Art Resin Tutorial
Giving Back!
The link above is our story in my husband’s words on the devastating loss of our son, Anderson. He is the reason we give back. The meaning of his life was to show us the meaning of our life: to help others. And, that is exactly what we do. We do it for Anderson, we do it for ourselves and we do it for our son Eli. To teach and inspire others, so that they know this life is about helping others. What can I do to help someone in need. This will always be the focus of our lives and we are so appreciative that Anderson showed us that.
Please take a moment to vote on the link above and help us to raise money for our favorite Charity, Heart & Sole. This charity benefits the NICU of the Children’s Hospital of Georgia.
Thank you kindly,
Blair
Grief, Art and Giving Back
Many of you may have noticed that a portion of all my art sales go to charity. In particular children’s charities. This is something that is near and dear to my heart. Once I read an statement that said, “ The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away.”
It it struck me that through my journey in finding my inner artist again, that this is my gift. It was through art that I found healing from my grief over the loss of my sweet baby boy, Anderson. Part of my journey through this life is to give back in his name. To be a light in this World that is filled with darkness.
From now until the end of the year 20% off all proceeds will go the Children’s Hospital of Georgia, through the Children’s Miracle Network. I never want any parent to have to go through the nightmare of losing a child. If you feel incline to donate the link is also listed below. Thank you!
https://augustahealth.childrensmiraclenetworkhospitals.org/
Over the last two months, I was able to donate $300 to the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation in honor of Miller Grover. I thank you for all who showed their love and support and bought my art, as well as donated to the foundation.
New Etsy Shop
Just launched a new Etsy shop to sell smaller works of art. Please check it out. I have been an Etsy seller for many years under the shop Schiffson Designs.
This shop will focus on Orignal Art Work and Seasonal Art Work. Please give us a follow, this way you can stay updated on sales and new merchandise added weekly!
Our Shops name is AcrylicandcanvasArt
Enjoy!!!
Building layers
Most of my acrylic abstract paintings I build up with layers. It is how I give my paintings depth and a wide range of color! I prefer to build the paintings with about 4 layers. I start with a base layer, then a dark layer, a light layer comes next and then my finishing layer is just final touches. Sound confusing? It can be, but I will do my best to explain my process.
I love working from dark to light. I start most of the time with a base layer just like I talked about in the previous post. I then lay out all the paint colors I want to use in the painting. Selecting my palette is probably my favorite part of this process. It gets me exited and gives me inspiration and kicks starts the creative process.
Then my color mixing begins. If you do not have a color wheel I suggest you buy one. Many people find Color theory challenging if they have not yet studied or explored mixing colors. Some painters even make there own color charts which can help aide them in faster mixing time. Mix two colors together and then dab a swatch of the color. Now you will Know exactly how you made a particular color. While this is a practical method, I will have to admit that I am not that organized. I pretty much eye it as far as mixing colors goes. And, if I run out of a color I will mix it again, but actually prefer for it not to look exactly the same as before. I like my colors to vary a shade or two. But, that's my process. Each artist has their own process. There is no right or wrong way to do this. Do what works best for you.
I highly recommend the color wheel and color chart method for someone who is just starting out. Especially a color wheel. Otherwise, tubes of paint can be wasted. The color wheel can help you prevent from making muck. Which know one wants to waste time or supplies on.
Art supplies can be rather expensive, if you don't have a lot of money to start with I recommend buying a tube of black, white, blue, red and yellow. This will get you started and can make a million different color combinations. Blue, red and yellow are your primary colors. If you have a bit more cash to drop add the secondary colors of green, orange and purple. You will now have more than enough to get started.
Laying down that dark layer. I may use paint straight from the tube or mix in some black or other colors to get my desired starting points. I enjoy in my abstract paintings to have a little of the dark layers shine through.
Don't get to caught up in this layers it's a building layer. It doesn't need to be perfection, more of just a map of where you are laying your foundations. Here are some examples of dark layers of my paintings.
This was commissioned piece I finished recently. It was acrylic on Canvas 24"x30".
This painting is Angels in Gathering it's also acrylic on Canvas 24"x48".
This painting is Untitled and is 30"x40" Mixed Media.
Not so pretty right? Don't worry they are building layers that will correlate with your final layers. They will all flow together, trust me you will see.
The next layer is the most important in my opinion, this is the layer where I add my light. These are the colors that are based off of my dark layer colors, but have been tweeked. Most of the time I am adding white to them or maybe adding other colors to give them a different tone than the dark layer. This is the layer in which my painting is created, it's the layer I spend the most time on. This layer will pretty much finish my painting.
The last layer is what I call finishing touches. Just tweaking things here and there. Adding spots I may have missed or maybe something dried differently than I thought and I want to change it. It's like the final edit of my painting. Sometimes, it can take a few minutes sometimes a few hours.
And, now you are done! I would wait 24 hours before you apply any type of sealer of fixative, maybe longer depending on the humidity in your area.
My Light layer.
Final layer and done!
Finished Painting, Angels in Gathering.
Finished Untitled Work.
See how completely different each painting looks, but you can see from the dark layer how they were formed. Hope this helps and have a happy week!
Where to start
A blank canvas can often be intimidating, artist and non-artist alike. I think I can safely say that we have all been there. I personally prefer to start most works, with the exception of fluid acrylics, with a coat of titanium white and dark titanium white. Sometimes, I even add a little gray. I apply everything with a large brush or palette knife to give the painting that bit of texture and movement before I even really begin to start the real work.
One of the most common misconceptions of art and that of the artist, is that a masterpiece is created within just a few hours. While, many may get lucky a time or two and have this happen, it is most often not the case. Believe me! If it were that easy, everyone could do it. Most of my painting have multiple layers. The layers themselves should communicate with each other. They should flow together creating a cohesive piece, not work against one another. I have been known to work on pieces for a couple days or even months depending on the paint and how long it can take to dry or how much time I have to give. Sometimes, you just need to walk away and come back at a later time. Artist block is a real thing, it's just like writer's block. I will cover more tips on that in a later blog.
After, I have painted my base layer I let it dry completely for a day or two. When I come back to the painting I will often see lines or a flow that I have created with the base colors that I want to work with. That's one thing I love about abstract painting. A simple wavy line can create the basis for a whole painting. I love the idea of letting the paint guide me, 90% of the time I start out with an idea in my head and by the time the painting is done it looks nothing like the original idea. I am the type of artist who just lets the creativity flow while I paint and if I am not feeling that, then I walk away and find inspiration elsewhere.
So, go ahead try the base layer of paint and see where it gets you. Does it help you or inspire you? Let me know...