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My Painting Process from Beginning to End

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My Painting Process from Beginning to End

In this video I’m creating a big red painting from beginning to end. I’m often asked how long it takes to create a painting. Well this video will give you an insight into my process. My paintings are created by going on a journey: playing, experimenting with media, and looking for direction in design by what excites me.

👉Take note of how I alternate between using acrylic paint and dry media: pencils, pastels and oil sticks.

👉Look at how I integrate collage at the beginning of the painting to provide surface interest.

👉Watch me use templates to create unique and interesting shapes.

👉Listen as I explain how I know I’m finished at the end of the video.

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The Best Way to Get Looser with Paint - Without Losing Control

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The Best Way to Get Looser with Paint - Without Losing Control

As we get more confident as artists we often want to paint with more freedom and become more loose with media. Our abstract painting can seem a little tight and contrived to begin with. So how do we let loose with the media but still maintain control with our work to achieve great results? It all comes down to how we use the tools: paint brushes, colour shapers, pencils, pens and dry media. We want the media to flow and make marks that are free and loose, we don’t want to impose too much control when using wet media: paint, acrylic ink etc. And when we use dry media we control the types of line and marks by how we hold the pencil, pastel or pen. In this video I demonstrate how to hold brushes, colour shapers, and dry media to allow the media to flow loosely while also maintaining enough control to get the painting results you want.

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Your Guide When Mixing Colour in Abstract Painting

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Your Guide When Mixing Colour in Abstract Painting

In this video I demonstrate how to use your first colour choice to guide your second colour choice…. until you have a beautiful harmonious colour palette to create an abstract painting. This is simply knowing the right question to ask about the colour you have already mixed when faced with the conundrum about what colour to mix next! Watch the video and then get colour-mixing!!

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Exploring Ideas from Collage with Acrylic Paint

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Exploring Ideas from Collage with Acrylic Paint

In this video I take ideas from a collage and develope them with acrylic paint. Integrating line, texture, shape and using a limited colour range I demonstrate how to create a composition different from the original collage yet still maintaining some similarities through the elements used. This is an exercise in restraint as it forces the artist to focus on just a few elements to integrate with new media. Watch the video and then have a go working from a collage or another painting done earlier in the same way. 1. Identify the elements you want to focus on, and then 2. with different media create a new composition using these elements again but this time in a new way.

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The right mindset and the first moves to ensure success

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The right mindset and the first moves to ensure success

Starting a painting can be daunting - that blank canvas is like an empty stage waiting for brilliance to arrive! This can be a huge hurdle to overcome when expectations are high. So in this video I’ll share with you how to adopt the right mindset to allow yourself to freely create your best work, and what are some of the first steps you could take on that blank canvas to lead to success. Watch and then let yourself loose on your next painting journey!

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How to use the COLOUR SHAPER

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One of my favourite tools is the Colour Shaper. In this video I show you how I use it to build beautiful layers of transparent and opaque layers into your painting surface. It's great for creating sharp edges along with gorgeous 'accidental' marks and depth into an abstract painting. Once you know how, this will become one of your favourite tools too. It's easy... watch and see.

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Using Drawing & Masking To Create An Abstract Painting

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Using Drawing & Masking To Create An Abstract Painting

Combining plant forms or representational elements in an abstract painting requires a balancing act where one element doesn’t dominate the composition.

In this demonstration, I’ll show you an effective technique to combine botanical forms with a beautiful abstract paint surface. You’ll see how to integrate various elements and combinations of marks and forms to create a successful strong abstract painting.

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1 Hour Art: Creating Layers Of Mixed Media

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1 Hour Art: Creating Layers Of Mixed Media

I've recorded this video to show you my process for painting and making a finished piece in my sketchbook. I create my work, big or small by building in layers, and in this demonstration you will see the full process reduced down to creating an artwork in less than an hour. Don’t forget to download my Markmaking & Painting Promptsheet to bring over 50+ ideas into your studio.

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How to Use Thick and Thin Paint to Create a Stunning Painting Surface

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How to Use Thick and Thin Paint to Create a Stunning Painting Surface

I like to build a beautiful surface on my paintings, and in this video I focus on contrasting thick and thin paint to build a luscious painterly surface. I’ll show you how I do this on 4 paintings I’m currently working on so that you can see my painting process at work. Join me in my studio!

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How to Add Beautiful Textured Surface to Collage

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How to Add Beautiful Textured Surface to Collage

In the early stages of a painting I focus on building a beautiful surface with lots of texture, markmaking and a variety of paint effects. In this video I demonstrate how to do this using only black and white paint over the top of a collage base.

Following this process offers so many opportunities and directions and ensures your work will be rich with surprises for the viewer.

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Let's Practice Design Fundamentals With Black And White Shapes

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Let's Practice Design Fundamentals With Black And White Shapes

Artists often feel like they have to find `The Idea' for a painting before they paint. This video shows how studying design (the fundamental principles of design that apply across all mediums) can help you generate many ideas, starting with an old calendar. I’ll show you how to find great design, what to look for and then how to look for more design ideas within the work you’ve created.

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2 Different Methods of Using Collage in Abstract Painting

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2 Different Methods of Using Collage in Abstract Painting

In this video, I demonstrate 2 methods of using Collage in the early stages of an abstract painting. And then how to develop an integrated composition full of surface interest, gorgeous shapes, and a variety of lines. This is all done in my sketchbook and gives you ideas for a quick and effective painting exercise to try yourself.

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The BEST 6 TIPS on How To Get Started with Abstract Art

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The BEST 6 TIPS on How To Get Started with Abstract Art

If you’re wanting to move into creating Abstract Art there is lots of advice out there. I’ve discovered that asking Google HOW TO CREATE ABSTRACT ART resulted in bad advice. In this video, I go through why Google has it wrong and what my BEST 6 TIPS are.

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Knowing THE STAGES OF A PAINTING gives you a roadmap so you won’t get stuck

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Knowing THE STAGES OF A PAINTING gives you a roadmap so you won’t get stuck

When people get stuck in their work it's usually because they are trying to do something when they're not ready or asking the wrong questions at the wrong time in the development of the work.

Once they know at what stage they're at with the work and what they should be focusing on then they know what questions to ask.

For example, if you're at the beginning stage of a painting you don't start analysing whether you've got the colours right, or whether the design is strong. Those are questions for later.

In this week's Vlog I demonstrate what to focus on at the various stages of developing a painting.

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Abstract Art Painting Demo with Stencils and Adhesive Frisket Shapes

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Abstract Art Painting Demo with Stencils and Adhesive Frisket Shapes

To ensure my finished paintings have a luscious surface full of surprising paint effects I have found that working in multiples and laying down a foundation of experimenting with different materials and techniques delivers the effects I want in the finished painting.

In this video I demonstrate these techniques as I begin to create 10 abstract paintings at one time. By working in multiples and using glazes and solid paint effects I am able to create a series of work that are unique, all different and yet share the same language.

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How to Create a Painting By Playing with Acrylic Paint and Dry Media

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How to Create a Painting By Playing with Acrylic Paint and Dry Media

The best way to find ideas for paintings is through play. Playing with materials and discovering new effects and then responding to what you see developing in front of you is my painting process. Watch this video as I demonstrate this intuitive process of finding a painting through play. See how long it takes before an idea starts to emerge and I find my direction, and then watch as I fine-tune the painting to finish it.

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Why You Should Have a Sketchbook Practice

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Why You Should Have a Sketchbook Practice

Sketchbooks, for me, are about recording my own growth as an artist. Trying out new mediums, having fun and exploring, and just seeing what happens when I play and paint.

In this video I take you inside my sketchbook, talk about why it’s an invaluable part of my creative practice, and share what type of book I use and some tips for keeping pages unstuck, so that it can become a treasured account of your life and development as an artist.

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Producing A Group of Paintings Together Makes The BEST Artwork

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Producing A Group of Paintings Together Makes The BEST Artwork

If I could tell you the ONE thing that improved my work the most - this is it. Working on a group of paintings together improves results because what you learn in one painting can be directly applied to others. In this video, I show you how I do this by using 5 paintings in mid-process to demonstrate how ideas can be applied to multiple works and how my paintings took big leaps forward as a result.

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EXPRESSIVE PAINTING - How To Love The Accident and Still Maintain Control

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EXPRESSIVE PAINTING - How To Love The Accident and Still Maintain Control

The accidental marks and effects with paint can often be the most expressive. In this video I share with you how to allow the accidental to happen while still maintaining control of the media so that your work can have more energy, be more expressive and be rich in abstract detail.

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How To Start By Playing With Paint and End With A Finished Painting You Love

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How To Start By Playing With Paint and End With A Finished Painting You Love

It’s exciting to start a painting but do you have trouble finishing it? In this video I show you how to start by just playing with media and then a great tip to quickly add interest and intriguing, surprising elements into your work. Then I take you through how to clarify your composition and create a strong finished artwork.