Don't get discouraged

Art is a tough task to accomplish. There is so much work and effort that that come with it, dedication is a good quality to have to provide an audience with good memorable pieces. Art is not something everyone can achieve but certainly something everyone should try once. Practice is key just like its key towards accomplishing anything else. Although art is often overlooked and is viewed as a creative hobby and not actual work, it is work. We rely on art without realizing it sometimes and we don't always fully embrace it. Don't be discouraged if your first art piece doesn't come out as you planned with practice, gained experience and technique followed with imagination and creativity you may become the next Pablo Picasso of your generation.

Finishing your work

It is always a good idea to protect and preserve your art work as best as possible. Art work made from chalk as well as charcoal is the greatest example. if these are not protected properly, any dust as well as human contact will slowly start to erase or deteriorate the work. When working at home the common house hold item that is used is hairspray. Although hairspray is not the best way to go, it does work as long as dust and hands are kept away until it is fully dry. Hairspray is meant to keep things together therefor it is sticky making it easy to leave finger prints behind. It is best to purchase a can of clear coat spay paint because it can be used on practically any surface. Purchasing a can of clear coat spray paint is not a bad idea because there are some with gloss and this adds to your art.

Transferring Work

Transferring work is not an easy task, it is tedious and requires a lot of patients and consists of many steps. The first thing to do is to create a rough sketch. It must contain dark, bold lines and shapes that will be easy to trace. once the rough sketch is complete, tracing paper will be needed. The idea to tracing paper is to keep it in the exact spot during the entire tracing process, tape might be useful at this time. Once tracing is complete of the rough sketch a separate white sheet of paper will be needed. Next, place the tracing paper with the pencil tracings down on the white paper and retrace on bottom side. After this is done, place tracing paper over your final work surface such as a canvas and keep in place while retracing on original side. The purpose to this process is to provide an outline free from eraser marks and mistakes. This insures quality work and the light pencil outline that has been created will be easily covered by the lightest of paints.

The begining

Sketches are often times the beginning to every piece of art. Sketches may be a draft to the final product or it may even be the final product. Shading and lighting come with sketching. All details must be captured by a image of gray scale shadings. Small details may be shown by using less shade or by darkening the area. Sketches not only apply to painting, but are used with sculptures and even writing plays. The common form of sketching is used with live drawings for example, drawing a face or a bowl of fruit. It is the basic form of art and often times over looked but we must keep in mind everything is developed from a single sketch.

There is a purpose: Emotion

All art pieces require an idea, and several drafts before it can be seen as a final product. Creativity and imagination isn't all when it comes to art, technique and idea are essential to the process as well. If one of the essential parts is missing or lacks development, the art piece will suffer. The point to a piece of art is to demonstrate the artist's idea with the least amount of confusion to the audience. The purpose of art is to create an emotion, if emotion is not present all is lost.

Paints and Brushes

There are various types of paints that require different brushes of different sizes with different bristles. As a beginner artist it is always better to purchase multipurpose brushes while experimenting with the different paints. Once technique has been developed and a preference in paint is made its good to use specialized brushes. Oil paint is the hardest to work with when compared to acrylic paint and watercolor paint. It takes days and sometimes weeks for oil paint to dry because of its consistency, often times thinners such as turpentine, are used in order to speed the frying process as well as to create washes. It is recommended to have separate brushes for the different paints if artist decides to alternate among them in their artwork. Brushes come in different sizes and shapes because they have a different purpose. Once technique is achieved, it will be easier to select the correct brush for each detail.   

More to Art

Art work doesn't stop with just painting on a surface. There is using a wood burner to create an image on a piece of finished wood, taking photographs and using your imagination to create the best collage as well as using an airbrush gun to create other forms of images on any surface imaginable such as cakes and t-shirts. Art can be created on any surface with anything that may be at reach such as using a welder to create a cube with pictures at each side with sheet metal.

Placement

Once a subject has been chosen, we must decide on where we will portray or subject. Although must art stops at paper and pencil, that is not the limit. Art can be displayed anywhere as long as it is respectful and has a purpose. Common places where art work is displayed would be anywhere from an art gallery full of canvases and sculptures as far as a body covered in tattoos. A canvas is made of a cloth-like material bind to a wooden frame, they are a common place for paintings because the texture helps absorb the paint easily and they are affordable. Canvases may be homemade or purchased at a store and they are available in numerous sizes. If an artist decides they want to display their art on a wall, preparation must take place. Just as you would apply a base coat to the walls of your house before changing the color of the wall from red to yellow, an artist must do the same with theirs walls. Preparing a surface provides the artist with a workable area that is free from debris and rough areas and provides good quality work with the right paint.

selecting a subject

An artist must think of a subject or theme first. What will he be illustrating and how will he do so. What emotions is he trying to portray and who's attention is he trying to attract. These answers might come easy to some, but to others it is not a gift they have acquired. A subject may be anything for from an anthill to a wide range of mountains. A subject may be a person, place, or thing and even an idea. There are endless possibilities an artist is able to choose from, and they are not limited to their surroundings.

Art

Art is everywhere. There is art in photography, as well as in dance and although these are two different subjects, they are connected together by the definition of "Art" because in order to portray it, one uses creativity that comes with imagination. The way we portray our thoughts and ideas is very important. Often times, an audience won't see what the artist is trying to portray. As an Artist, we must find ways to make our art piece a clearer picture for those who choose to view it. Although the basic form of art is on paper, it is not always the simplest. An artist must put all ideas and emotions on one single motionless image. There are steps that must be taken and various things to keep in mind before an artist can place his ideas on paper.