Abstract Cow Painting Techniques - Time To Loosen Up

If the design is off nothing else matters!

In this lesson you will learn more about how to design a good cow painting.

Many artists underestimate design but I can tell you from experience that's a huge mistake. Like many others I've spent hours and hours on a painting never understanding why I couldn't get it to work. The answer was design.

It's a costly mistake so we are going to eliminate this common problem by taking some time to properly place out shapes and subject within the frame.

What is a frame?

In this case I'm referring to the four edges of the surface (also called the picture frame). These are the most important lines in your art so be sure to pay respect to them with every painting you do.

Your subject should fit within the frame in a way that it's interesting and inviting for the viewer.

Common issues to avoid

1. Not using more than one edge will make the subject less engaging. That's because the space around it becomes more dominant and can sometime distract the viewer.

2. Equality within the positive and negative spaces. This happens when the background, or negative space, is equally sized to the subject, or positive space. Always make one more dominant than the other.

3. Tangents are a common issue for many artists. And I'm sure someone in this class will be guilty of it even though I'm mentioning it in this section. Always consider how your edges relate and mingle with the four main edges. The edges of your subject need to be clearly cropped, or have a proper amount of space near the sides of the picture plane.

See Attached Demo images

Do you know the difference between fast and slow lines?

Here's a fantastic method on how to create more dynamic designs with one easy to apply tip. It's so easy that you will probably ignore the opportunity to take some time and try it for yourself. But I encourage you to not make that mistake. Instead be an active student and apply these methods using images of your own.

What you need to know

Do you understand the difference between slow and fast moving lines? These are the two basic lines that can be used to create shapes. Below is a quick description of each one along with a few examples.

Slow moving linesare soft and tend to read weaker than fast lines. An example could be a snake and how the body curves when moving. Take a few minutes to study the demo image below. You should see how slow lines work and mingle with the four edges of the picture plane.

Fast lines tendto read more dynamically because they are impacted by the four edges. Each angle of the subject has an automatic relationship with each edge whether you are consciously looking at it, or not. They're considered fast because they move quickly from one direction to the next. If you want the eye to move faster you can increase the angle. An example could be a steep mountain top. How it peaks and then moves downward in a faster direction. 

Your Assignment

Learning requires two parts. 

1. Intellectual knowledge will only take you so far but it's usually the first step. 

2. Physical knowledge can only happen when you try these methods on your own. There are no shortcuts. The smart artists, and learners, know this and embrace opportunities to try new ideas. Lazy artists just think they're exempt from doing something that seems so easy. Don't let an easy challenge fool you.

Get To Work

• Check out Google for cow images. Select a few that appeal to you.

• Now create several quick drawings that employ angles.

• Be sure to convert all curves into a series of lines.

• Don't worry with shading the drawing.

• Just focus on the edges and contour shape.

This is probably the most important step and the most often overlooked. I find artists are either simply too lazy to do this, or only focused on the end product. But to paint expressively you have to develop a sensitive connection to the subject and it's key features.
Here are some key points about this stage. Be sure to read over these and plant them in your mind next time you want to paint loosely.

• This is not a composition sketch

• Only focusing on details & shapes (see examples below)

• Try to spot & address potential problems

• Make creative & artistic connection

• Try to add energy to the drawing - some emotion as to how the shape makes me feel as opposed to drawing exactly what I see

• If you experiment with details and what interested you about a subject it will develop over time - you will discover what you want to include and what you can leave out

See Attached Charcoal Examples

Very similar to step one but this time with color using acrylics. Color presents potential problems and changes everything since now we are dealing with value, tone, shapes, brushwork and so on.
Here are some key points to keep in mind when doodling with acrylics.

• Look at the palette for inspiration - not the image. Choose arbitrary colors that excite you

• At this stage it’s important to explore with color and brushwork

• This is where you discover the unpredictable side of art thus finding your freedom

• Load up the brush with plenty of paint - don’t be stingy

• It’s important to under-paint the sketches, don't create finished art

• It’s nice to have these sketches for reference later on, hang them up in your studio

• Sketching can expand your creativity is ways you never knew existed. This is where artists are born - don’t underestimate this exercise.

See Attached Acrylic Sketching Examples

It's time explore mark making with crayons. This will seem like an easy lesson but make no mistake, it's challenging to apply crayon marks to a painting successfully.

Before you start adding marks to a finished piece it's important to explore some of the application methods. In this demo we will look at several ideas that will improve your ability to use crayons effectively and avoid some common mistakes.

Mark Intensity- When you apply crayon to a surface it's done so with a certain amount of pressure. When you apply it with light pressure the mark reads very weak. If you increase the pressure the mark becomes more prominent.

Contrast- When apply marks to the surface you need to consider contrast. Choosing the right hue will determine whether or not you want the mark to stand out, or have a subtle appearance.

Setting The Table- When planning to use crayon in the finished art you can always consider setting the table. This means applying a specific hue of acrylic paint (or any medium) that will help you achieve a desired mark with crayon.

Careful With Canvas- Stretched canvas can present problems when drawing into your work. As mentioned previously I recommend using a good amount of pressure into the surface to achieve intense marks. With stretched canvas it's easy to puncture when applying in this manner.

If you prefer stretched canvas you should build a support that will fill the empty space behind the surface. I gave you a few ideas on how to do this and highly recommend you do it to prevent ruining potential art.

See Attached Demo Image