Barnfield On Air

Ok, so for some time now, Miss Death has mentioned a possible blog post featuring some form of art tutorial. Well, here it is... Sort of. Im not going to tell you HOW I draw stuff, no, that's just stupid. If you want to know how I draw stuff, just pick up a pencil and put it to paper, walah! But, I am going to show you how I produce a painting from start to finish. 

I'll say this now, not all of my work is produced this way, it all depends on what mood i'm in, what materials I am using and what it is i'm drawing. But here goes.

For this post, i'm using my latest piece; The Lighthouse. Why? Well, because I managed to remember to take a scan of each stage (GO ME!). There is also a bit of the painting I truly fucked up, if you spot it, I shall give you a hearty pat on the back.

Materials used: Pencil, Tracing Paper, Graphics Pen, 300gsm Watercolour Paper, Acrylic. 

Step 1:

For the first stage I draw out the design using pencil on a sheet of tracing paper. By folding the paper in half, it magically gives you a centre line to work from so you can make a sort of symmetrical piece like I have here.

Don't worry if it looks a little sketchy and rough at first, you're just laying down the general idea and design.

Once you've drawn the basic design, go over the lines using a graphics pen. This allows you to get the main lines you want for the painting, as well as tweak anything you wish to change etc. before transfering the design to the final paper.

Step 2:

Once you have drawn up the lines for the painting, flip the sheet of tracing paper over to the other side and go over the final lines you have drawn with pencil. Once you have done this, you can transfer the image over to the final watercolour paper. 

Step 3:

Now we are ready to paint! For the first section, I start by doing all the black and shade. From this you can build up depth and texture etc. How much black and shading you use is completely up to you, but because I like dark shizzle, I tend to use a lot. 

Step 4:

Once the black and shade has been completed, it's time to add colour! Make sure the black and shade has completely dried before you do this, else you might end up with dull colours of smeary black crap everywhere! When painting the colours, I tend to do one colour at a time. Ie: All the red first, then all the blue parts, then all the green etc etc. You don't have to, but I just feel it makes life a little easier. And as with the black and shade, it's probably best to make sure each colour is dry before continuing with the next, especially if they sit next to each other!

Step 5: 

The final step! Once all the colour is set, as with step 4 make sure its all dry before continuing. The final part is to add any extra details. And, because i've painted this in acrylic, I like to do the linework last. So, with black acrylic, go over all the lines and make them bold and neat.

WALAH! In 5 (fairly) simple steps, I hope i've managed to explain or shed some form of light on how I produce some of my work?!

I have no idea how much of this makes sense, but if you skip back to my blog post Death Sex from March 2010, you'll find me state i'm not an art teacher! (Yes, that's a disclaimer!)

So, after all the pestering you fiends have given me, I wanna see some work off of you! Give it a go and email me the results to: vicki_death666@yahoo.com Hey, the best one might even get an arty prize!

Oh, and on the art subject, help me support my art and buy some neat Horror and Tattoo inspired art and gifts from my store: www.vickideath.co.uk

Comments are much appreciated too, so let me know what you think.

Thanks.