If you are reading this you probably know him already. The artist with the soothing voice and impressive afro hairstyle that paints happy landscapes. The world’s most recognised artist on television. Loved by millions of fans for his engaging painting lessons. Yes, Bob Ross is the legend who continues to inspire artists the world over with his series The Joy of Painting. Now South African fans can paint along with Bob Ross using his official painting materials.
The humble painting knife has experienced a resurgence in popularity in the past year or two. Paintings completed with a painting knife have a wonderful texture and energy that many collectors find irresistible.
Firstly let’s get the CMYK acronym out into the open – it stands for Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black. Yes, I know ‘black’ is with a ‘B’ so why not CMYB? Well, ‘B’ is already used for ‘Blue’ in RGB, so it would be confusing. The ‘K’ apparently stands for Key (or perhaps its just the last letter of black… who knows). CMYK is the standard in the printing industry, and pretty much most of what you see these days, by way of printed media, is CMYK. Anyone who’s ever owned a colour inkjet printer is sure to recall buying ink cartridges in those four colours, with which you could print almost anything – even full-colour photographs.
The debate about whether brush quality makes a difference to your painting continues. Something along the lines of the amateur blames his tools if the work is not good enough.
This may seem self-evident, but many beginners try to avoid this learning curve. Often tube colours are used without adjusting them very much. This can lead to unfortunate colour choices in your paintings.
There is something vaguely nostalgic about painting with gouache. I could not quite explain it until I realised that I had painted with gouache before as a child. The powder paint I used to use as a child was a type of gouache and is still available today. But the name is about all that is the same when compared to the paint I am using now. They are still paints in much the same way as a Trabant and an Aston Martin are still cars. In every other respect, they are entirely different.
As an artist using acrylics, you know how versatile the medium is. The quick drying nature of acrylics. The ability to paint on many surfaces. No cracking. Vibrant colour. But acrylics have their little quirks too.
Watercolours have always intrigued me although its been a medium I have never really pursued – mostly because the first few times I tried them I failed dismally.
What’s in a name? ponders Juliet in Shakespspeare’s famous play. As it turns out quite a lot actually. For a start it would be a pity to call a rose a clivia, for example. Imagine the disappointment on Valentine’s Day. So when Dutch paint manufacturer Royal Talens came out with the Van Gogh brand of paints they had to meet certain expectations.
I have good news. It seems the number of beginner artists is increasing. This despite the digital age we live in is something of an achievement.
