5 Art Techniques to Try and Why
5 Art Techniques to Try and Why
If you are just starting out as an artist and don't know which techniques will suit you, you might like to try a few different approaches and experiment a little. This is also good for anyone who feels that they are in a rut with their art and lacking direction. Here are 5 techniques you can try and why:
- Collage
- Water Soluble Media
- Watercolour with Gouache
- Water Mixable Oil Paints
- Oil Pastel
Collage
A technique that is associated with famous artists like Henri Matisse and children's art! Collage can be fun and messy but also has a lot of potential. You can explore colour with paper without mixing paint and if you are just starting out and not confident with colour theory, colour mixing can be overwhelming. Playing with colourful paper can take the stress out of this. With collage you can create very simple works of art using just shapes and magazine cut outs, or complex imagery which can also be achieved by “painting with paper”. Collages can also be painted onto to create more complex imagery.
If you are wanting to explore collage and don't know where to begin, start by collecting interesting coloured and textured papers and materials of all kinds, materials that interest you including imagery from magazines, fabric and textiles, as well as different types of papers you may purchase such as origami papers, wallpaper and wrapping papers. You can start your collage by either creating something like a landscape and explore the different colours and textures, or something completely abstract exploring mark making, colour, texture etc.
My post: Unleash Your Creativity with Collage may help you if you are just starting out with this creative approach and are not sure of what glues and other material to use.
Water Soluble Media
Most artists will have come across watercolour pencils and may use them together with watercolour. They can be ideal for adding details to a watercolour painting or for a beginner artist learning the fundamentals of painting with watercolours. Watercolour pencils have been around for a while, however there are many more types of water soluble media that are now available to artists, including watercolour and ink based blocks, sticks and pencils. There is a broad range of what you can buy and experiment with for watercolour and mixed media paintings. They are ideal for using in addition to other painting media or as stand alone media and can be used wet or dry, or both!
Certain brands are more favoured than others and you may find that Derwent is one of the most popular ones. Derwent has a full range of water soluble pencils, sticks and blocks that can be used with each other, as well as with other brands.
So, what are the advantages for using water soluble media? All types of water soluble media can be used wet or dry, mixed with each other, as well as with other media, such as watercolour, inks and acrylics. You can add a new dimension to your art by focusing on mark making in addition to washes or add intricate detail to your pieces. Explore and experiment with this type of media as there is no right or wrong!
Watercolour with Gouache
Watercolour alone can be both challenging and rewarding depending on the type of art you wish to create and your experience with the medium. Watercolour can take a while to master as there are many factors involved, such as what you wish to use the paints for, the quality of the paint and the paper, as well as how confident you feel with the nature of the paint. Watercolour demands practice if you are wanting to improve your technique, however using this medium with other media can lead to much more.
When you are just warming up with watercolours, there can be pieces that don't quite turn out the way you intended. Don't throw them away! Leave them for a while and approach them another time with fresh eyes, with the intention of making them into a mixed media piece. All sorts of media can be considered for this, however gouache paints are so closely related to watercolours, it makes sense to use the two together.
Gouache is the opaque relation to watercolour paints, as the latter is designed to be applied mostly in layers, hence being a transparent paint. Gouache is a water based opaque paint which can be used to add depth and tone of colour, highlight areas of your painting and correct mistakes, as it will cover watercolour. Both paints obviously can be used on their own, but used together there is more scope for your painting practice.
To give you an idea of how I use the two paints together, have a look at my post Watercolour & Gouache Techniques
Water Mixable Oil Paints
The title alone doesn't seem to make sense! Let's get something straight right off the bat: there is no such thing as water based oil paints! It is often where students become confused. Water mixable oil paints are oil based paints, like the traditional oil paints, but the oil in them has been modified to mix with water. Their advantage is that there is no need to use solvents such as turpentine and white spirit to thin the paint or clean brushes, therefore no issues with very strong odours.
Water mixable oil paints can be used on their own or together with traditional oils. If you are mixing the two, up to 30% of traditional oils can be added to water mixable oil paints before the water-soluble properties are lost. If more traditional oils are added, it will reduce the ability to thin the paint with water.
Water mixable oils are popular with artists and students who attend art groups and classes as they are more convenient, with no need to carry as many materials, however it is advisable that you explore some of the painting mediums that are available for use with water mixable oils, especially within the brand range you choose to paint with.
Blog post coming soon: Tips for Using Water Mixable Oils
Oil Pastels
Oil pastels are often given to budding artists by non artist friends and family members who don't know that there is a difference between oil pastels and soft pastels! Oil pastels do not blend as easily as soft pastels and are therefore left on the shelf as many artists don't know how to use them. If you have an untouched box of oil pastels tucked away somewhere, you might want to dig them out.
In the 1940's Picasso teamed up with French art materials manufacturer, Henri Sennelier to create a professional quality oil pastel, still known and loved by artists today. If you are wanting to invest in some oil pastels, aim for soft blendability and quality pigments, both of which you will find with this brand.
Oil pastels can be great for sketching and using with other media. Marks can be made in lots of different ways as oil pastels can be applied thickly and colour can be blended with a warm finger or shaper tool. They can be applied swiftly and loosely for a more grainy mark making effect. They are also ideal to use with oil paints, when wet or dry, over dried acrylic paints, watercolour, water-soluble media and collage, as well as blended with oil painting mediums and solvents. Oil pastels are a very versatile medium and so direct, they can make adding colour accessible to any artist with lots of potential.
That's only 5 techniques to try! however there is an abundance of art materials and techniques that are available to artist today. Whether you are just starting out or have been painting for many years, experimenting and exploring different techniques, media and approaches is always healthy, promoting growth and learning for every artist.