These videos are wonderful. I studied painting at university in the early '70 and the curriculum was so open ended I didn't get any real practical painting direction. I also appreciate that you make most of your teaching free.
Reilly Clark, you are like my current painting teacher! I know that you guys are in the minority. These techniques are hard to teach, but the effort is so worth it! I am discovering and enjoying it so much! It takes work!
This is exactly what i needed to hear, i have a portrait of my great grandfather that ive neglected to finish and id like to get it done for my Grandmother who's health has not been getting any better and whatever tips or techniques you have, id like to pickup so i can finally finish this piece, Thank You Sir!
I think because we are making our own colors and values, we start with our Black or nearest-Black value and work toward Light. By the time we progress far enough up the scale toward Light, we are not adding heavy darkening agents so there is no "Black" in it. There are simply combinations of Primaries and White, as needed, to achieve the desired Value and Color. Also, the ratios, sy of Ultramarine and Burnt Umber used, will likely not be the same as those ratios used to produce the Blackest Black since we will be pushing the color progressively more toward the Warm or Cool region. It's not like we start with one big pile of dark paint and continue to use only that to make all the steps, although we may if the range of color allows for it.
Thanks for answering my question about mixing the darkest color first, then going lighter. That made perfect sense! Your explanation and all your videos are much appreciated.
I just taught my first drawing class (to fill in for my art teacher) literally about 3 hours before you posted this; and I have found your video very helpful. I cant wait to implement that technique into some of my personal projects and into a lesson if I end up teaching again. Thank you for posting. P.S. Your other videos have dramatically changed the way approach oil painting for the better (I have been painting in oils for about 6 years).
Thank You Mark for all your generosity in loading these teaching videos! Your videos are steadily answering so many of my questions. I also REALLY appreciate that you discourage the use of dangerous chemicals in the painting process and offer alternatives!!! Though you don't use turpentine, etc, for glazing, your portraits are still beautiful. I'm not sure if you address this in any other videos as I'm still making my way through them, but I have one question subsequent to watching the above. If you want to take a canvas off the frame after one year's time of drying in order to travel with it, will it be possible to put it back on a frame without it cracking?
another thing that helps me other than looking at things as separate shapes, is looking at the distance between different 'shapes' so that I can gain a better understanding of the proportions of an object.
Great video. It´s an excellent way to approach to any drawing or painting. I use the positive and negative spaces to do this, and it has the same principle you teach so well. You could explain to people a little more about that if you like, for me it was very useful, not only to have in mind the positive, but also the negative space.
most people with tons of money go to the angel academy and the like. I thought I should go, I already draw well and can use sight size. However this method is fantastic, and I am not thinking of spending 3 years and a lot of money as I know I can acheive the same using this method. ;)
excellent video. one of the things I've been doing is breaking things down to its most basic shapes. when I'm taking pictures for paintings I found taking HDR images has made life so much easier. I'm exposing for the lightest part of the picture the Midtown and the darkest and basically switching between all three pictures shows me exactly where my highlights,midtones and shadows are. all you basically do it is set your aperture to f16 so everything from front to back is in focus assuming you're using a DSLR are camera that allows you to play around with aperture shutter speed and exposure. and then you spot Focus. you focus on the sky then you focus on the darkest part of the picture and then you focus on the middle of the picture when you put all three together you have this beautiful picture or you can use them to help you paint. I'm a photographer so im making it sound a little bit easier than it is but that's basically the gist of it.
What is the difference between the expensive safflower oil I can buy from the art supply house and the safflower oil I can buy by the gallon at the grocery store?
What happens when there is no clear distinction between light and shadow, when something looks more like a mid-tone when squinting? Say, how do you capture the delicacy of a flower, where there are subtle value shifts, but not very easy to see. To add to the complexity, the example of a rose would have some occlusion tones where the petals fold in the middle, but all of this is really hard to see, at least for me. Do you decide on a light direction and a terminator line and render by the rules of light, or is it a more freeing, more subtle approach that I am missing? Thanks for all these videos, they're Heaven-sent!
they don't teach oil painting in college because of the extra time it would take, only water base medium (aside of egg) . With water we end with the darker so it won't stain the other colors in the process.
I spent so much time trying to get perspective down. Helpful, but I'm an artist, not a draftsman (Although I wonder which I I really should e sometimes). This tutorial has kinda freed me. Squinting helps too.
I love watching your videos. They're so detailed and well explained. So thank you :) I have 2 questions. I'm a self-taught portrait "artist" and I find it still challenging to do 2 things: See colour. I know its about painting values and shapes, but some of the best portraits I see have colour in them that wouldn't be visible in the reference photo. Would that just be abstract "fun", as I tend to paint that way, but its clearly illogical. Second question would be transitioning from dark to mid tones. I know you're not big on blending, but i find it challenging to perfect those in between shades. Thank you and greetings from malta :)
That was enormously helpful as I am doing my first portraits now. Thank you so much. Your method of teaching is brilliant! I loved the first painting that you showed of the yellow orchids in the vase was that one of yours? It was beautiful.
I think this technique is a good opportunity for when you are starting to draw, yet i think later on you should think in three dimensional shapes when drawing. Thst is because if you get your shapes only a little bit off those mistakes will sum up and make your image, and i think this is especially true for portraiting, look wrong. But great advice for people to getting used to drawing!
Holbein Duo Aqua oil is the best water oils IMO. Japanese make great quality paints, such as their Keretake watercolors. The colors I use to match the five Geneva colors -- But first, for those that don't know, water oils are oil paints. The binder is oil, but the soil molecule has been scientifically modified to bind to water by removing one molecule. They paint just like oils, at least this brand does. Colors - Ultramarine Deep, Burnt Umber, Cadmium Yellow, Titanium White, Alizarin Crimson. These are expensive colors because they are not hues.
Mark, Thank you for the videos and information,It really does help in understanding The DMP method better. But I have always had problems trying to compare colors on photos(As I cant set up a still life at the moment). could you please do a short video on how to check colors on laminates...There always seems to be a problem while checking the value and tone of the color.Would one follow the same steps while mixing colors from life? thank you
Thanks for that Mark. May I suggest that you talk, while mentioning these shapes, about placing one shape/form in relation to another. It seems obvious, but isn't. If one shape, although drawn correctly is placed incorrectly in relation to another you will not get a likeness. Please say something about how you can get those relationships absolutely spot on. Perhaps you've done that in another video and I've missed it. In 1972, Betty Edwards wrote "Drawing On the Ritht Side of The Brain". While the book will not make an artist of one it will certainly make a quantum difference to one's drawing ability, assuming one wants to draw in a representational way.
Hola soy Estrella Holgado estoy en España he comprado unos botes de pintura tuya y a parte de pagar portes me han cobrado aduana. Yo pense que teniais material en Europa por lo que no se pagaria aduna y tardaria menos en llegar,asi esperare a esto para hacer otro pedido
Mark, you mentioned in a previous Q&A that you could use the color checker when comparing colors to an image on a computer monitor. Will you be doing a demo on that soon?
+Bender 2010 It's pretty straightforward, but I will do it at some point, I just need to find the time and we have a lot of different video priorities. Very busy with Geneva stuff, Q&As, etc! Do you have a question about color checking from a monitor?
+Draw Mix Paint Thanks for replying Mark. No, I don't have any specific questions right now. I haven't tried it. I just thought that it would be challenging since the monitor is backlit. I would guess, though, that as long as the studio light is bright enough, there won't be any issue. I'll give it a shot soon and see how it goes. Thanks so much for the info and videos! I look forward to watching every week.
My favorite artist is Caravaggio. I love his stark contrast, his use of chiaroscuro. I try to copy this but I have a hard time getting the very dark shadows on faces and other places in my paintings. Can you give me some advice?
+Draw Mix Paint I have a hard time taking a regular photo and making the shadows dark so that I have the chiaroscuro effect of all the attention being on one part of the face, the rest being in dark, almost hidden shadows that blend with the background. The super dramatic drama that Caravaggio did. In the painting of the Selection of Matthew the head of Christ is in the background, but it is wonderful! Just taken by itself it is a tremendous portrait but you can just see the nose and cheek area. Or look at all the figures in the painting of the Doubting Thomas. Everything is focused on his finger and the wound and faces are so shadowed, but so wonderful. How do I do this from regular photos? Did I explain myself well enough? Those faces of his are the type of portraits I want to paint.
+tanya james Oh, you're talking about how to get the source material to look like that. It's just a matter of exposing the photo correctly (don't overexpose highlights) and not having a bunch of fill light. Making it all work is still going to require some careful setup and camera work, as with most staged photos. If you want some detailed answers and advice on this, I recommend posting on our forum at forum.drawmixpaint.com and uploading photos there showing what you're working with and also linking to examples of what you would like your source material to be more similar to. I'm sure you will get a lot of helpful responses!
+tanya james I know that your comment is three years old, so I don't know if it is still relevant, but one thing you can do is to use black mirrors. Basically the same thing as a laptop screen or tv screen when turned off, and what you get is the same chiaroscuro effect with the dark shadows as Caravaggio. Don't know how you would do this with reference photos though, but you can use yourself as a reference. Since the surface is black, your lights won't have the same saturation as in real life, but those you can perhaps paint from life. Artists have used black mirrors for a very long time. If this doesn't work out for you, what you can do is identify the shadow shapes of your subject, and the transition between light and dark and use your own imagination to make the shadows as dark as you want. What you have to keep in mind, is that artists from the time of Caravaggio (up to a time much later) didn't paint from life (Caravaggio may have), but instead made drawings in red or black chalk, and painted from those drawings. Color are something they observed from life probably on a daily basis but usually they had formulas for painting things as skin or trees or whatever. This allowed for a fast painting procedure. You might want to look into that. If you, or anyone else have any questions at all, please ask and I'll see whether I could help you out with that.
The teacher probably mixed colors from light to dark because she did so with watercolors and therefore did so also with other mediums like acrylics and oil paint. Don't you think?
Hi, Mark. I love your technique of laying out your palette but I'm a little confused. I understand how you begin with the mixtures derived from your color checking and how you organize them into an understandable dark-to-light sequence for each of the key parts of the subject painted. But then I see you skip around from group to group or add a basic color to a step color to arrive at a preferred color. You might borrow a little light or dark value mixture out of one group to mix it with another group completely out of the value sequence and color harmony with the first group. I think I understand your concept of mixing opposite or analogous colors on your palette to achieve certain desired values or hues. What I can't figure out is after you get your steps set up and are ready to paint, how do you know which basic colors and/or combination of steps to choose from to paint a particular spot on the painting? And one more thing: after you have mixed so many steps and are ready to paint, how do you remember where each step originated from on the source of the painting?
First ! I think you should have developped your subject even more on this drawing lesson. I also think that you should talk more about drawing. Could you show us some of your drawings ? Personal question : What painting subjects would you recommand a beginner ?
+Shagga I did more drawings when I was a kid, but I don't really draw much besides the outline-type drawings for paintings. I have one example of a drawing I did as a kid in this video: ruclips.net/video/F5OZK_wsi1U/видео.html … as far as subjects for a beginner, I would just avoid portraits in the beginning because dealing with a likeness is more advanced. The best thing is a still life, from life preferably, because you can really control the lighting and if you're painting from life, it will not move, even if you work on it for weeks. As far as what kind of still-life subjects are good for beginners, in Step 2 of the Online Course on drawmixpaint.com I talk about what types of objects to recommend avoiding in still lifes if you're new to painting.
Hi Mark, first of all thanks for your videos and for sharing your knowledge. I usually paint mixing colours without adding any medium as I like the thick feel of it. However, sometimes I add some medium to thin out the paint when I need to work on small details. The end painting is a mix of matt and oily finish which really looks bad under some lighting. Do you think that oiling out the whole painting after drying would be a solution? What are your thoughts on it? Or what would you recommend?Many thanks again, Luisa
Hi Mark,I am really having trouble to match colours at very small spaces in a still life, like very darkest place in yellow roses in your online course. I am working from life, please help me I am really stucked.
Hi Mark, I like to mix, in advance and large amounts, my Winsor and Newton - Winsor Pigments with a medium (Safflower Oil or a Refind linseed oil, I prefer a slow drying time; I'm in the UK and, locally, it's not easy to get Walnut or Clover Oil). I tend to mix a 37ml tube with a third medium and then store them in, air tight, Kilner jars in the fridge. I still find, when I go back to them after a couple of weeks, there's a skin or some of the pigment has dried, when I would hope they would be as fresh as the day I mixed them. I'm aware some pigments have a different effect to some mediums. Have you found this or am I doing something wrong?
+David Wood Artist First of all, refined linseed oil is significantly faster-drying than cold-pressed linseed oil, so if you prefer slow drying times you should not use refined except for pigments which dry too slowly for you. Use cold-pressed instead (or safflower, which is even slower drying, but it doesn't produce as durable a paint film as linseed). But to prevent the skin from forming, you really need at least a little bit of clove oil in all your colors. In a sealed container like a jar it will prevent skin from forming. We have people in the UK on our forum - forum.drawmixpaint.com - so I recommend asking for clove oil sources there.
+Draw Mix Paint Hi again Mark, I'm still finding the whole oil medium chemistry a bit confusing. As I use W&N Winton Oil Colour. You wrote about "refined linseed oil is significantly faster-drying than cold-pressed linseed oil" but when I visit the W&N Website it says Cold Pressed Oil is "A slightly yellow oil, which is extracted without the use of heat & dries slightly quicker than refined linseed oil.". See Link www.winsornewton.com/na/shop/oils-mediums-varnishes-and-solvents/oil-colour/oils/cold-pressed-linseed-oil-2-53-us-fl-oz-75ml-bottle-3221747 Would you agree the whole business is confusing, I find the W&N information to be limited in truly explaining the effects of oils and pigments.
W&N is wrong. Maybe the "cold-pressed linseed oil" they sell now has some kind of additive to speed up drying time, but that's the only explanation I can think of for why they would say that besides just getting the facts wrong. Assuming you're using the real thing without additives, cold-pressed linseed oil dries significantly slower than refined linseed oil. You can try it out for yourself (although maybe don't use W&N brand oil in case they do have some kind of additive in there). I've known it my whole career, and in the extensive research I did while developing Geneva Artists' Oil Color, I have done hundreds of drying-rate experiments. This is not the first time I've seen information that is completely incorrect on the W&N site.
Hi Mark, how do you keep paintings clean from dust once the painting is completed or is in the process of drying. I do oil and acrylic paintings at home and its really hard to keep them dust free during the drying process. Also is there anyway to clean a completed painting from dust accumulation. The reason being, Its not something i can just brush it off as its stuck to the paint when its wet and remains there when the painting dries and you only notice it when the painting is dry.
+Draw Mix Paint : Hi Mark, got the answer to the first half of my question from your 1st episode of Q&A. Was watching your videos through the playlist so the 1st video was the last. :) . Still would like to know the 2nd half of my question about methods to clean dusty paintings. Thanks
+Jaan2717 As far as I know there is nothing you can do about dust that is embedded in dry paint, you just have to try to prevent it from gathering dust in the first place.
+Draw Mix Paint Thanks Mark but I also found this. I don't know how much to rely on this technique (see link). What's your take and thanks once again, you have been an inspiration. www.wikihow.com/Clean-an-Oil-Painting
Mark - I use a hand-held palette sometimes, however, the Geneva paint is so thin I can't seem to manage it. Any suggestions of how to continue using Geneva paint AND my hand-held palette?
+Skeet Sirmons Because the Geneva oil paint has the medium already mixed into it, it really doesn't work well on a significantly angled surface. Unlike stiff tube paint where you mix the medium into the paint as needed. I would avoid a large piles of paint on your hand held palette, or perhaps try working on a flat palette with your large piles, and only using small piles on your hand held palette. Originally we made our paint as thin as I like it, mixed to the consistency I personally painted with for years - I like the spreadability and easy flow of thinner paint. But we have thickened it up a bit (from what we sold several months ago) while still retaining the amount of flow and leveling I think is necessary for my own way of working. Hope that helps, Wish I had a better answer for you.
Hi, my name is David, and I love tour paintings, it reminds me my father's painting, but...life happened, só I have a question: when you take a picture and then make it black and white, why the green color is the darkest tone on the picture?
Hi Mark, "indirect painting has more lifespan than direct painting method" how far do you see this statement ?Does really working with layers and transparent layers of paint increase the life of painting (for centuries) ? if not what is a life span for a painting? also What is your view about why most of the classical painting looks like still shot of a drama..?
+Deepak Arts Regarding direct vs indirect lifespan, there are lots of variables, but generally I think the opposite is true. Not sure where you heard that, but people say all kinds of things.
How do you lighten a shadow if you can't use white? I paint in grey layers and have to use white to make the tones realistic. I later glaze with dark colours in my shadow, but at the beginning I use white to make various tones of grey
In real life those shapes would look different since things in real life look dramatically different than they do compared to a computer rendering displayed on a screen. This is why I never understood those that paint photographs. The computer or processor has already done all of the painting for you with the image you are copying.
wow.. the first 2 minutes of this video and i know understand my problem with 2D. i suck at them but i do outstanding shading for 3d objects and light.. but cant fking draw a face without it looking like donald duck had a car crash and the airbag was loaded with tnt and hes coffee hot at 1000cº melted his face haha..
That is the most helpful thing anyone has ever pointed out to me about drawing. Simple. Effective. Practical. Thank you, sir.
These videos are wonderful. I studied painting at university in the early '70 and the curriculum was so open ended I didn't get any real practical painting direction. I also appreciate that you make most of your teaching free.
I had the same experience. Profs would give assignments then critique whatever we came up with.
I'm studying painting right now 2017 and it's exactly the same. Basically romper room with a bucket of supplies.
Reilly Clark, you are like my current painting teacher! I know that you guys are in the minority. These techniques are hard to teach, but the effort is so worth it! I am discovering and enjoying it so much! It takes work!
in college taking art didn't teach me anything compared to what Mark's videos have..
Same here!!!
Le quedo muy agradecida por sus videos he aprendido mucho y sigo viendole cada vez que puedo GRACIAS
Thank goodness that I found you, of all the teachers on RUclips,you are the best at explaining things,besides being an amazing artist. 💥💥💥
You sir are a blessing to all of us who want to learn...correctly ! Thanks for the vids! God bless 🌷
These videos are the best. I can't get enough. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge!
This is a WONDERFUL lesson. Thanks a lot
Thank you sir mark,your video is a great help for student of painting,your great in your artwork"GOD BLESS YOU W/ YOUR FAMILY".ALHAMDULILLA
best teaching method on youtube
This is exactly what i needed to hear, i have a portrait of my great grandfather that ive neglected to finish and id like to get it done for my Grandmother who's health has not been getting any better and whatever tips or techniques you have, id like to pickup so i can finally finish this piece, Thank You Sir!
I think because we are making our own colors and values, we start with our Black or nearest-Black value and work toward Light. By the time we progress far enough up the scale toward Light, we are not adding heavy darkening agents so there is no "Black" in it. There are simply combinations of Primaries and White, as needed, to achieve the desired Value and Color. Also, the ratios, sy of Ultramarine and Burnt Umber used, will likely not be the same as those ratios used to produce the Blackest Black since we will be pushing the color progressively more toward the Warm or Cool region. It's not like we start with one big pile of dark paint and continue to use only that to make all the steps, although we may if the range of color allows for it.
Thanks for answering my question about mixing the darkest color first, then going lighter. That made perfect sense! Your explanation and all your videos are much appreciated.
Very helpful. Thank you so much.
That was amazingly helpful!
I really don’t want to be a painter but he’s a great teacher and I enjoy watching his videos ! 👍🏻
I just taught my first drawing class (to fill in for my art teacher) literally about 3 hours before you posted this; and I have found your video very helpful. I cant wait to implement that technique into some of my personal projects and into a lesson if I end up teaching again. Thank you for posting. P.S. Your other videos have dramatically changed the way approach oil painting for the better (I have been painting in oils for about 6 years).
Thank You Mark for all your generosity in loading these teaching videos! Your videos are steadily answering so many of my questions. I also REALLY appreciate that you discourage the use of dangerous chemicals in the painting process and offer alternatives!!! Though you don't use turpentine, etc, for glazing, your portraits are still beautiful. I'm not sure if you address this in any other videos as I'm still making my way through them, but I have one question subsequent to watching the above. If you want to take a canvas off the frame after one year's time of drying in order to travel with it, will it be possible to put it back on a frame without it cracking?
This is fantastic! I've been trying to solve this for a long time and you just helped me tremendously!
Thank you for your sharing your wisdom to the public! Sending love from the Philippines.
another thing that helps me other than looking at things as separate shapes, is looking at the distance between different 'shapes' so that I can gain a better understanding of the proportions of an object.
This was so helpful! I realize how hard it is to not see 3 dimensionaly
Shape is everything!
Xiang Li
SHAPE is one of 5 things
Great video. It´s an excellent way to approach to any drawing or painting. I use the positive and negative spaces to do this, and it has the same principle you teach so well. You could explain to people a little more about that if you like, for me it was very useful, not only to have in mind the positive, but also the negative space.
Holy sheet. this is where I shine. I draw hecking well.
most people with tons of money go to the angel academy and the like. I thought I should go, I already draw well and can use sight size. However this method is fantastic, and I am not thinking of spending 3 years and a lot of money as I know I can acheive the same using this method. ;)
excellent video. one of the things I've been doing is breaking things down to its most basic shapes. when I'm taking pictures for paintings I found taking HDR images has made life so much easier. I'm exposing for the lightest part of the picture the Midtown and the darkest and basically switching between all three pictures shows me exactly where my highlights,midtones and shadows are. all you basically do it is set your aperture to f16 so everything from front to back is in focus assuming you're using a DSLR are camera that allows you to play around with aperture shutter speed and exposure. and then you spot Focus. you focus on the sky then you focus on the darkest part of the picture and then you focus on the middle of the picture when you put all three together you have this beautiful picture or you can use them to help you paint. I'm a photographer so im making it sound a little bit easier than it is but that's basically the gist of it.
Amazing videos! Thanks a lot!
thank you sir its truly helpful ... THANKS FOR YOUR AWESOME VIDEOS
smack me n call me horsey
+Simon Carrick did any one say f.u.c.k off to you
+Thulfaqar Abdulla too many times 😂
Loved watching this video. Your videos have been so informative and inspiring to me. Making your shadow box is on my to do list.
What is the difference between the expensive safflower oil I can buy from the art supply house and the safflower oil I can buy by the gallon at the grocery store?
its very helpful Mark. Thank you.
What happens when there is no clear distinction between light and shadow, when something looks more like a mid-tone when squinting? Say, how do you capture the delicacy of a flower, where there are subtle value shifts, but not very easy to see. To add to the complexity, the example of a rose would have some occlusion tones where the petals fold in the middle, but all of this is really hard to see, at least for me. Do you decide on a light direction and a terminator line and render by the rules of light, or is it a more freeing, more subtle approach that I am missing?
Thanks for all these videos, they're Heaven-sent!
they don't teach oil painting in college because of the extra time it would take, only water base medium (aside of egg) . With water we end with the darker so it won't stain the other colors in the process.
I spent so much time trying to get perspective down. Helpful, but I'm an artist, not a draftsman (Although I wonder which I I really should e sometimes). This tutorial has kinda freed me. Squinting helps too.
I love watching your videos. They're so detailed and well explained. So thank you :)
I have 2 questions. I'm a self-taught portrait "artist" and I find it still challenging to do 2 things:
See colour. I know its about painting values and shapes, but some of the best portraits I see have colour in them that wouldn't be visible in the reference photo. Would that just be abstract "fun", as I tend to paint that way, but its clearly illogical.
Second question would be transitioning from dark to mid tones. I know you're not big on blending, but i find it challenging to perfect those in between shades.
Thank you and greetings from malta :)
That was enormously helpful as I am doing my first portraits now. Thank you so much. Your method of teaching is brilliant! I loved the first painting that you showed of the yellow orchids in the vase was that one of yours? It was beautiful.
Thank you for your cooperation
You are an amazing person!
I think this technique is a good opportunity for when you are starting to draw, yet i think later on you should think in three dimensional shapes when drawing. Thst is because if you get your shapes only a little bit off those mistakes will sum up and make your image, and i think this is especially true for portraiting, look wrong. But great advice for people to getting used to drawing!
Good advise, as always.
Holbein Duo Aqua oil is the best water oils IMO. Japanese make great quality paints, such as their Keretake watercolors. The colors I use to match the five Geneva colors -- But first, for those that don't know, water oils are oil paints. The binder is oil, but the soil molecule has been scientifically modified to bind to water by removing one molecule. They paint just like oils, at least this brand does.
Colors - Ultramarine Deep, Burnt Umber, Cadmium Yellow, Titanium White, Alizarin Crimson. These are expensive colors because they are not hues.
Mark,
Thank you for the videos and information,It really does help in understanding The DMP method better.
But I have always had problems trying to compare colors on photos(As I cant set up a still life at the moment).
could you please do a short video on how to check colors on laminates...There always seems to be a problem while checking the value and tone of the color.Would one follow the same steps while mixing colors from life?
thank you
Thank u Mark 😙
I actually use the shapes to sketch the face , not only the coloring , it makes sletching way easier since you get more refference points
Thanks for that Mark. May I suggest that you talk, while mentioning these shapes, about placing one shape/form in relation to another. It seems obvious, but isn't. If one shape, although drawn correctly is placed incorrectly in relation to another you will not get a likeness. Please say something about how you can get those relationships absolutely spot on. Perhaps you've done that in another video and I've missed it.
In 1972, Betty Edwards wrote "Drawing On the Ritht Side of The Brain". While the book will not make an artist of one it will certainly make a quantum difference to one's drawing ability, assuming one wants to draw in a representational way.
Hola soy Estrella Holgado estoy en España he comprado unos botes de pintura tuya y a parte de pagar portes me han cobrado aduana.
Yo pense que teniais material en Europa por lo que no se pagaria aduna y tardaria menos en llegar,asi esperare a esto para hacer otro pedido
Mark, you mentioned in a previous Q&A that you could use the color checker when comparing colors to an image on a computer monitor. Will you be doing a demo on that soon?
+Bender 2010 It's pretty straightforward, but I will do it at some point, I just need to find the time and we have a lot of different video priorities. Very busy with Geneva stuff, Q&As, etc! Do you have a question about color checking from a monitor?
+Draw Mix Paint Thanks for replying Mark. No, I don't have any specific questions right now. I haven't tried it. I just thought that it would be challenging since the monitor is backlit. I would guess, though, that as long as the studio light is bright enough, there won't be any issue. I'll give it a shot soon and see how it goes. Thanks so much for the info and videos! I look forward to watching every week.
My favorite artist is Caravaggio. I love his stark contrast, his use of chiaroscuro. I try to copy this but I have a hard time getting the very dark shadows on faces and other places in my paintings. Can you give me some advice?
+tanya james What do you mean you have a hard time getting the very dark shadows?
+Draw Mix Paint I have a hard time taking a regular photo and making the shadows dark so that I have the chiaroscuro effect of all the attention being on one part of the face, the rest being in dark, almost hidden shadows that blend with the background. The super dramatic drama that Caravaggio did. In the painting of the Selection of Matthew the head of Christ is in the background, but it is wonderful! Just taken by itself it is a tremendous portrait but you can just see the nose and cheek area. Or look at all the figures in the painting of the Doubting Thomas. Everything is focused on his finger and the wound and faces are so shadowed, but so wonderful. How do I do this from regular photos? Did I explain myself well enough? Those faces of his are the type of portraits I want to paint.
+tanya james Oh, you're talking about how to get the source material to look like that. It's just a matter of exposing the photo correctly (don't overexpose highlights) and not having a bunch of fill light. Making it all work is still going to require some careful setup and camera work, as with most staged photos. If you want some detailed answers and advice on this, I recommend posting on our forum at forum.drawmixpaint.com and uploading photos there showing what you're working with and also linking to examples of what you would like your source material to be more similar to. I'm sure you will get a lot of helpful responses!
+Draw Mix Paint thank you
+tanya james I know that your comment is three years old, so I don't know if it is still relevant, but one thing you can do is to use black mirrors. Basically the same thing as a laptop screen or tv screen when turned off, and what you get is the same chiaroscuro effect with the dark shadows as Caravaggio. Don't know how you would do this with reference photos though, but you can use yourself as a reference. Since the surface is black, your lights won't have the same saturation as in real life, but those you can perhaps paint from life. Artists have used black mirrors for a very long time. If this doesn't work out for you, what you can do is identify the shadow shapes of your subject, and the transition between light and dark and use your own imagination to make the shadows as dark as you want. What you have to keep in mind, is that artists from the time of Caravaggio (up to a time much later) didn't paint from life (Caravaggio may have), but instead made drawings in red or black chalk, and painted from those drawings. Color are something they observed from life probably on a daily basis but usually they had formulas for painting things as skin or trees or whatever. This allowed for a fast painting procedure. You might want to look into that. If you, or anyone else have any questions at all, please ask and I'll see whether I could help you out with that.
The teacher probably mixed colors from light to dark because she did so with watercolors and therefore did so also with other mediums like acrylics and oil paint. Don't you think?
Hi could you do a demonstration of a seascape or paint water?
very good
Hi, Mark. I love your technique of laying out your palette but I'm a little confused. I understand how you begin with the mixtures derived from your color checking and how you organize them into an understandable dark-to-light sequence for each of the key parts of the subject painted. But then I see you skip around from group to group or add a basic color to a step color to arrive at a preferred color. You might borrow a little light or dark value mixture out of one group to mix it with another group completely out of the value sequence and color harmony with the first group. I think I understand your concept of mixing opposite or analogous colors on your palette to achieve certain desired values or hues. What I can't figure out is after you get your steps set up and are ready to paint, how do you know which basic colors and/or combination of steps to choose from to paint a particular spot on the painting? And one more thing: after you have mixed so many steps and are ready to paint, how do you remember where each step originated from on the source of the painting?
+Stallings Ryan Thanks
Isn't trying to render an object in three dimensions at the same time what the cubists tried to do?
I know you use and teach about oil paint, but can you talk about using acrylics? New subscriber. Thanks.
First !
I think you should have developped your subject even more on this drawing lesson.
I also think that you should talk more about drawing.
Could you show us some of your drawings ?
Personal question :
What painting subjects would you recommand a beginner ?
+Shagga I did more drawings when I was a kid, but I don't really draw much besides the outline-type drawings for paintings. I have one example of a drawing I did as a kid in this video: ruclips.net/video/F5OZK_wsi1U/видео.html … as far as subjects for a beginner, I would just avoid portraits in the beginning because dealing with a likeness is more advanced. The best thing is a still life, from life preferably, because you can really control the lighting and if you're painting from life, it will not move, even if you work on it for weeks. As far as what kind of still-life subjects are good for beginners, in Step 2 of the Online Course on drawmixpaint.com I talk about what types of objects to recommend avoiding in still lifes if you're new to painting.
Hi Mark, first of all thanks for your videos and for sharing your knowledge. I usually paint mixing colours without adding any medium as I like the thick feel of it. However, sometimes I add some medium to thin out the paint when I need to work on small details. The end painting is a mix of matt and oily finish which really looks bad under some lighting. Do you think that oiling out the whole painting after drying would be a solution? What are your thoughts on it? Or what would you recommend?Many thanks again, Luisa
please make a video on how to paint fabric fold perfectly...
Hi Mark,I am really having trouble to match colours at very small spaces in a still life, like very darkest place in yellow roses in your online course. I am working from life, please help me I am really stucked.
Wow, never really realized that this was so difficult for other people. I've been doing this all the time. I trained myself as well.
Hi Mark. Just a fun question. What do you think your career would have been if you hadn't, chosen to be an artist.
How can I get the color of clothes in (escape from frame) pinting?
Hi Mark,
I like to mix, in advance and large amounts, my Winsor and Newton - Winsor Pigments with a medium (Safflower Oil or a Refind linseed oil, I prefer a slow drying time; I'm in the UK and, locally, it's not easy to get Walnut or Clover Oil). I tend to mix a 37ml tube with a third medium and then store them in, air tight, Kilner jars in the fridge. I still find, when I go back to them after a couple of weeks, there's a skin or some of the pigment has dried, when I would hope they would be as fresh as the day I mixed them. I'm aware some pigments have a different effect to some mediums. Have you found this or am I doing something wrong?
+David Wood Artist First of all, refined linseed oil is significantly faster-drying than cold-pressed linseed oil, so if you prefer slow drying times you should not use refined except for pigments which dry too slowly for you. Use cold-pressed instead (or safflower, which is even slower drying, but it doesn't produce as durable a paint film as linseed). But to prevent the skin from forming, you really need at least a little bit of clove oil in all your colors. In a sealed container like a jar it will prevent skin from forming. We have people in the UK on our forum - forum.drawmixpaint.com - so I recommend asking for clove oil sources there.
Thanks for the information!
+Draw Mix Paint Hi again Mark, I'm still finding the whole oil medium chemistry a bit confusing. As I use W&N Winton Oil Colour. You wrote about "refined linseed oil is significantly faster-drying than cold-pressed linseed oil" but when I visit the W&N Website it says Cold Pressed Oil is "A slightly yellow oil, which is extracted without the use of heat & dries slightly quicker than refined linseed oil.".
See Link www.winsornewton.com/na/shop/oils-mediums-varnishes-and-solvents/oil-colour/oils/cold-pressed-linseed-oil-2-53-us-fl-oz-75ml-bottle-3221747
Would you agree the whole business is confusing, I find the W&N information to be limited in truly explaining the effects of oils and pigments.
W&N is wrong. Maybe the "cold-pressed linseed oil" they sell now has some kind of additive to speed up drying time, but that's the only explanation I can think of for why they would say that besides just getting the facts wrong. Assuming you're using the real thing without additives, cold-pressed linseed oil dries significantly slower than refined linseed oil. You can try it out for yourself (although maybe don't use W&N brand oil in case they do have some kind of additive in there). I've known it my whole career, and in the extensive research I did while developing Geneva Artists' Oil Color, I have done hundreds of drying-rate experiments. This is not the first time I've seen information that is completely incorrect on the W&N site.
Hi Mark,
how do you keep paintings clean from dust once the painting is completed or is in the process of drying.
I do oil and acrylic paintings at home and its really hard to keep them dust free during the drying process.
Also is there anyway to clean a completed painting from dust accumulation. The reason being, Its not something i can just brush it off as its stuck to the paint when its wet and remains there when the painting dries and you only notice it when the painting is dry.
+Draw Mix Paint : Hi Mark, got the answer to the first half of my question from your 1st episode of Q&A. Was watching your videos through the playlist so the 1st video was the last. :) . Still would like to know the 2nd half of my question about methods to clean dusty paintings. Thanks
+Jaan2717 As far as I know there is nothing you can do about dust that is embedded in dry paint, you just have to try to prevent it from gathering dust in the first place.
+Draw Mix Paint Thanks Mark but I also found this. I don't know how much to rely on this technique (see link). What's your take and thanks once again, you have been an inspiration.
www.wikihow.com/Clean-an-Oil-Painting
Does most of your advice work with Gouache ? Thanks
Mark -
I use a hand-held palette sometimes, however, the Geneva paint is so thin I can't seem to manage it. Any suggestions of how to continue using Geneva paint AND my hand-held palette?
+Skeet Sirmons Because the Geneva oil paint has the medium already mixed into it, it really doesn't work well on a significantly angled surface. Unlike stiff tube paint where you mix the medium into the paint as needed. I would avoid a large piles of paint on your hand held palette, or perhaps try working on a flat palette with your large piles, and only using small piles on your hand held palette. Originally we made our paint as thin as I like it, mixed to the consistency I personally painted with for years - I like the spreadability and easy flow of thinner paint. But we have thickened it up a bit (from what we sold several months ago) while still retaining the amount of flow and leveling I think is necessary for my own way of working. Hope that helps, Wish I had a better answer for you.
Do you use Gesso to prep your canvasses? I'm watching your videos, but so far I have not seen or hear of Gesso.
Hi, my name is David, and I love tour paintings, it reminds me my father's painting, but...life happened, só I have a question: when you take a picture and then make it black and white, why the green color is the darkest tone on the picture?
and you really shpuld take a look on Décio Villares paintings
Hi Mark,
"indirect painting has more lifespan than direct painting method" how far do you see this statement ?Does really working with layers and transparent layers of paint increase the life of painting (for centuries) ? if not what is a life span for a painting?
also What is your view about why most of the classical painting looks like still shot of a drama..?
+Deepak Arts Regarding direct vs indirect lifespan, there are lots of variables, but generally I think the opposite is true. Not sure where you heard that, but people say all kinds of things.
+Draw Mix Paint thank you:)
Yes Valerie!
sir kindly replay why I am afrid to start paint I always feel I can't paint why is it so? and ideas r not clear in my mind most of the time why
?
8:10 Not many people know that the Earth has a southern hemisphere. Thanks.
Light from a cloudy sky may be 5000 to 6000K, but light from a blue sky is more like 9000K.
Es una pena que el subtítulo no esté traducido en español.
i lllllove this videos
How do you lighten a shadow if you can't use white?
I paint in grey layers and have to use white to make the tones realistic.
I later glaze with dark colours in my shadow, but at the beginning I use white to make various tones of grey
In real life those shapes would look different since things in real life look dramatically different than they do compared to a computer rendering displayed on a screen. This is why I never understood those that paint photographs. The computer or processor has already done all of the painting for you with the image you are copying.
wow.. the first 2 minutes of this video and i know understand my problem with 2D. i suck at them but i do outstanding shading for 3d objects and light.. but cant fking draw a face without it looking like donald duck had a car crash and the airbag was loaded with tnt and hes coffee hot at 1000cº melted his face haha..
I AM DRUNK AND I CAN STILL DRAW BETTER THAN YOU COMMENT-GUYS