Glazing and scumbling over a painting- Michael Orwick Arts - Painting lessons and demonstrations
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 5 ก.พ. 2025
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Portfolio Site And upcoming classes - www.michaelorwick.com
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As a painter, the effects of light and atmosphere are what I remember about a location and what inspires me most. Light transforms the ordinary or even beautiful into the exceptional. I aim to capture these fleeting moments and help people see things again through new eyes.
IGNITING THE SPARK -- Choosing, Editing, and Combining References
Every painting begins with a spark of interest, the seed of an idea that blossoms. But that blossoming often needs some nurturing to bring it to fruition -- to make that idea your own.
NOTE: All artists have references--pictures from magazines or photos from the internet. For some it’s a random thing, a hobby, but for others, it’s more of a compulsion. How to sort and retain reference material is a thing for another day.
There are many ways to choose the combination of references you want to use; however, they all involve looking at photos or other paintings with an artist’s eye and deciding what you like and what you don’t.
For example:
There is a photo of an interesting group of trees. If you are taking the photos, then take a number from different angles. (Thank goodness for digital !!!)
Decide what you like about those trees. The shape? The size? Maybe just how they look as a whole? The background? The sky? The time of day?
What don’t you like? The shape? The size? How they look as a whole? The background? The sky? The cars? The powerlines? The time of day? Everyone will have their own reason(s). This painting is yours, so you get to decide.
You may want to paint the scene exactly how it appears, minus the power lines or the cars. And that’s okay. It’s your painting. But maybe it still doesn't feel quite right.
This is the fun part. Enjoy.
You can crop that photo any way you like. So many of our cameras and phones have this feature and you should know how to use it. If the photo isn’t digital, take a photo of the photo to play around with. If not, print out a couple copies. Use blank paper to mask off the different ways to look at your trees or fold the printout in different ways to isolate what you want.
You can choose a different environment altogether. Take those trees to the seaside, or the mountains, maybe a marsh or a desert. Look through your references for a place, a sky, or an atmosphere that appeals to you, and PLAY.
If you have Photoshop, Lightroom or any of a number of photo editing programs. You can use that to manipulate your main photo and background(s). However, if you don’t have software there are other ways to do this.
Of course, you can always use thumbnails or larger sketches to establish what you want. You may already have a vision. If not, here are a few other ways to do it.
Hold printouts up to the window and look through them, flip them. Put printouts together and move them around to choose where you want the trees. You can also use cutouts of the trees, rocks, etc. to experiment.
If you have access to transparent material this becomes a little easier. Use acetate, page savers, or even a Ziplock--anything you can see through. Sketch your trees with a marker or pen, then move them around on the printout of the background. Maybe sketch them in different sizes. You need to find just the right position for you.
Another way to adjust the size is to hold your background at a distance and move your tree sketch forward and back to see what appeals.
This process is just a way of looking at ideas. In the end, you may come up with the seed for a number of different tree paintings, AND you could paint them all.
Or maybe you really like that river…
The key is to Experiment. Play. Enjoy the creative process. Take those trees anywhere you like or put them in an abstract painting in the clouds. It’s YOUR painting.
Each of us is inspired by different things and we see them through the filter of our own universe and experience.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS!! I LOVE YOUR PAINTINGS! THANK YOU FOR SO GENEROUSLY SHARING ALL OF THESE VIDEOS WITH US!! WHAT AN AMAZING PRIVILEGE ❤
You are so very welcome.
Love this composition. I will give this technique a try on a local scene that I’m going to paint soon. Thank you so much for sharing these videos.
Thank you for watching. I hope it helps.
The painting is stunning! ❤
What brand of acrylic paint do you use for the underpainting?
I'm using Golden, but the truth is I use any old cheap acrylics when I know I'm going to paint over it with oils. What type do you use?
Just found your painting lessons. Absolutely blown away by your technique. Teaching myself to paint over a year now. After seeing your method, I tried two. Amazingly then looked decent and were fun. Whee can I locate more of your instructional videos. Thanks.
www.youtube.com/@michael_orwick
If you would like to join the next class it starts in 2 days. www.michaelorwick.com/workshops
@@michael_orwick need to play more with tonal. Thanks. Maybe your following class. Again thanks for showing me a great way to enjoy painting.
@@ronadams3700 My pleasure. Best of luck with your paintings. I hope to see them one day.
All the best, Michael
Hello from Salzburg Michael! So just a question, you call this underpainting a black and white but it appears to be painted with a Paynes or Indigo mixed with Burnt umber…. What color have you used for your underpainting? Many thanks! Marie…Love your painting and style!
Great question. I used Paynes Gray and White. But I'm constantly experimenting with other options like Burnt umber and white...