Kathleen’s Art Resources

I thought I would share with you some of the things that I have learned about art and the arts community during the last couple of years.

Local art supply stores are invaluable

While the big box stores can (and often do) sell art supplies at cheaper rates, the good art stores, like Inglewood Art Supply, which I frequent all the time, allow one the ability to ask questions of knowledgeable people is invaluable. Most often they are willing to offer suggestions re any problems we meet, and their solutions are often tried and true.

Try different paints and pick what works for you

Try out different paints supplied by different companies: Golden, Windsor & Newton, Stephenson, Chroma, etc. Each company has a specific brand of paint geared to the beginning artist (student classification) and for the professional artist (usually tagged as “Artist Quality”), for the more advanced artist.

I am convinced that while the Artist Quality paint can be somewhat more expensive, the quality is better, the paint covers better, is usually much thicker, and you get more bang for your buck. If cost is an issue that you have to address, the student quality paint works well and while you do not have the variety offered in Artist quality, they are wonderful to learn with. Pick what works for you.

Take advantage of online art resources

If you are reading this, you have a computer. As an on-line learning resource, the computer is invaluable. I cannot stress enough, the amount of information offered by major paint producers on their websites. Give yourself a bit of time every day to read up on their lines and the “How Tos” of their brands.

Here are some of my favorite sites for learning about painting and paint supplies:

Paint.net

A free downloadable Photoshop-type program that works wonderfully.
You can turn a photo into a sketch then print it and transfer the image to your canvas – a great support for painting. It will show you what a photo would look like in oil (which is basically the same type brush stroke in Acrylics, and this in turn helps you translate your photo to a painting. The first URL is the download site, the next two are support groups for this program:

http://www.getpaint.net

http://www.getpaint.net/doc/latest/en/index.html

http://paintdotnet.forumer.com/viewforum.php?f=34&sid=91bd8d13ddeb1153fe0a14158588905f

Windsor & Newton Artist web site

Windosr & Newton has the Galleria line (student line) and The Artist Quality brand (all are available in Canada). This site is very informative and offers workshops and information on the specific brands of paint offered by their company, helpful artist hints, and just a whole lot more.

http://www.winsornewton.com/

Google

You can also Google any “How to” you want. Just type in How to (insert here what you want to know) and hit Google search. Usually there are a gazillion replies for your perusal.

http://www.google.com/

On-line colouring pages for basic shape and form

These sites are invaluable for us to learn the basic shapes and to get ideas from. Most, like the one offered here, offer the chance to print and or download a basic drawing for us to follow:

http://www.edupics.com/en-coloring-pictures-pages-photo-flowers-c107-p1.html

http://www.coloring-pages-book-for-kids-boys.com/flowers-coloring.html

Pose Maniacs

A wonderful site for the drawing of the human shape in many, many different poses. While the text is in Japanese, you can always “Print Screen” to capture the pose you need to work from. This is one site where you will want to explore if you are into painting the human body/shape. Don’t be scared, explore it. It is a wonderful resource for all artists.

http://www.posemaniacs.com/

Golden’s Artist web site

Again, this is a paint producer that stands behind its product. This web site proves it. There is a wealth of information regarding their products (available almost universally).

This site is a delight especially for the information offered on products like molding paste, interactive paints, gels and many other mediums.

Another great article they have is “How to varnish acrylic paintings after a protective coat has been applied” (the latter is not only explained, but covers why a base coat is applied before the final varnish of any of your paintings).

The following URL is a treasure. If you scroll down a wee bit you will find a form to fill in and Golden will in return, send you an information pack about their products. The pack is free of charge and available for the asking. Included in the info pack is a wonderfully set of hand painted colour charts so you can see what and how each paint that they offer looks once applied. You will also see whether it is opaque or transparent. You really cannot go wrong with this offer.

And it is free – the very best thing of all!

http://www.goldenpaints.com/

http://www.goldenpaints.com/contacts/contact.php

D. L. Stephenson: the Canadian Colour Company

This is a company that I was not familiar with until I was introduced to them by the helpful staff at Inglewood Art Supply. I find the paint works wonderfully and am slowly switching over to this company’s brand as I need to replenish my supply. And it is a Canadian company! By purchasing this brand we are supporting our Canadian paint industry.

http://www.dlstevenson.ca/

Their catalogue can be downloaded here:

http://www.dlstevenson.ca/stevenson_catalogue.php

Now, if anyone knows of a good productive site and is willing to share, please leave a comment with a URL, and I will compile them all in another blog entry for everyone to use.

And again, I would love your input and comments.
(as well as links to your art site so we can eventually feature your art at the top of this blog.)

Be well all,
~~Kathleen
Who asks;
“When all is well in your world, is your door open?”

Tagged as: art resources, art supplies, art tips, Inglewood Art Supplies, Kathleen's Art Tips