The Countdown Begins!!

Sharpen your pencils people, the Basic Drawing Course is nearly here! This course will focus on the HOW and WHY of drawing, the perfect basic for any journey into fine arts, from drawing to painting and even sculpture.

How to Make a Shadow Box Set Up for Still Life Work

(Note: for ages 12 +. Children will need to ask for an adult’s assistance with cutting).

Shadow boxes are a cheap and easy method of controlling the light that hits small subject matter for still life works. 

They cut out extra light sources that make the subject matter too complicated, and those light sources that will move through the day, such as sunlight from a window.

Shadow boxes are perfect when you are learning or when using media that take a long time (such as acrylics and oil paints).

Materials

You’ll need a cardboard box, serrated knife, scissors, a hanging cloth, pegs or clips, (packing tape), a lamp (preferably a study lamp that you can angle). Very generally, the cardboard box needs to be two to three times the size of the subject matter you want to draw, to leave some space around your subject matter.

Make that your shadow box is taped at the bottom, otherwise tape it with packing tape.

Step 1

Take your cardboard box and turn it on its side, placing the bottom of the box at the back (as this is the strongest side). Use your scissors to cut off or through any plastic or tape etc.

  

Step 2

Using a serrated knife, (I prefer steak knives), cut the cardboard flaps off. You may find it easier to start cuts with the scissors then continue using the knife. Remember to cut away from you.

Step 3

Cut out the top panel (only). You’ll find it easier if you cut through the folds as these are usually a bit thinner. This makes the standard shadow box. Don’t worry about the rough edges – they’ll be covered.

Step 4

Check out how this works for you. You make find it a little too closed in. You can choose to shape the box down at the front:

Step 5

Place your cloth into the box and spread it out. You don’t want it too lumpy at the bottom but a few folds will look elegant and interesting. Use the pegs or clips to keep it in place.

Orient your light as you would like and now you are ready for your still life study!

Beginner's Drawing

Beginner's Drawing is coming together....(:

How to Recognise Famous Painters

This made me laugh. Hope it gives you a chortle or two too!

http://www.sadanduseless.com/2015/09/famous-painters/

Tips for Drawing Great Flowers

       1.   Think About Composition

I’m a big fan of drawing flowers as you find them when there’s something that just strikes you. However, before you invest too much time in the drawing or painting, look at your flowers from a few different angles to make sure you have the best one. 

With arranged flowers, thinks about which flowers you want to stand out. These will be your focal points. Try and balance these out so they are not all in the same place (more of this soon in Composition).

       2. Draw the Big Shapes, Not the Small Details

Always try and reduce the complexity of your subject matter – it makes it much easier to draw and is less overwhelming.

  3. Let Negative Space Define the Details

Once you have the big shapes, use negative space (the shape around the object) to cut out the details. This will help ensure you draw what you really see and again, reduces complexity.

You will build up the positive spaces naturally as you go. For more information on Negative Space and Positive Space, keep an eye out for a Negative Space lesson coming up on Blueberry Beetle.

4. Always Extend from the Base

You want your flowers to feel elongated and delicately extended, not clumpy or squashed. Make sure you leave plenty of room for stems.

 Much of this will come from your original composition.

Once you have your outline right, then you can more on to more details or to painting.

       5. Keep Your Colours Fresh

 Avoid  using black to darken your flowers - this just makes everything seem grey! Try using supplementary and complementary colours, or similar secondary and tertiary mixes instead to keep eye-popping colours (more of this in our colour workshops!).

Sometimes adding fresh colour towards the end of the work is enough to freshen everything up.

If you found this helpful, please favourite this page – there are more step-by-step tutorials on drawing flowers coming soon at Blueberry Beetle.