Warm Art Diary

As the Louvre Curator Jean-Pierre Cuzin once said, "The entire history of portraiture afterwards depends on the Mona Lisa. If you look at all the other portraits - not only of the Italian Renaissance, but also of the 17th-19th century - if you look at Picasso, at everyone you want to name, all of them were inspired by this painting. Thus, it is sort of the root, almost, of occidental portrait painting."  Leonardo perfected the technique known as sfumato , which translates from Italian meaning "vanished or evaporated", in a break with the Florentine tradition of outlining the painted image. He created imperceptible transitions between light and shade, and sometimes between colors, he tended to blend everything without any true borders- like smoke, with subtle, practically invisible, brush strokes. The veil, Mona Lisa's hair, the glowing skin -  all are created with layers of transparent color, none more than a few molecules thick, giving the painting an almost ma...

This versatile and vibrant media gives artists the opportunity to work with a wide range to colors and textures. Being opaque and quick dry, they also allow room for any mistakes you might make, you can simply paint over them. Keep reading for everything you need to know about about working with this medium.  How to mix the paints:  Mixing paints is a precise process. It's important to know your color wheel so that you can get very specific colors while working without going down the hit-and-try  rabbit-hole. Using a palette knife or a plastic knife is recommended but even an extra brush works.(Remember to not use your watercolor or oil paint brushes for acrylics. Acrylic brushes are typically synthetic.) mix thoroughly and keep in mind that some paints dry a slight shade darker.     How to stop them from drying out:  Acrylics dry quickly which, while a blessing sometimes, can be too quickly hence, not giving you enough time to blend your colors properly. O...

 Vincent van Gogh, often famed for his bold and dramatic brush strokes which expressed emotion and added a feeling of movement to his works, focused largely on oil based-post impressionist, paintings. He was a unique artist who worked with a sense of urgency and in the 70 days leading up to his death, he averaged one painting per day. Largely self-taught, van Gogh started his career copying prints and reading 19th century drawing manuals and books. His technique came from the belief that to be a great painter you had to master drawing first. It was only when he was satisfied with his drawing techniques that he started adding in colors and this bold palette became one of the most recognizable features of his later work.  In his early career, van Gogh painted with dark and melancholy colors, however, his styles changed immensely when he moved to Paris in 1886. He began using a lighter palette of reds, yellows, oranges, greens and blues, and experimented with the broken brush str...