Download Two Free Art Books!

Greetings fellow artists!

I just wanted to leave a note to say that I am in the process of simplifying and consolidating my blogs so go here to see my latest art related posts.

I just posted links for two free art books you can download, The Art of Portrait Painting and A Manual of Oil Painting. I hope you enjoy reading this valuable information!

This blog will continue at Laurel McBrine Studio

Please consider adding your email address in the upper right corner at Laurel McBrine Studio to follow my future blog posts.

This blog will remain available as an archive.

Thank you so much for your support and interest.

Female Portraits in Western Art

This is a pretty cool slide show of 500 years of female portraits in Western Art. I really enjoyed seeing all these amazing works morphing into each other!

The Business of Art Conference at York University

I just learned of a great weekend event for artists in the Toronto area. The Business of Art Conference, held at the Accolade East Building at York University, 4700 Keele Street on January 28, 2012 will take place from 9:30 am to 4 pm.

The conference is meant to provide emerging artists with entrepreneurial business skills, resources and knowledge that will help them increase their sales and visibility and also build community through networking with other professionals in the arts.

You can register here to attend. The cost is a great deal - for only $5 you get admittance to the conference plus a free lunch, so even starving artists can afford to take part!

For more details visit http://sifeyork.com/projects/business-of-art or phone (647)403-1926

Painting Tip #34 - Beware of Phthalo Colors!

Be very careful with Phthalo blue and Phthalo green (also known as Winsor Blue/Green and Thalo Blue/Green) as they have extremely strong pigmentation and you only need a tiny amount. They are to be used judiciously and sparingly and only when absolutely necessary to obtain a particular color. I have had the same tubes of both of these colors for decades and doubt I will ever need to buy another tube, that is how little you need to use! Having said that, sometimes a tiny touch of either color can really enliven your work.

Stick to Ultramarine Blue as a basic for most of your color mixing.

Painting Tip #33 - Travel With Wet Oil Paintings

When traveling, bring pieces of canvas and a board, rather than prepared panels or stretched canvases. Cut the canvas to a size to later adhere to a panel (I prefer 8"x 10" with 3/8" border to adhere with masking tape to a 10" x 12" board) or stretch on bars when you get home. Tape the canvas to the board to do your painting. Layer the paintings with wax paper to transport home, either flat or in a tube with the painting rolled to the outside. You can leave the last couple of still wet works taped to the boards and bind them together (using more tape) with felt pads (that have a sticky back) separating the boards from each other.

Painting Tip #32 - Air Travel With Oils

When traveling with art supplies, never refer to your oils as “paint”, rather call them oil colors, pack the tubes securely in containers in your checked luggage (palette knives too) and include MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet) forms and a printout from the TSA (Transportation Security Administration) showing that they are allowed on the plane and have an acceptable flash point.

Painting Tip #31 - Skin Color for Portraiture

The human face tends to have bands of color – the forehead is yellow, the middle of the face is red and the lower face is cool. Look carefully and you will see this tendency, especially in Caucasian models.