic paint artwork.

Step Five

Get out your black acrylic paint again. Now to finish off your painting you need to go over the Tree trunk and branches carefully with your black paint and brushes. Use the bigger paint brush to fill in the trunk and then use the detailer small brush for the finer lines and branches.  Acrylic paint will go over the oil pastel, so don't worry if you have not left a perfect branch line between the oil pastel sections.

Just follow the section boarders and put all the branches in place completely one side of the tree and then the other so that you do not smudge the work. Allow to dry.

The last little detail I used and you can also use if you want to, is that I decided to add some extra branches to my abstract tree painting for visual interest.

If you want to do the same, don't go crazy with extra branches, just a few will do the trick. End the branch with a fine line, or you could add your own ideas such as a few leaves, a bird on a branch or whatever takes your fancy.

YAY you are done :)  The only thing left to do is wait a day or two and then spray with the matte sealer spray.  I would recommend using at least three thin coats of sealer spray, waiting at least three hours between sprays.

TIP: To display your painting you can frame it without the glass and hang on the wall or use a display easel or plate display stand.

I hope you have enjoyed following this How To Blog and that it has inspired you to work with oil pastels in your art projects.

Here are some of my other Oil Pastel Paintings...

'Chevron' ~ used as an art design in my cushion range

'Two Trees' ~ oil pastel and acrylic paint

'Midnight' in the Garden ~ oil pastel and acrylic paint

HOW TO PAINT A PRETTY FLORAL ABSTRACT

 You can do this!

 

As a professional artist, I paint and draw almost every day. Over time, I've developed some of my own techniques to creating artwork in many different mediums such as acrylic and mixed media using all sorts of elements and layers.

One of my favorite mediums is watercolour and/or pigment inks. Pigment Inks are actually made of acrylic but have a high saturation of pigment making them very vibrant and you know I love colour!

Experimentation is something anyone who likes to paint or draw should never stop doing because some of the very best work comes from trying new things and sometimes, even from mistakes!

Today I'm going to walk you through the pretty floral abstract pictured above and show you a number of ways you can increase interest and depth and individuality to this easy way of working with watercolours or pigment inks such as Liquitex (and no I do not work for Liquitex I just love their product).

To follow my guide, you will need to gather:

• A piece of good quality thick 300gsm Watercolour Paper (mine is A3 but you can use A4).
• A selection of Liquitex Pigment Ink colours of your choice (around 6 colours ~ 1 for the leaves, 1 for the background and 3-4 for the actuall flowers )
• (I used: Magenta, Napthol Crimson, Yellow Orange Azo, Deep Violet, Phthalocyanine Green and Phthalocyanine Blue)
• Some Black Markers such as Very Fine Point Sharpies or Posca Pens (acrylic pens from art shops).
• A detailer paint brush (a very small art brush for fine details.
• A small flat ended paint brush.
• An ice cube tray or a watercolour paint tray.
• Water in a plastic cup
• Paper Towels or an old rag for wiping your brushes.
• Something to protect your clothes as pigment inks won't wash out if you spill some on yourself.

This is an EASY style of painting because it is not super precise and produces a lovely 'painterly style' of abstract art.  There are NO Mistakes so put your fear away and just give it a go.

Step One:

After organising your level table working space (you are painting this artwork flat on your table not on a easel) and your equipment and paints. Pour a very small amount of pigment ink (maybe two drops) into your icecube tray or watercolour paint tray and add a tiny bit of water (maybe three or four drops) to each colour in your tray. Stir each colour.

Start by dipping your clean small flat ended brush in the clean water and draw a simple flower shape onto your watercolour paper. 

Then dip your detailer brush into one of the colours you have selected and touch the tip onto the water flower shape.  Watch what happens! 

The pigment will spread by itself into any paper where you placed water, but not beyond the wet edges. Dip again into another chosen colour and again touch the tip into the watery flower shape you made. Both colours will start to blend. 

You can use your detailer brush to direct the colour where you want it to flow but don't do brush strokes inside the flower shape as it will only over blend the colours.  If your watercolour paper starts to warp a little that is quite normal. Some artists tape their paper down onto a back board first. I just do my thing, wait until completely dry and place under some books or other flat heavy object to flatten the artwork out again.  I only use 300gsm watercolour paper because anything thinner than that will over warp and may not flatten properly when you are finished.


Don't worry about doing the leaves and flower centers like I have in the photo. That happens later. And make your flower shapes big and small for interest. Make some stronger colour and some lighter colour simply by changing how much pigment ink you place on the watery paper.

Practice makes perfect!

This will give you the idea...

Once you have created your abstract flower shapes in various sizes over the entire piece of watercolour paper leave it all TO DRY COMPLETELY.  Don't rush watercolour art - it needs to be done in parts, dried and then more parts are added and dried etc.

Step Two:

Now move on to the Leaves. Using the same technique as detailed in Step One, use your clean water and make a small simple leaf shape in the gaps between the flowers you have already painted and dried as pictured above.  Dip your detailer brush into the green pigment ink in your tray and put the tip into the watery leaf shape. Again the colour should spread by itself over the watery shape.


Once you have placed and coloured ALL the leaf shapes again leave the painting TO DRY COMPLETELY.

Step Three:

Again same technique as in Step One.  Put a small drop of water into the centre of each abstract flower shape, add the pigment colour of your choice with the detailer brush and leave to DRY COMPLETELY.  Your painting should look similar to mine pictured above.

Step Four:

Now it's all about the background colour. This WILL take some patience and good light so that you can see where you have wet the paper around the leaves and flowers.  You are using the same technique in Step One (use your small flat ended brush to paint clean water in a section around the flowers and leaves, then using your detailer brush put the tip with pigment ink into the watery area).

Again, you can direct the flow of colour into the water with the detailer brush. Use more pigment ink in some areas and less in others. What you are trying to achieve is contrast against the flowers and interest by varying the intensity of the background colour like I did in the pic below.

It is OK if you go over some of the edges of the flowers or leaves when painting in the background because it is all about the 'painterly style' of this painting.  


Tip: If you keep paper towels handy, you can remove any over-spill by simply placing the edge of the paper towel over the watery paint and it will be sucked up off the paper. If you decide to do this, do it quickly before the pigment ink starts to soak into the paper.

Once you are finished the background and happy with it again leave the artwork flat to DRY COMPLETELY.

 Here is a close up of my artwork at this stage:

 TA DA!

You have completed your Pretty Floral Abstract Painting!

And for those who want more....

How about some VARIATIONS?

You can create a more unique painting by adding a Variation from the above three options (or make up your own!).

No. 1 ~ This variation involves tracing the outlines of each flower with clean water and placing a very small amount of the pigment ink into it to create a more defined outline.  Then using the end of your detailer paintbrush use different coloured pigment inks to place little dots inside the flower centre. I used a dark colour and a light colour to add depth.

No. 2 ~This variation uses the Posca Pen in White. Simply draw around the flower and leaf shapes. Then use the Posca Pen to put tiny white squiggles (or dots) in the centre of each flower shape.

No. 3 ~ This variation uses a Posca Pen in Black (OR a black very fine Sharpie pen). Again like Variation no. 2, draw around each flower shape and leaf shape. Keep the line very fine and break the line a little on the leaves (see the pic above).  Then using your pigment paints put a drop of your chosen colour/s into the centre of each flower and leave TO DRY.  Once dry draw the fine lines around the centre of the flower (as pictured above) and add a dot of colour the SOME of the ends.

I went with Variation no. 1 and here it is in progress:

I hope you have enjoyed following this tutorial for Pretty Abstract Flower Painting by Australian Artist Lisa Frances Judd. If so let me know.

Any questions you have about this tutorial please leave in the COMMENTS SECTIONS.

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Find My Gift & Home-ware Products for sale at: https://www.quirkyhappy.com

How to look after your Original Art Investment

Today I am giving you a few basic tips about looking after your Original Art Investments. 

This information is good to know if you love Original Art and like to collect it, but are not in Arty circles, or not an Artist yourself.  Much of how you look after an Artwork will depend on what type of Artwork it is e.g. a painting or a drawing or a watercolour and what surface it has been create on e.g. canvas, paper, wood.


To Glass or not to Glass

Even though I Matt seal my fragile artworks before Sale I recommend all fragile and smudgeable Artworks like watercolours, pastels and mixed media (example shown is watercolour and ink Artwork 'Mother's Nature') should usually be framed with glass for long term protection.  Glass framing also protects from dirt, water and fingerprints that may get onto your Original Art Investments. Fragile Original Art, treated well, will be able to be enjoyed for many, many years to come and passed on to family members as treasured memories or gifts.

Oil and acrylic paintings like 'Owl I Want Is You' can also be framed with glass but most people do not do this. Occasionally, people decide they would like the extra protection of glass, or they select a frame for the artwork which is more conducive to inserting glass. Generally speaking, oil and acrylic paintings are enhanced without glass and it is usually not necessary. All my own Acrylic or Oil paintings always include layers of protective Gloss, Satin or Matt Varnish.

Most oil and acrylic paintings are created on Gallery Wrapped stretched canvas (on a wooden frame) so that you can simply hang them as is. This is how I present most of my acrylic or oil paintings so as to avoid the need for my customers to purchase extra frames (unless they want to, and some do).


A Bit of Water Can Save The Day!

Stretched Canvas can also be easily rejuvenated, if the canvas gets a little loose over time by spraying a little water onto the back of the canvas (don't soak it!) and allowing to dry.  As the canvas dries, it will shrink back a little and firm up the presentation of the Artwork again. Simple and no cost fix :)

Of course, if your Artwork has been very stretched, something heavy has been resting on it for a long time, this technique may not work as effectively and you may need to get your Original Art re-framed.

Handling your Original Art

Although it is tempting to run your hands over your Original Art, avoid touching it where you can. Even with the cleanest of hands the natural oils in your fingers will transfer onto the art surface and may leave a mark, which many not be visible until many years later.

Looking for Original Australian Art? Something Unique, Quirky, Colourful or Whimsical?
Visit my web site at: http://www.lisafrancesjuddartist.com ORIGINALS FOR SALE NOW ~ Affordable Pricing too.

Lisa Frances Judd ~ Original Australian Art

SUPPORT ORIGINALITY, SKILL AND PASSION

Thoughts of an Artist

When you look at art, anyones art, do you ever think of the time and effort and skill that probably went into creating it?  I'm not talking about digital art, or the cheap, mass produced imported home ware shop or discount store stuff, but fine art, traditional hand drawing or hand painting by Artisans who continue to develop their craft with passion, skill and imagination.

When an Artist prices an Original piece of Art, they have to take into consideration how much of their time it took to create. 

For example, 'Angels Watching Us'  pictured here which I am still working on is an A3 size mixed media artwork (watercolour, ink, acrylic, hand made papers and archival decorative papers) I have spent so far, at least 8 hours working on. By the time I finish, it will probably be more like 12 hours or more. As Art is my Living (Job) as well as my passion, if I was to calculate an hourly rate for my time, as you would do, if you work in any job, based on a conservative A$25. per hour I would need to sell the Original painting for at least A$300., plus pack and postage to it's destination just to make a return on my efforts.  Some of my acrylic paintings take me WEEKS to complete due to their complexity.

Then, as well as the time, there is the SKILL level involved in the creation of a unique, original artwork and the fact that most Artists don't get paid 'regular hours' worth of work. We work many hours and sometimes get paid when an Art Collector or Art Lover purchases our creations.

My point is.... Hand drawn or painted Original art IS WORTH THE MONEY. Yes you will pay more for a hand painted or drawn piece of art that is ORIGINAL, is signed by the Artist and dated, is a COLLECTIBLE and is UNIQUE.  Something you can cherish for YEARS to come and pass on to those you love in the family.

Next time you think about purchasing Artwork for your home or office or as a gift, think about this first and support a hard working, skillful Artist who's work brightens up the world.

On behalf of all hard working, skillful and imaginative artists ~ Lisa Frances Judd, Australian Visual Artist

http://www.lisafrancesjuddartist.com

http://www.facebook.com/lisa.frances.judd.visual.artist

Pencil Sketches....



Some days (or nights when I can't sleep) I practise sketch things.  Maybe it's an idea for a new painting in my head.  Something I got from a dream (that happens quite often) or it's simply practising.  Some things are hard to draw, like hands and feet, but I find face usually come to me reasonably easily.  Last night I sketched these two ladies with a pencil.  Then I used a bit of white acrylic paint to add depth and interest and a tiny bit of water soluble ink pencils (which are so cool if you haven't tried them you must!). I don't try to make my faces look completely realistic, I prefer a more whimsical version, bigger eyes, bigger lips, awesome hair LOL. When I am stress out to the max, drawing 'heals me'. If you don't draw yourself, why not give it a go. You don't need to be professional, just interested in creating something personally meaningful, an image with a story.  I will post more of my sketches as time goes on.  If you would like to see some of my artworks IN PROGRESS ~ from sketch to finished product, check out my WORKS IN PROGRESS ALBUMS on my Lisa Frances Judd ~ Artist Facebook Page.  

Have a creative and joyful day :D Lisa

LISA'S COLLECTABLE ART SHOP IS OPEN

INTRODUCING LISA'S COLLECTABLE ART SHOP

ON FACEBOOK



A new easy and secure way to purchase any of my artworks, art sculptures or hand made jewellery beads and other arty creations I am sure to introduce as I almost never stop painting, drawing or making things!

You will find ORIGINAL ARTWORKS for sale
You will find PRINTS & POSTERS for sale
You will find ART GREETING CARDS for sale
You will find ART GIFT VOUCHERS for sale

All my items include FREE postage and all items valued at over A$150. include Postage Insurance.
If you come and LIKE my new SHOP you automatically get a 10% discount on all items too.
You can 'like' items, share on Pinterest, Facebook and Twitter and comment on each item for sale. All feedback is welcome for me so that I get to know what you like.

I will also post 'conversations' and 'polls' on my Facebook Art Page where you will find my SHOP.

I'm excited to be part of the growing Facebook Shopping Mall and I hope you come to visit my shop very soon and help me spread the message that it is there.

Lisa <3

CRAZY CAT LADY

'Fence Cats' ~ acrylic painting on 45" x 15" canvas

by Australian Artist ~ Lisa Frances Judd

Original for Sale A$600.

On display at The Old Block Art Gallery from 5th May to 3rd June

Prints of this artwork are now available via: Redbubble Printing Co.

It's a Colourful Life ~ But keep it Organised

I have a lot going on in May this year... I turn 50 to start with and have a celebration parties in both Sydney and Brisbane.  I also have two Art exhibitions... One is a Solo Art exhibition at The Old Block Art Gallery & Cafe for the whole month and the second is Winmalee Artfest which runs over the first weekend in May each year with other artists.

While that is going on, I have commissioned artworks waiting to be create for several clients.  I need a lot of available, saleable artwork for the exhibitions, so I am madly painting to get ready and I like to have more than enough so if something sells, I have a replacement for the Gallery.

It's easy to get flustered to the point where things just don't get done at all. Guess we have all experienced this from time to time.  Just this week, while watching the TV show, The Block (Renovation and design contest on Channel 9, Sydney Australia) I was somewhat amused to watch some of the contestants under pressure ~ time pressure, decision pressure, artistic pressure, design pressure, team pressure.

Some did well and kept calm, others did not, they got very flustered.  The main reason was a lack of practicality.  They were rushing out grabbing curtains and curtain rods for their  rooms without measuring windows. Another couple forgot to purchase a doona for the bed (just a doona cover)!

Getting organised isn't that hard really. Just write down a point form list of what you need to do, when it needs to be done and in what order of priority, then just do one thing at a time and don't think about the other things till you cross off a completed task.

If you can get to my It's a Colourful Life Exhibition (see details in picture) you will get to see 12 of my Original Artworks up close and a bunch of my Art Sculptures too. 

Affordable Prints will be available of all Exhibited Originals too.

Make a day of it and come up to the beautiful Blue Mountains (The Block Gallery has a Cafe too).

I hope to meet you there :D

Lisa xox

http://www.lisafrancesjuddartist.com

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