Art Tips Blog

[Lämmchen]

I'm starting on pet portraits for Christmas. So far I have 3 lined up for family and will have one more for a church member by November.

My problem is getting started on the portraits. I know I need to get them started so they can dry since these 3 will be oils but I have no motivation and no tips to get anyone else motivated. Maybe a reader can help me?

[Lämmchen]

I have discovered that I hate working with oil paints. The 3 portraits I had planned to do in oils are now going to be done in pastels. I'm 1/3 of the way completed on all 3 in one day!

Tip of the day: If you're not happy working in one type of medium, switch! Your confidence will show through for your skills to achieve what you intend.

[Lämmchen]

Those 3 portraits I talked about in my previous post are not completed yet. I'm not sure why I'm finding it so difficult to get them done. Well, the last one I do know is because the photo I'm using is just awful. So I kind of have to know what the animal looks like in my head from doing other cats as well as knowing which way the fur is laying and how the nose is shaped. I suppose it's a lot more brain activity than one would expect from doing art.

I finished up a portrait yesterday that was mostly done in charcoal of a black dog and I used colored pastels do to the eyes and make them pop! I'm so pleased with how it turned out and I can't wait to show it to the customer. I don't want to give it to her too soon because I know she has another dog and I don't want her to think next time that I can crank it out as fast as this one. The other dog is brown so it will need more work.

[FredVB]

That is a really good tip to switch the medium when you are not satisfied with your work as it is, thanks.

I'm starting on pet portraits for Christmas. So far I have 3 lined up for family and will have one more for a church member by November.
My problem is getting started on the portraits. I know I need to get them started so they can dry since these 3 will be oils but I have no motivation and no tips to get anyone else motivated. Maybe a reader can help me?

I think pet portraits are great to work on. I hear some say animals do not have souls. If you can see the soul the animal has I believe it will really help the potrait come out well.

Knowing I have creativity that I want to express, and regularly using time for it, is what I find helpful. It does not happen in a vacuum of course, what art I see and what I read can have things I find inspiring for what can be produced with the creativity. I don't know how helpful this to you but I will be glad if it is.

[Lämmchen]

Thanks, Fred. I'm awful about being creative regularly. I suppose I've gotten lazy in my old age

[FredVB]

Thanks, Fred. I'm awful about being creative regularly. I suppose I've gotten lazy in my old age

I am not so young either. But with some occasion I found calling for pursuing the use of my creativity, I discipline myself from using time for just passively enjoying my time to routinely work at the expression of the creativity, more than I ever had when younger, though I find how I can make time for it better now. Reading that I enjoyed helped for inspiring, but I can choose to lessen that a lot for the time to express the creativity (save for reading the Bible, which is still important to continue with).