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Posted: July 9, 2012

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Traditional Canvas Virgin, Need Help

~clarissafrn Jul 9, 2012 Hobbyist General Artist

Haha I've never painted on a canvas before and I'm gunna officially start tomorrow (maybe this weekend but hopefully tomorrow). I've finished with the sketch in pencil. I was wondering ('cause I've seen it done a few times), what effect does charcoal have on the painting? Will the paint (I use guache, or something like that, paint) smear it?

And any other advice would be good

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*Debit Jul 10, 2012 Hobbyist Traditional Artist

I have used charcoal sticks and pencils to make sketches onto a canvas. Because charcoal is very flaky, something must be done about it, or the canvas will become smeared all over. Blow away the charcoal flakes as much as possible, then apply artist's fixative. After the fixative is set, then apply acrylic matte medium (a couple of layers of coating) to seal the canvas. There will still be some minor smearing, but no big deal. I have also used mechanical pencils to do the sketching before. Graphite smears, too, so it needs to be fixed as well, although not as extensive as charcoal sticks/pencils.

~clarissafrn Jul 10, 2012 Hobbyist General Artist

I think I'll stick toe the pencils for now

At least until I get used to painting and feel like trying new things on the canvas. I haven't painted on the canvas I have yet, but I've erased the pencil as much as I could so that the sketch is pretty faded. Maybe that'll help.

Thanks, I'll keep this in mind for later

~CinderBlockStudios Jul 10, 2012 Professional Traditional Artist

pencil as well as charcoal in dark applications will be picked up by the paint and distort your colors slightly. I do hope you used a pencil with a harder lead rather than just a regular #2. Also note that because canvas is textured more paint is required to cover an area that would be necessary on say paper or boards.

~clarissafrn Jul 10, 2012 Hobbyist General Artist

I think it was #2 that I used

But I've erased it as much as possible so it's pretty faded. I actually don't have any other types of pencils, just #2 and mechanical. But when I have the money, I'll go get me some

Harder lead leaves a lighter mark, right?

~CinderBlockStudios Jul 11, 2012 Professional Traditional Artist

yep.

~clarissafrn Jul 11, 2012 Hobbyist General Artist

Alright, thanks!

~izayummikiwi Jul 9, 2012 Student Traditional Artist

Well, the primary reason behind why I use charcoal is that the graphite doesn't tend to show up so well on canvas (due at least partially to the rough surface). Even when it does, it tends to screw with the color of your paint. The charcoal will also tend to blend with the paints you are using, but it isn't as bad. Depending on how much charcoal you use in the first place, and the colors you start out by using, you may need to reapply a bit of paint in certain spots.

As far as other advice, I'd say:

1. Stay aware of the sizes of the brushes and brushstrokes you're using, especially in relation to the size of the canvas. MANY people forget about this, and it really ends up screwing up with the sense of space. For instance, I usually experiment with using larger brushes and more free brushstrokes in the background, with smaller and more precise ones appearing in the front. This isn't the only way to do it though. Experiment and find what works best for you.

2. A base coat of paint (of something other than white) that goes across your whole canvas can really help to pull your piece together. It also gives you a basis to start building relationships between colors. I've come up with many color schemes using this approach.

3. Remember to work around your piece. It's not a good idea to get stuck on any one part for a long period of time, as you'll often find that you're using different styles and inconsistent colors on different parts of your piece. Working around the piece can help with consistency and giving you a good sense of what the painting as a whole will be like.

4. With some exceptions (like in graphic arts, and comic art), try to avoid using straight up black, white, and/or grey in your piece. These colors very rarely exist on their own in nature, and can wreak havoc on your color scheme and sense of space (these tend to flatten things out). As an example, instead of using black or grey for shadows, try using complementary colors (if you have someone wearing a red shirt, try a mix of green for the shadows). Again, it's all about creating relationships between colors.

I'm aware that some of these pieces of advice are a bit more general, as opposed to being specific to canvas painting, and I apologize I'm rambling about things you already know. I hope that at least some of that was helpful, though, and good luck!

~clarissafrn Jul 10, 2012 Hobbyist General Artist

The advice (and even rambling

) was great, thanks! I actually did know about most of what you've said but haven't considered most of it in a long time so it's good to be reminded of.

The 1st and 3rd points you gave me (I guess I'll call it that haha) were pretty much new to me. I've never heard of doing things like that and it's like an "oh duh" kinda thing to me, to not of thought of that before.

I've heard of using complementary colors as shadows before, but won't that sort of (for lack of better words) 'mess up' the piece? I mean, part of the painting will have green. So wouldnt it be strange to have red shadows?

Anyway, thanks for the adivce. It was all helpful, new or not.

~ReniMilchstrasse Jul 10, 2012 Traditional Artist

What izayummikiwi means by using complimentary colors for shadows goes back to color theory. When you mix red and green together it essentially creates a dark almost black color (same goes for orange and blue, violet and yellow). It's this type of 'black' that creates a more 'life' illusion. So if you're painting a green shirt, you'd mix red into the green to create your darks and shadows. The same theory works for all colors.

I think you should play around with some real life observational paintings, just to experiment with color, get used to painting on a canvas, and see what techniques work for you. Set up some colorful simple objects, put a light/lamp near it to create some dramatic lighting and go to town!

~clarissafrn Jul 10, 2012 Hobbyist General Artist

Genious!

That makes sense now, haha. Definately gunna try that.

I'll work on that too. I've actually never done observational drawings before, let alone paintings. Painting is kinda new to me but not too too new. For now, I have to work on observational drawins (for a college's requirements) and my project, then I'll go for the observational paintings

I've been wanting to do that for a while.

Thanks for explaining that whole complimentary colors thing

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