Tag Archives: art

How to Create Symmetry and Balance in Paintings and Wall Murals

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There are no real rules when it comes to creating symmetry and balance in paintings. A lot of it is “your eye and gut instincts.” However there are some things that just look awkward. For instance the subject of the painting should never be dead center in the work. The subject also looks out of balance if it is squeezed into a little corner. However there are some mannerist forms of painting, such as naive art, where this type of awkward looking composition is actually desired.

There is one rule that is very important. It is called the Rule of Threes. This means that things in a painting look better grouped in threes rather than twos. This is a standard rule of Japanese painting composition but it is a well known contemporary oil painting technique as well. Basically all you have to remember is that an odd number of subjects or objects in painting look better than an even number.

There is a similar rule in contemporary painting composition known as the Rule of Thirds. This rule dictates that one third of the painting should be devoted to dark space, one third to light space and another third to grey space. However there are some experts that would disagree with and would think that you would do things like vary the negative space in a painting. Another rule is “two thirds, one third, and a little bit.” For example, two thirds dark in tone, one third light in tone, and a small area or object that’s mid-tone would be typical of the type of experimentation that would comprise a modern painting.

If you want the painting to look in proportion you should also prevent objects from barely touching. Composition wise this is known as “kissing. This creates a weak looking shape that is unattractive to the eye.

Yet another rule of composition has to do with color. Do not mix warm and cool tones in the same painting. It is jarring to the eye and looks amateurish.

An important part of getting the composition right in a painting is to do some thumbnail sketches first. Make a map of your composition so you can’t go wrong. This is a plan that helps you get what you want to do in the painting absolutely right.

How to Use Decorative Color to Create Artistic Realism

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If you are a beginner artist you might be curious as to how to use different colors so that your painting is represented accurately and realistically. Here are a few oil painting tips that can help you achieve the desired effect.

First of all you need to realize that color mixing is not an exact science. There are many different formulas and methods for applying paint. A lot of it is about what type of oil paint you use. The real keys to not over mix the colors. That is one of the first things you are taught when learning to paint as you can end up with a muddy looking result.

Yet another tip is to near ever take the painting direct from the tube. Mix it first and give it the proper tone, shade or tint by adding white, black or another color. Using as few colors as possible also helps create the appropriate effect.

The Flemish technique of painting is easy to follow. You can look it up on the internet or get a book on it. It is the classic way of oil painting. Seven layers of paint in total are applied to the canvas. However you may want to skip a few steps. Painting realism in this old fashioned way requires a time frame of seven weeks per painting. Once each layer of paint was dry the old masters used to wipe it with a layer of onion. Today we have lacquers and oils that are specially formulated to accomplish the same thing without the smell.

However many of us do not have the time to paint like the old masters. Many painters prime the canvas firs by mixing red ochre, yellow ochre light and ivory to give the canvas an olive hue. Shadows are usually created with burnt umber and lighter tones with colors like white lead, white ocher, red ocher and burnt bone.

Another key is to paint the shadows of objects with a color that is a complementary opposite. For instance, if you have a red apple tries and gives it a blue shadow.

Another trick is to try and keep the color temperature in your painting all warm or all cool. This helps produce a more pleasing effect in general. The old Masters also tended to have

Protecting this type of painting is also very important. The old Masters were experts at doing this. Many primed the canvas with linseed oil and then varnished it with lavender oil. This prevented the dimming of the colors or cracking in the varnish so the paintings would then last hundreds of years.