One way of composing a picture

One way of composing your picture

Using the method described above we can continually divide a rectangle
This can result in the divisions shown alongside in the painting Flatford Mill by John Constable
Notice how the trees, river and horse are lined up with the diagonals

Filbert’s Newsletter: November 2007 Issue 24

Welcome to the Filbert Splosh Newsletter. Your comments, suggestions or contributions are welcome.

With Christmas on the horizon why not consider giving a Filbert Splosh GIFT VOUCHER? Printed on natural ivory linen paper with canvas texture and presented in a gold envelope, Filbert Splosh GIFT VOUCHERS make an ideal gift for a budding artist. Order you GIFT VOUCHER online: click here for details

Featured Artist: Christine Tutt
I enjoyed painting during my school life and passed 0 level Art. Work and family commitments then took over and, apart from one or two evening classes widely spaced apart, and drawing with my children and grandchildren I have not done any artwork. About five years ago I was introduced to painting on silk with steam-fix dyes. Through my passion for this as a hobby I got interested in the idea of painting and drawing again. I went visiting studios during an H'Art week. One of the studios was Paul's. I decided that I liked his approach and would attend one of his courses. The rest, as they say, is history!
I now have several courses under my belt. All of them have been truly inspirational and often challenging. I love working in acrylics which I have never used before. All the courses have been great but the life drawing class was amazing, I was rather nervous and feared it might be embarrassing. How wrong can you be, an absolutely fascinating day with such a professional model. The latest course has been the Abstract painting weekend. A most challenging weekend but so interesting and it has changed my mindset on abstract painting completely. Plans for the future – to spend more time painting and, of course, to attend more courses! Christine Tutt

Forthcoming Art Courses
November Courses
Life Drawing in Pastel at Aston on Clun village hall on 4 November 2007 – With a great model we explore subtle and expressive ways of drawing the nude.
Starting with Acrylics at Storridge village hall on 6 November 2007 - How to get started with acrylics.
Matisse Painting Day at Hampton Bishop village hall on 13 November 2007 – Great for those who love colour and a bold vision
Understanding Colour at Abberley village hall on 18 November 2007 – Everything you need to know about colour.
Portrait Painting Weekend at Storridge village hall on 24/25 November 2007 – Understand how to draw and paint faces
Drawing with a Brush at Aston on Clun village hall on 29 November 2007 – A great way to loosen up your technique. Just one place left!
Some Places Available on all courses. Remember you can book courses on line, for details click here

Painting lifelike Flesh

The problem with painting flesh colours is that the shadows often look dirty and not too convincing. Taking just white flesh, because dark flesh is a completely different range of colours, we shall have a look at how to start. The colours I use are: Titanium White, yellow ochre, light red, indian red, Alizarin crimson, cadmium red, cadmium yellow light and cobalt blue. Generally speaking I mix a standard flesh tint in the following proportions: 5 parts white, 1 part yellow, half a part of red; the mixtures are approximate. A cool flesh tone would use Titanium white, yellow ochre and Indian Red, a warm flesh tint Titanium White, Cadmium Yellow Light and Light Red. Variations on this theme could be to replace Indian red with Alizarin Crimson in a cool tint and light red with cadmium red for a warm tint. The highlights can be a mixture of alizarin crimson and titanium white for cool areas and cadmium red and titanium white for warm areas.

Shadows, if they are very deep, could be a mixture of Indian red and Cobalt blue, this creates a cool mauve colour which is ideal. Don’t be afraid to use blues, purples and mauves in shaded areas. As a very simple rule the areas of the face that are in shadow or further away paint in cool tones, the areas closer to you in warm tones. Obviously this will vary depending on light, angles etc. Lines on the face can be defined with Indian Red but this might need toning down depending on the general colour scheme chosen.
Try to avoid mixing flesh colours with blue because they will be come muddy very quickly, also avoid the earthy brown colours (burnt umber for example) as they too become muddy when mixed with flesh tints

Happy Painting

Regards

Filbert Splosh