SCRATCHING (and not the itch)

All; my humblest thanks for your insights and help on this matter, thank you!. :thumbsup::)

@Malky your sentence here.... "if I spend some time preparing a board as you've just done I go through a phase for days and days where I don't want to put paint on it in case I make it dirty and it's no longer that beautiful board I spent ages preparing, your worried about wasting time and paint but you should instead just think about having fun" is probably not too far from the truth with me either. I look at the outline on the substrate I have draw,
and just sit looking at it and the reference, and have no idea what to do next. :confused: I also think it's because it is an alien type of substrate and painting
style to me at this point, and obviously one of which I am not sure about how to tackle.

And @Ronald art ; thanks for posting pics of your 'coo' in progress. I think I have a better idea of what I need to do now from that.
Also will take Malky's advice and look for the other similar SBS's to enforce what I need to do.

I have no picture cut-outs of this cow, I traced outline from small photo on tracing paper then put that straight onto the clayboard.
I was thinking of just free handing everything, but I think masking off the cow area would be a sensible move. By the way, I am only
doing the main cow not adding the one in the background.

Thanks all once again.
 
All; my humblest thanks for your insights and help on this matter, thank you!. :thumbsup::)

@Malky your sentence here.... "if I spend some time preparing a board as you've just done I go through a phase for days and days where I don't want to put paint on it in case I make it dirty and it's no longer that beautiful board I spent ages preparing, your worried about wasting time and paint but you should instead just think about having fun" is probably not too far from the truth with me either. I look at the outline on the substrate I have draw,
and just sit looking at it and the reference, and have no idea what to do next. :confused: I also think it's because it is an alien type of substrate and painting
style to me at this point, and obviously one of which I am not sure about how to tackle.

And @Ronald art ; thanks for posting pics of your 'coo' in progress. I think I have a better idea of what I need to do now from that.
Also will take Malky's advice and look for the other similar SBS's to enforce what I need to do.

I have no picture cut-outs of this cow, I traced outline from small photo on tracing paper then put that straight onto the clayboard.
I was thinking of just free handing everything, but I think masking off the cow area would be a sensible move. By the way, I am only
doing the main cow not adding the one in the background.

Thanks all once again.

I would assume that you've cropped the picture so that you have more of the cow and less of the background? Which to be honest is what I would do, I generally don't care about the background and other just throw on some colour in random shapes or just leave it white, I don't have the staying power to invest time on complicated backgrounds and usually the main subject is my biggest concern.

Remember on clayboard mistakes are easy to sand out and start over which means you can actually be less afraid to go at it than you might be on canvas or paper.

I don't know if this will be of any use to you but based on you doing only the main cow, my approach to this would be as follows;

I normally print out 3 copies of whatever I paint, I also print them the same size as I want paint the subject, one copy I will use for the trace, one copy is my reference and one copy I use to cut up.

If I was doing this cow I would cut around the outline of the cow to use that as my mask if I was doing the background, but I would also cut out all the dark areas between the fur and cut some important landmark shapes to help with accuracy in judging the length and direction of the fur/hair and other features, the more intricate the cut out is the more accurate geography will be, when the cut out is complete I can use this to spray a light mist through, generally a light mist that's just barely visible but really dark areas can be as dark as you like at this stage, this is done after the trace, before I forget, I usually put reference marks on all copies so that they can be placed onto the work precisely if needed, I normally leave the trace copy on the job so that I can flip it on and off to check for accuracy althoufh i would normally only do that for human subjects since accuracy is more important in that case.

After all of the above everything else I do free hand just layering and erasing where needed as already discussed.

Since you are only doing the main cow this will be even easier, just go for it mate, get some paint on, you'll be glad you did:)
 
Cheers for the gee-up!

Because it's a new type substrate and paint method I think I have lost a little confidence, and particularly as I look at other peoples work in their galleries, and keep thinking I should measure myself to the same very high standards :depressed:. But in the back of my mind I 'know' the majority have had years of practice, top flight lessons etc etc, and I have only been at this since early this year (a perfect example of wanting to run before one can walk I guess) :whistling:.

As Master Po would say.... "More patience and practice Grasshopper":D
 
Cheers for the gee-up!

Because it's a new type substrate and paint method I think I have lost a little confidence, and particularly as I look at other peoples work in their galleries, and keep thinking I should measure myself to the same very high standards :depressed:. But in the back of my mind I 'know' the majority have had years of practice, top flight lessons etc etc, and I have only been at this since early this year (a perfect example of wanting to run before one can walk I guess) :whistling:.

As Master Po would say.... "More patience and practice Grasshopper":D

stop overthinking it and just do it !!
I say that as someone who always overthinks things before doing anything. Its not that i'm a procrastinator, just that I like to consider all possible 'problems' and paint the painting in my mind before commiting to it. In the end it turns out I wasted all that time thinking because when it came to the crunch it doesnt make a difference because I change my approach/technique as I go !

I know it can be daunting looking through the galleries, I think we all did that when we started and had a big 'I'm so out of my depth' moment but rest assured, If you are determined, willing to practise and listen to suggestions you'll be amazing yourself with what can be achieved.

Yes some have had lessons from the Airbrush Gods, most have not. Most of us just stumble along and listen, watch and learn from others here. Yes some, like me, have been painting for years but the length of time is irrelevant. I only manage to paint maybe 4 times a year when "Paint Pal" happens. Others like MusicMacD make a date with the easel everynight and that practise certainly pays off. (and yes I know he's attended Dru courses but he was always commited to his easel before them)

Ron & Malky have got you heading in the right direction on how to tackle your 'Coo' so I wont offer any advise because those two are so high above my talent level I can only see the soles of their shoes lol

Jump on in, you'll be fine :)
 
@JackEb , :) thanks for your push. You also hit the nail on the head with your comment... "I'm so out of my depth".
That is what I feel when I look at pictures to paint, choose one that pushes me further, then think Ohhhh :poo:, I can't
do this one....

But as you are all singing from the same hymn book..... 'Just do it, and lay the paint down', I think its time I shut up
and got on with it now :whistling: :thumbsup::thumbsup:.
 
if the picture as a whole overwhelms then do a smaller section of it. . . . . get a large piece of paper with a square window cut into it of around 4" x 4" if its a larger picture.
put that over the reference and just concerntrate on what you can see through the window and paint that. Its good practise for your 'proper' piece and will tell your brain you can do it :)

All pictures are created the same way, daggers and blends, maybe some scratching or erasing, but its all in how you arrange them that makes the difference lol
 
Well, I started this small practice piece and erm..... not going well me thinks :confused::whistling:
Some colours (Trans Sienna, Trans Emerald Green) are total so and so's, that won't erase!!!!

I have tried hard rubbers, soft rubbers, blades and tooth picks, nada, diddly, ain't shifting.

Sooooo tried curved blade with a little harder pressure...... hmmmmm OK some comes off,
but erm.... confused.:confused:. Some paint did come off well, but only when I was extremely quick in picking up the blade
and scraping, otherwise nope, not playing today.

I have ended up scratching down to reveal the clay again, and in places it has gone a bit further than that :laugh: as you
can see on the cows head.

Also, noted that on a few patches of the board, when the paint landed, it did not lay properly, but kind of pooled and looked
like a smear or a fingerprint kind of mess
. Not sure what is happening there, but could it be from skin oils when I had been
handling the board? Or is it because I have my mixture too hard? I say hard, because I can literally scrape the blade across
the surface and not a mark is made in the clay, I can scrape my nail across also and nothing.

Is the clay surface meant to be like chalk? I used Fred G's recipe but halved the measure from his video as was not doing
the same size board (1 Glue, 2 Kaolin, 1 Titanium Dioxide, water to flavoure :) )

OR.... is Com-Art only erasable on certain substrates? By the way, the Blue/Black mix for the sky erased real easy with a rubber.
The cow is a mix of Trans Orange and Opaque Raw Sienna (1:1) and 8 thinners.

Scot-Cow-Practice.JPG
The smudge marks or whatever are immediately above middle of head and just below tip of right horn.
I have had to resort to trying to paint the hairs in, so this is a lot harder learning than I expected it to be...

But, it's still learning, and probably a good way to do so.
 
it is possibly the clay absorbing the paint and if that happens erasing will be much harder if not impossible I used to work with gessoed boards and I know that substrate doesnt feel or act like chalk and a good clay board should be about the same as gessoed board but smoother
 
Ronald, thanks for help and pointers. So, it could be the opposite of what I was thinking, in that the surface is 'not' hard enough?
So on 'shop bought' clay board, the paint would 'sit' on top of the clay and not absorb into it or is this thinking wrong?

If the paint has to sit on the surface, then I can alter my mixture that I took from Fred W ( not Fred G - that's my brain being a daft numpty),
and add more glue to the mix.

Never heard of clay board for painting on before I joined this group, so a lot of the substrates mentioned were alien to me.
But I do understand that you can paint on just about anything in reality.

I also have 3 stretched canvases (cheapo's from 'The Works",) that are double Gesso primed, but I am gonna buy a pot of Gesso and put
a couple more layers onto one of these to see if that makes the surface better to paint on (smoother). Just got to think on how I can
support the canvas underneath (within the frame square), so it does not sag while I add a few extra layers.
 
Ronald, thanks for help and pointers. So, it could be the opposite of what I was thinking, in that the surface is 'not' hard enough?
So on 'shop bought' clay board, the paint would 'sit' on top of the clay and not absorb into it or is this thinking wrong?

If the paint has to sit on the surface, then I can alter my mixture that I took from Fred W ( not Fred G - that's my brain being a daft numpty),
and add more glue to the mix.

Never heard of clay board for painting on before I joined this group, so a lot of the substrates mentioned were alien to me.
But I do understand that you can paint on just about anything in reality.

I also have 3 stretched canvases (cheapo's from 'The Works",) that are double Gesso primed, but I am gonna buy a pot of Gesso and put
a couple more layers onto one of these to see if that makes the surface better to paint on (smoother). Just got to think on how I can
support the canvas underneath (within the frame square), so it does not sag while I add a few extra layers.

I did my last paint pal on shop bought clayboard which I had also used for the first time, I didn't really like it, it was too easy to scratch and erase, i rhink yiu do need more gkue in the mix but it might be worth your while trying a piece of shop bought gesso board, that's preferred substrate, it's still a bit expensive but cheaper than ckayboard, if you like it you can make your own after that, yiu just swap out the kaolin clay for marble dust and mix the same way.

As far as yiur cow goes, it would have been more productive to try to free hand your hair strands and manipulate with minimal erasing/scratching, rather thsn blocking in and relying too much on erasing and such, the more you lay on the more you need to try to pull which makes it harder than it needs to be, it's also possible you've covered too big an area before erasing.
 
Ronald, thanks again and I like those T-shirts and the colour is great, cool work. And I see what you mean, I think I am gonna
finish it and just paint the hair in (done some already), although I will still try on the odd bit to erase, but I seriously doubt it is going to work here.

Once this small piece is done, I think I am gonna sand back a layer or so off the actual working piece (4 times bigger) and
re-lay another few layers back with the modified Glue mix. I also have another smaller piece same size as this one, so will do
the same to that too and see if anything improves.

(I still have an A3 sheet of Foam board to use which I bought for 3 quid from an Art Shop, and has a white dull-ish shiny side. I
wonder if that will scratch better?).

I thought that Clay Board (any make) was supposed to be really soft, ie: a very light touch (just above a feather touch), with any
implement would scratch and dig into the surface. Obviously I am incorrect on this.
I guess the only way I can really understand and learn is to actually buy some and paint on it to see how it 'should' work,
or at least work using Com-Art paints.

As for Gesso board, I have painted on that a couple of times already. But these only had 2 coats on, infact, my 'Courtyard' painting
was done on that. So, as well as covering the stretched canvas with a couple of coat's of Gesso, I will also do the board to get
a much smoother surface and see how that goes.

Again, Ronald, thanks for your help and above all, patience. :thumbsup:
 
Back
Top