Learn the Basics of Painting

Beginning to paint can seem like a daunting challenge, but learning some fundamental art principles like color theory, compositional structures and brushstroke techniques will help you paint better and find your artistic voice.

Before applying paint to paper, it’s advisable to create an underdrawing of your composition – this allows for more accurate measurement and modification as you revise and refine it.best painters brisbane
Color

Color is an integral element of painting, used to evoke depth or intensity and express emotions. Additionally, colors can convey specific messages or themes.

The chromatic color wheel is one of the most frequently employed tools for understanding color relationships. It displays primary hues evenly dispersed around a circle and secondary and tertiary hues adjacent to them; complementary hues occupy opposite spots on this wheel to make their counterpart appear even brighter.

Use of complementary colors can create either a soothing (blue and green) or stimulating (red and yellow) effect in paintings, depending on their luminosity or darkness and purity (chroma). Both elements have the power to influence how people interpret a painting’s colors.

Tone is an integral element of painting, as it refers to the lightness or darkness of a color. Human eyes tend to prefer light against darker objects, so artists can use tone to emphasize brightness in their paintings.
Composition

Composition should always be one of your primary considerations when creating paintings, even though it might not immediately come to mind when thinking of composition as the central theme. Composition involves organizing visual elements of a painting in ways which are pleasing to the eye and create visually interesting paintings.

Composition in painting can be achieved using various strategies such as balance, proportion, emphasis, line texture and pattern to add visual interest and create the overall impact of your artwork. Each of these factors contribute to creating the effect that you wish for with your piece.

Focus is of primary importance when creating any painting composition; from its dominant color or shape or size of an object, to the subject that draws viewers into your painting. This element acts as the driving force that draws their eyes across the canvas and draws in viewers into your artwork.

Balance, asymmetry, proportion and harmony are other essential aspects of composition. Asymmetry adds visual interest while proportion refers to how elements in your painting relate – such as large versus small objects, straight versus curved lines and cool to warm colors – in relationship to one another.
Brushwork

Brushstrokes are one of the most striking elements in any painting, from Van Gogh and Munch’s signature curved strokes, Monet’s impressionistic touches or Rembrandt’s dramatic accents. A powerful stroke can convey movement or convey mood – think about his signature twisted strokes!

Size and direction of brushstrokes is crucial. A thick stroke may stand out more than a thin one; try varying thickness for an interesting effect. Brush shape also matters: select one with fine tips for detail work while using larger, rounded brushes to block in forms.

Scumbling is another technique, in which paint is applied using a dry brush over previously applied wet colors, to lighten or soften an area and create glowing skin tones.
Value

Value is one of the cornerstones of painting, serving as its central organizing principle. This term refers to how much darkness or lightness there is within any color hue.

Value creates depth and allows a painting to be read from a distance, so its level can either be high key or low key depending on its balance between light and dark values.

Establishing an effective value range will allow you to see the proportions of your subjects correctly. To check how your paintings compare against this scale of values, try converting them to monochrome mode and comparing with a black and white photo or the value scale.

Practice your values by creating a pile of dark gray paint on your palette and mixing in middle gray hues until you can accurately compare their values with each of your colors – this will enable more realistic paintings.