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Mastering side loading

Oct 4th, 2009
by Rohaizan.
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Side-loading is a very important decorative painting skill and many of my students still find it a little daunting when a project involves side-loading!

All I can say is – everything is easy if you know how and that applies to panting skills too.

What is side loading?

Side loading is one of the principle methods for applying acrylics. A side loaded brush has paint on only one side for placing graduated colour. This technique is sometimes referred to as floating colour. And indeed, the paint should float on a layer of water in order to dry smoothly. Side loads are used to place shading, highlighting and accent colours within the design. The contrast between light and dark values creates depth in the painting. Like other painting techniques, side loading requires practice to master.

Sharyn Binam, CDA, author of “The Sideload Book”

That’s right. Practise. Practise. Practise. There’s no running away from practise.

Basic side loading involves loading a flat brush with paint on one edge of the brush and water on the other edge. I usually tell my students to use the biggest brush possible for the project. A small brush is more difficult to load….that is until you master the technique. The brushes I use the most for floating are the 1/2” angle or #10 flat. But get a 3/4” angle and save it for floating – you’ll never regret it.

23-Carat Tulips on Desk Box

Side loading was the major technique used in painting this tulips deskbox project. The floating technique was used here to layer the highlights to create depth and the “light within” effect.

The key points for a successful float (other than perfecting the technique of course!) are:

  • a flat or angle brush in PERFECT condition – in other words, like new, with a perfect chisel edge
  • clean water always for dressing the brush
  • a clean wet palette for blending the brush to dress it
  • fresh paint – certainly without lumps. Leftover paint is not advisable
  • less is better – use very little paint to load your brush

Start by dampening the brush in clean water. Blot the excess by touching the brush only once on each side on a folded paper towel. Pick up a small amount of paint with one corner of the brush. Hold the brush vertically and blend the paint into the brush by pulling a short strip on your palette towards you. This is called the “blending strip” and it shouldn’t be more than 1”. Maintain the brush position and push and pull the brush back and forth so that you spread the paint across the brush and create the dark-to-light gradation.

A good side-loaded brush will have colour on one side diminishing gradually to nothing on the other side.

If the colour has travelled completely to the other side you will have a strip colour when you paint the float. When that happens you must wash the brush and dress it all over again.

Posted in: Painting techniques.
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Batik-inspired on wood

Jul 8th, 2009
by Rohaizan.
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What do you think I did after my taster class in batik painting in Malaysia? I tried to re-create the batik experience on wood of course – without the wax.

I found a couple of open tea boxes and decided on a simple design inspired by a batik outfit I love so much until this day.

I and imitated the batik look……and viola! I thought it looked pretty good.  Green and purple Batik tea-box

On the long ends of the box I painted a design which in traditional batik is called the kepala or “head”. The conical shape is inspired by the pucuk rebung or bamboo shoots.

 Green and purple Batik tea-box - another view  

I was really enjoying the experience that I painted another one in an equally bright combination of colours: pink and blue!

Blue and pink Batik tea-box

Blue and pink Batik tea-box - another view

This is a very simple project which a beginner decorative painter will be able to finish in an afternoon.

Posted in: Painting, Projects.
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Batik painting – Malaysian folk art

Jun 19th, 2009
by Rohaizan.
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Originally an Indonesian craft, batik has made itself at home in Malaysia.  As a Malaysian, of course, I will say that Malaysian Batik is the best in the world!

There are four ways of creating batik today: block-printing, drawn freestyle, silk-screened, or tie-dyed. While batik is produced and available pretty much anywhere in Malaysia, the best batik are those painstakingly hand-drawn by artisans in its true home in Malaysia – in the state of Kelantan.

Batik is traditionally created on cotton and silk. When hand-drawn, the design is created using a canting filled with liquid wax.

Canting

The fabric is then dyed with the first colour. The wax is then melted away by boiling the fabric in water and a second part of the design is drawn in.  After this repeated process, an intricate and beautifully coloured design is produced.

While in Malaysia on one of my trips back, I took a taster class in batik painting on silk and thoroughly enjoyed it.

Pink Hibiscus Batik on Silk Purple Orchid Batik on Silk

I can’t imagine painting metres of silk fabric but the 2 small projects that I painted was enough for me to appreciate the beauty and art of batik!

Next….batik on wood!

Posted in: Painting.
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Are you a messy painter?

Mar 2nd, 2009
by Rohaizan.
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It’s always a good idea to start your painting session with your tools and supplies properly laid out in front of you. And yes, there is a RIGHT way to place everything so that you can paint in a relaxed manner.

If you don’t set up your painting area properly, you won’t be able to reach your tools…. you might also spill paint all over your work, or worse, get paint on your sleeves.

The most effective way to organize your painting area is to place everything around you according to how you move your hands when you are painting. Everything else you don’t need, especially when you attend a class or workshop where table space is limited, should be put away out of sight!

This is how you should lay out your painting area whenever you sit down to paint – your project is always directly in front of you:

Right handed painters

Layout for right-handed painters

You pick out your brush from the brush basin where it is resting, move to the right to swish it in the bottle of water, pick up your paper towel with your left hand and dab the brush to remove water, refer to your instructions which are on the left, load the brush in your palette on your right, then paint.

Left handed painters

Layout for left-handed painters

You pick out your brush from the brush basin with your left hand, move to the left to swish it in the bottle of water, pick up your paper towel with your right hand, refer to your instructions which are on the right, load the brush in your palette on your left, then paint.

So now you see the logic of laying out your painting area this way: whatever you need to do, you should never ever have to reach out across your project.

That’s all there is to it – if you make it a habit to place everything where they should be as suggested here, you will find that painting is so much more enjoyable!

Posted in: Painting.
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You can paint anything your heart desires..

Feb 19th, 2009
by Rohaizan.
1 comment

Nina has painted with me since 2004 and its always fun painting with her. She always paints with a purpose. Once she wanted to paint a plaque for her chef husband for his birthday, so I taught her how to faux finish a woodgrain on an MDF plaque then decoupaged the picture of a chef and wrote her husband’s name on it.

Another time, her husband had bought her a traditional Italian long-handled pizza board and she wanted to transform it into something for her home in Lebanon. I taught her an Austrian bridal painting design and the pizza board now hangs in her home welcoming her friends and family into her home.

The most creative project yet was a plate she painted for her son who wanted to give to his girlfriend. He chose the picture – two clown fish swimming among some coral – and the cutest caption… “If you’re a fish, I’m a fish”! That’s a project I’ll never forget. It was fun teaching her to paint that and she certainly had a lot of fun painting it.

This week Nina wanted to paint an ostrich egg which had been fitted with a light fixture. She wanted to give it as a gift to a girlfriend and later wanted to paint another egg for herself. That’s a great way to learn by the way – paint the same project two times! We brainstormed on the subject to paint and finally decided to paint a landscape. We chose a lighthouse design.

 Nina painting the background on her ostrich egg.

Painting on an egg can seem a daunting task because of its shape. You have to basically hold it all the time and keep turning it as you paint it.

How to hold an ostrich egg when painting it

There is a way to paint it without holding it and that is to place the egg in a soup dish lined with a folded face towel. But some students including Nina find holding the egg just fine.  Its really not that difficult once you get the hang of it.

Whatever the surface we paint on the painting technique remains the same.

For this lighthouse project we first painted the sky, followed by the sea then the foreground.

The completed ostrich egg project

Once that was completed, we painted the background trees and foreground trees, followed by the lighthouse and all its decoration. Lastly of course we paint other elements that complete the picture – in this case some trees and of course, seagulls.

This was a unique project and certainly a first in my Studio. But I’m sure other students will want to try their hand at this after seeing the finished piece.

Posted in: Different surfaces, Projects.
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Painting Ostrich Eggs

Feb 16th, 2009
by Rohaizan.
1 comment

One of the most unique surfaces you can paint on are ostrich eggs. Yes, ostrich eggs! Of course, first you need to prepare the egg – make a hole at the bottom end of the egg where there is a "soft spot", empty the contents, clean the insides, dry, then seal the opening. You guessed it – not easy and certainly, not everyone will be successful in this endeavour or even wants to go through the trouble of doing all this!

Me? I’ve never done it although I was tempted once when I saw fresh ostrich eggs in a supermarket here. Its easier to buy ostrich eggs which have already been emptied and cleaned, sometimes even the hole has been sealed. This is what most people who want to paint ostrich eggs do. If you have access to fresh ostrich eggs and want to have a go at emptying one, I found a site here.

The first time I ever painted an ostrich egg was at a workshop with Vicki Nicholson in Kuala Lumpur almost 10 years ago. We painted her signature pastel roses.

 

It was quite an experience painting on the egg (and learning her roses of course!) I went on to paint a few more eggs with roses which were grabbed at the first Christmas Bazaar I participated in here.

034-04 Roses on White Ostrich Egg 01  

I usually varnish ostrich eggs using a high gloss varnish because it looks like a high quality porcelain egg when finished. Its a great conversation piece once its sitting on an ornate egg stand in your living room.

024-04 Roses on crackled ostrich egg 2 

If you already have an ostrich egg ready for painting, you only need to basecoat the egg and you should do this at least a week ahead so that the  paint is properly cured. I use a shortcut to basecoat ostrich eggs by mixing Jo Sonja’s All Purpose Sealer with my paint in equal parts. I do three coats, no sanding required. You need to paint one side of the egg at a time, set it down to dry, then paint the other side.

So take your time and try and enjoy it because its worth the effort.

Do you always have to paint roses on ostrich eggs? Of course not. We paint all sorts of things on ostrich eggs at my Studio. Today I had a class where we started painting a landscape on an ostrich egg and I think the finished product will be quite pretty.

Posted in: Different surfaces.
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Have you been practicing your roses?

Feb 7th, 2009
by Rohaizan.
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Everything you put in to learn a new painting technique is an investment – your time, the fees you pay, the brushes and paint you are collecting etc.

To make sure your investment is worthwhile, you have to practice the techniques you learn by painting on your own or with another fellow painter when you are not attending classes.

This is especially true of stroke flowers, whether its roses, or daisies. The more you paint them, the better your flowers will look.

Pink roses on a small black box

My first daisies were awful and my son and husband said my first roses looked like ice-cream! The only way you will improve your skills – even remember what you’ve learnt – is to practice, practice, practice!

However, it can be difficult to get started painting on your own and also to paint regularly.

Try the following:

  1. Make a painting appointment with yourself e.g. every Tuesday afternoon for 2 hours, or every other day for an hour. Commit to this appointment and do it!
  2. Find a permanent space in your home to paint – a table, a corner in your kitchen or claim a part of your husband’s study :-D   If you always have to take your painting stuff out to paint and put it away when you finish, you’ll find it harder to paint regularly.
  3. Keep a journal, like a diary, of the skills you are learning. Get a notebook or do it on your computer. Make a note of skills you need to improve and paint projects that help you develop those skills. Update it every time you find you have improved those skills.
  4. If you don’t have magazines or books to paint from, use the tracings provided to you when you attend a workshop with me and copy parts of the design to create your own design on whatever surface you are painting.

Posted in: Painting.
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Tools for perfection

Feb 1st, 2009
by Rohaizan.
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I’m not a perfectionist (who am I kidding? Of course I am!) but everyone makes mistakes when they paint. Some you’re happy to live with and others you feel you need to correct.

Although some painters use cotton buds to clean mistakes, I just don’t like doing so.

Cotton buds

I prefer to use a flat or angle brush in a reasonably good condition to clean my mistakes. The chisel edge of the flat or angle brush is a great help in straightening lines, for example.

If your “spare” flat or angle brush is now a little "bushy" and won’t give you a reasonably good chisel edge when you’re painting, keep it for stippling trees, bushes, little flowers or for removing whole leaves or flowers from your painting. If your “cleaning” brush is in really bad shape, its not a bad idea to buy a very cheap flat brush (get a #8 or #10). Keep it specially for correcting your mistakes.

Sometimes we need to wipe out a whole area because we don’t like the look of what we’ve painted, or we accidentally dropped paint or smudged our work – for this, a small piece of sponge does the trick. If your wet palette sponge has got holes in it, don’t throw it away. Wash it well and dry it. Then cut it up into smaller pieces like 5cm x 5cm. Every time you sit down to paint, wet one of these sponges and keep it beside you. You’re ready to wipe away any mistakes you might make.

Posted in: Uncategorized.
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Make your own Brush Holder

Jan 29th, 2009
by Rohaizan.
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One of the things you find you need, if you haven’t already got one, is a brush holder which will hold all your brushes and keep them in shape when you come to class or when you travel (yes, some of us take our painting kit with us when we go away! )

Brush holder

You can buy brush holders made of fabric or other material but I haven’t seen them here. You can also make your own. I’ve made my own in the past out of fabric and if you sew, you too can make this very simple brush holder.

Instructions for making this brush holder are at this Website. I don’t know how long these instructions will be available at this site but if you don’t plan on making it now, copy the page and save it for next time when you’re in the mood for some sewing.

You don’t sew?? Well, I guess you can pass on the instructions to a friend who sews and maybe she can organise it.

Posted in: Brushes.
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Floating

Jan 21st, 2009
by Rohaizan.
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No, we’re not talking about swimming here! “Floating” in decorative painting refers to the application of colour to an object to create shadows and highlights.

It is a basic skill decorative artists learn so that they can paint realistic, three-dimensional objects. This skill is used in painting many subjects including fruits, flowers, inanimate objects, even teddy bears.

What are shadows and highlights anyway? In painting, there is something called the “light source” which is basically something the designer or you yourself can decide. It is the direction in which light is coming from in your painting. This determines where the shadows and highlights will fall—shadows occur in parts which are hidden from the light and highlights occur in the brightest parts where light hits the object.

Floating colour is done by loading a flat or an angle brush with colour on only one side. Only a little colour is applied to the brush. The brush is then blended back and forth on a palette until the brush paints a stroke which ranges from a solid colour of the paint on one end of the brush hairs fading into nothing at the other end. This colour is then “floated” on the object usually at the relevant edges where you want to create the shadow or highlight.

The colours used depend on the object being shaded or highlighted. Highlights are floated in colours lighter than the base colour of the object and shadows, with colours darker than the base colour.

Floating applied to a fruits design

This fruits project illustrates the use of the floating technique to create shadows and highlights.

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Posted in: Skills.
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