I decided to get a three-year license of Photoshop Elements. (Like they can’t even sell anything outright anymore? What’s up with that?!?) I’m toying the idea of downgrading from my subscription to Photoshop, because for editing photos of my paintings, maybe it’s overkill. I still haven’t decided, but so far, if I go in to the “Advanced” panel in Elements, it isn’t bad. Much better than I expected. And some of the time-honored keyboard shortcuts are still there!
“Alain in Limited Palette” 6×6″ oil on canvas panel. The limited palette consisted of White, Ultramarine Blue, and Burnt Sienna.
I adjusted this photo of Alain on my easel (shot at an angle to avoid glare) and was able to effectively re-square it and edit it moderately in Photoshop Elements. I still prefer the full Photoshop, but since my needs are rather basic, perhaps Elements will be sufficient!
The “small fix” referred to in the title was a few tweaks of the painting itself. I am a follower of Adam Clague’s Patreon, and he has these fabulous critiques every month over Zoom. He gave me a few tips on how to improve this painting. I did them and this is the result.
This is my latest painting, probably not my finest piece, but I had fun! Tons of fun! I used more deliberately loose impressionistic brushwork in this one and enjoyed the process immensely. I post it here because I just finished it last night. However, I have another thing I want to talk about…
QUICK AND CHEAP INTRO TO OIL PAINTING
In my last post, I touched upon AI, and also the scandal surrounding a person entering the Art Renewal Center’s contest and winning a purchase award. Problems emerged when it was discovered the artist didn’t paint the image at all, but used AI. The award was rescinded, it was very embarrassing for Art Renewal Center, but in the end, it turned out okay. Welcome to the New Normal. Every artist now has to work extra hard to prove that they did their own work!
Watching all of this drama unfold reminded me that artists who paint with physical paints (in oils, watercolors, acrylics) have an advantage, because AI is a digital-only platform. AI doesn’t encroach into our realm, unless someone is trying to pull a fast one (the way the person in the Art Renewal Center scandal did).
My blog reaches artists who already work in traditional media, but if you happen to be a digital artist who is interested in doing more oil (or acrylic) painting, I’ve got you. It’s not that hard, not that expensive, and you can get started right away.
Choose Limited Palettes to Start (No Need to Buy Lots of Paint Colors Right Away!)
“Minus” 6×6″ oil on canvas board. Limited palette of White, Burnt Umber, Ultramarine Blue, and a little bit of Yellow Ochre.
“Mercy,” 4×4″ oil on Gessobord. A limited palette of White, Alizarin Crimson Permanent, and Sap Green.
These are two examples of limited palettes, using white and maybe two or three other tubes of color. Pigments like Ivory black and iron-based colors (Burnt Sienna, Terra Rosa) are particularly affordable and are quite flexible and work well in limited palettes.
The classic starter palette (and very popular!) is the Zorn Palette. I love this palette and use it all the time.
For a digital-only artist who is not used to color mixing, a limited palette is ideal. You learn to adapt to your palette limitations because you don’t have every tube of pre-mixed color available to you. Often you aren’t going to get an exact match of the color you want with a limited palette, and there’s nothing wrong with that! It’s about color harmony, temperature, and values. If you get those right with a limited palette, you’re well on your way. Many ateliers and painting classes start their students out with a limited palette, and for good reason.
Don’t go too cheap, but don’t go too fancy when buying materials.
I have some long posts about paint brands (which I intend to update, since it’s been ten years since I wrote them), but here’s the gist of it. PLEASE don’t get super cheap colors from Amazon, Hobby Lobby, Walmart, etc., in the form of a set or a kit. These colors often fade too quickly, have the lowest-quality materials, and are hard to work with.
For “cheap” (but respectable) student oil paints, I recommend Gamblin 1980 and Maimeri Classico brand paints. (House brands like Utrecht Studio and Blick Studio are fine, as well as Lukas.) Also, Plaza Art has a house brand that is quite nice. Please get a higher-end white. I like Maimeri Classico’s Titanium White, but also Winsor & Newton Artists Titanium White (NOT Winton) will do well.
If you’re painting in acrylics, Liquitex Basics is good, but please get a better quality white, either Liquitex Artist Titanium White, Golden Titanium White, Utrecht Artist or Winsor & Newton Artist Titanium White. Student grade whites for acrylics are misery. Misery. I have tried and tried and I just cannot. (I intend to write at length about acrylics some day!)
For painting surfaces, you can buy watercolor paper, coat it with a layer or two of Golden GAC 100 Acrylic Medium, then a coat or two of acrylic Gesso, wait a day or two for everything to dry, and you’re good to go. This will work for both oils and acrylics.
There’s a lot more I’d like to say about getting into traditional painting! But this is enough for now. Happy painting!
Art Renewal Center is currently embroiled in a bit of a scandal. They gave an award to an obviously generated AI image. See the video above for further history on this. I’m very saddened. Saddened in every way.
I guess now is as good a time as any to state that I don’t use AI, not as reference, not in any way when working on my art. I do use Photoshop to process photos I take of my paintings and also to prepare references to paint from. Photoshop does have some AI features that I’m not completely aware of, and don’t really use (to my knowledge).
All I can say is I either paint from life, from photos I’ve taken, from stock photos (like posespace), royalty-free photos, or photos I have been given permission to use. Oh, and I occasionally paint some “fan art”, which requires the use of a screenshot as reference.
I don’t hide the fact that I sometimes use stock and royalty-free photos (like the ones available at RawUmberStudios) because the photographer got paid, permission is given, it’s all good. There’s a lot to learn from these photo resources, and I am very grateful for them.
Lately I’ve been taking photos of many cats of my acquaintance, as painting reference. Here are two paintings of my kitties or kitties of friends:
“Gizmo” 8×8″ oil on linen panel.
Gizmo is a sweet but mischievous cat. He and his companions are staying here while their cat dad gets his bearings. I loved this pose of Gizmo, looking out the window with the cool light on his face and fur. Gizmo just won a “Judge’s Choice” nod from the January 2025 “Daily Paintworks” contest, for which I am very grateful!
“Her Name is Blot” 8×8″ oil on linen panel.
I have a special affinity for this painting, and for this cat. Blot is a very sweet kitty, but not as objectively “pretty” as her sister, the Biter of Hands. However, Blot is a affectionate, loving kitty who just so happens can give these malevolent glares that in no way reflect her true character. I enjoyed painting her glare in this piece!
I’ve got more paintings in the works, and more things to yammer on about… hopefully will make more updates soon!
