onlinestationery

[onlinestationery]

Abstract Art – New Face of Fine Art

Abstract Art had taken a considerable jump over the years in the field of art. Why?

The world-changing approach toward the traditional art style had changed and the concept of modern abstract art was brought up the front and the aesthetic appeal it had.

But let's first understand what is abstract art/abstract painting!

Abstract Painting is modern art giving the artist an independent way for themselves in creating art and not sticking to the traditional notions of painting. Abstract painting uses careful tones and values, heavy or light brush strokes, colours or monochrome, compositions, forms or shapes, moods and textures. It has opened the multitudes for experimenting, a play of arrangements and viewpoints. It is the rustling of brushes on the canvas or the surface with a thought of a scene or resemblance of the episodes of their own life running in the background of their mind. It's art from the perspective of an artist. “Abstract art was the equivalent of poetic expression; I didn’t need to use words, but colours and lines. I didn’t need to belong to a language-oriented culture but to an open form of expression.”~ Etel Adnan.

Take a look back at how it started: Abstract Art took birth in the 19th of century in Europe, after the renaissance. Abstract art rejected the rigidness of a particularly specific way of painting i.e., the traditional art, it later brought a viewpoint for itself. ‘The Irascible 18’, The Newyork School, these were the abstract artists who had unknowingly played a huge role in bringing Abstract art into the light. It was a new genre of art and each abstract artist used his way of painting, this came to be called abstract expressionism. Abstract expressionism pictured various styles of painters.

Looking at the present days or the covid pandemic years it can be seen that there has been a lot in store in relevance to abstract art and minimalism. The hype of abstract art has grown in other mediums from fashion to modern abstract wall arts, home decor, and many others as well. The ‘MET GALA’ and Fashion Weeks could be perfect examples of witnessing abstract art in fashion.

The depths of abstract art have remained unmatched, it’s not just the painting painted on the surface but a state of mind, there is a sense of similarity of performances of the human mind. And catching the eyes of an audience is an art that can’t be seen but is felt in a visual language. Abstract paintings have a strange way of speaking for themselves. Just like how we say the simplest things are hard to convey, the same way simplicity in abstract art is what brings in the complexity itself.

Abstract art could be one of the ways of destressing by emptying oneself into the painting. Not just that it's a great way of being productive but your painting is a representation of yourself, what you see, what you hear, and what you feel. Abstract art is much like a way of looking at one’s inner self. I hope this motivates you on picking up your Brustro Paintbrush and giving a try to your journey of abstractness!

[onlinestationery]

The Easiest Way to Paint Fine Art Winter Landscape

This is the final artwork of the Winter Landscape that I’ve made using the wet-on-wet technique which you will be learning in this blog step by step.

First of all, let’s discuss more on the wet-on-wet technique that I have used extensively for this artwork. This technique will help us in achieving a more natural and softer look and it is less time-consuming.

Wet-on-Wet technique is a process of applying layers of wet paint before the older layer of wet paint dries on the surface/paper which is already wet. We wet our surface using clean water before we start painting to give more natural flow and to create effects. It helps in blending colours softly with less harsh strokes and blurring out details to give a more natural yet abstract scene to the painting. One can also use the wet-on-wet technique along with the wet-on-dry technique (The process of applying wet paint on the dry surface or the dried paint). But we’ll stick to using the wet-on-wet technique for this.

Materials that I have used for this artwork (however, you can start with whatever you have right now):

A Brustro Artists’ Natural Hair MOP brush, a Princeton Neptune Series flat brush, and a Brustro miniature brush.

You can use watercolours, acrylic, gouache or oil paints but I’ve used watercolours of pigments Blue (Cobalt blue/ Prussian blue), Orange, Red, Black, Dark Green, and Winsor & Newton Designers white Gouache (if available or you can use white acrylic paint as an alternative).

Also, Winsor & Newton Masking Fluid Masking Fluid is used as a protective film to separate the paints getting mixed.

Brustro Watercolour Paper of 300 GSM or above.

Quick Tips:

Premix the shades that will be needed.

Tape down the sides of your canvas on a piece of cardboard or a pad to paint with more comfort.

Always keep clean water in small jars.

Use a watercolor paper that has more absorbency (300 GSM or above).

Also, never forget tissues to clean your brushes before you move on to the next shade.

Now grab a paper and brush and let's get it started!

1. First we start with sketching the rough figure of cabins and pine trees and mark out the details for the doors and windows of the cabins and the cabin fence. Take reference from the below image.

2. Next, we will apply desired Winsor & Newton Art Masking Fluid only to the cabins and trees. This will help us to separate the area for painting the sky later. And the paints will not mess with our cabins and trees. (This step is very important it’ll help to ensure that our colours are not messing with each other)

3. Then we will apply some clean water uniformly on the top side of the paper where we are going to paint the sky using any Princeton Neptune Series flat brush. Make sure that you apply a thin layer of water, if you see puddles that means you've applied too much of the water needed. The next layer would be using the Blue paint but we need to make sure that we use more water than the paint to maintain the transparency.

Next, we will start with swiping and dabbing the blue shade (while it is still wet) moderately in curves with any round brush as you can see in the image below.

As we move forward, we will add more blue shade and less water to give a little more opaqueness to our sky.

4. Next we add the shades of orange and red in the same process of swiping and dabbing our brush in curve stokes as we did in step 3 and then blend and try to merge it little by little with the Blue above so it gives an impression of a setting sun before our base dries out.

We can use the Bloom effect here, and to get this, we first spread a thin layer of the paint water (again make sure that you use more water and less paint) so that our pigment can spread blurring into the wet area, drop a splotch of paint in the wet area and we let it spread into its own, this method gives the bloom effect as it merges with colours on its own. As astonishing as it sounds it is more fun to watch in itself.

Make sure that you have built the depths of the colours slowly as you go with layers and layers, first with more water and then with more paint.

5. Now we take Winsor & Newton Designers white Gouache and blend it with a little bit of grey shade and brush right through the paper below where the cabin fence ends and a few strokes on the lower side of our paper to form the sheet of snow as shown. Blend the harsh edges with a clean brush to give it a softer texture.

6. Remove the masking fluid we had applied earlier to the cabins and pine trees (use a piece of clothing to slowly scrape off the fluid). And start by applying black shade to the cabins with a miniature brush, this time we will go from dark to light so our brush should have more paint and less water. Then move on to painting the pine trees, we will add pine trees near the cabins. Use dark green shade in a zig-zag motion again with a miniature brush to paint pine trees. Build on the colour slowly adding the details to it.

7. In this painting, we are depicting the scene after a snowfall so we’ll have to add the details of fallen snow using white gouache or white acrylic paint to the cabin rooftops and pine trees. Make fences around the cabin using black colour and add some white strokes to highlight the windows and doors of the cabins. Paint heaps of snow around the cabins and cabin fences by mixing a dark shade with the white gouache while emphasizing the details to get the final result.

Finally, mesmerize the art you’ve created!

I hope you guys enjoy the process of painting this beautiful Winter Landscape as I had enjoyed it when I first created it.

[onlinestationery]

 Princeton Neptune Synthetic Short Handle Round Brush is a synthetic-squirrel paintbrush that is very soft and supple - This artist paintbrush actually outperforms the natural version - Ideal for Watercolors, Gouache (Tempera), and Washes - These round paint brushes are available in multiple sizes

[onlinestationery]

Staedtler Metallic Pen is used for opaque writing and decorating on light and dark paper as well as on the card - Ideal for scrapbooking and greeting cards - Instant start and no shaking or pumping required - Can be easily wiped off from smooth surfaces like glass and mirrors using a damp cloth - Line width of approx. 1mm - 2mm - Available in 6 shades

[onlinestationery]

Anupam Watercolor Paper Pad has PH Neutral sheets - This painting pad has 100% recyclable, biodegradable, and acid-free paper - Outer cover may vary upon delivery - Available in A3, A4, and A5 size

[onlinestationery]

 Daniel Smith Watercolor Grounds can be used on almost all surfaces like metal, glass, ceramic, plastic, wood, board, etc. - It adds texture to your surface and makes any surface suitable for watercolor use - Watercolour grounds are easy to use and used for repair and rescue paintings - Available in bottles of 118ml (4oz) in 6 colors: Buff Titanium, Mars Black, Titanium White, Transparent, Iridescent Gold & Pearlescent White

[onlinestationery]

Brustro Watercolor Paper is produced with 25% cotton - It doesn't contain acid and its absence guarantees the inalterability of the paper over time - Brustro watercolor paper provides optimal absorbance and retains its nature even if scratched - Ideal for all types of fine art techniques such as wet, dry, and wet on wet - It's the most versatile paper and works wonderfully with watercolor, graphite, inks, charcoal acrylics, tempera, and gouache. Also, it is suitable for printmaking as well - Comes in A3, A4, and A5 sizes - The pack contains 300 GSM 5+1 sheets for A3 size, 9+3 sheets for A4 size, and 18+6 sheets for A5 size

[onlinestationery]

Canson Montval Watercolor Paper Pack has 100% cellulose cold-pressed paper - It works well with wet techniques such as watercolor, gouache, and acrylics - It is acid-free and without any optical additives - Size: 14.8x21cm (5.9"x8.3")

[onlinestationery]

Daler Rowney Simply Gouache has great covering power and can be easily used directly from the tubes - It can be mixed with water to make it thin - It is fast drying and has vivid pigment - Available in a pack of 24 gouche tubes each of 12ml

[onlinestationery]

Find fine art supplies & stationery materials like gouache colours, colour pencils, watercolor sheets, artist watercolor, acrylic paintbrush, best sketching pencils from a variety of brand at the most reasonable prices online in India.