Blossoms

Hi all,
I just thought I'd share a couple of my latest digital paintings with you. The first is of some cherry blossom, which I have done against my usual black background. I use a black background to put all the focus onto the flowers.

My wife, who is probably my biggest critic said, "The flowers look like marshmallows and the stalks look like chocolate."
Very nice indeed, I didn't know if I should hang it on the wall or eat it. I like it even though it does look a bit plastic. That is probably the only drawback with digital art, it can make paintings look too perfect and sterile.

I was going to show you the video of how I painted this blossom, but due to trying to save storage space on my ipad, I very annoyingly deleted it by mistake. All I'm left with is the jpeg image you see above,

To put things right I thought I'd have another go at some blossom. It just so happened that the crab apple tree in our garden was just coming out so I took a few photos of it. I had to borrow the bee but I though it would give it a bit of life.

For this painting I decided to do away with the black background and give it a more natural look.

Given that this is my first painting of a bee, I like it a lot. The leaves fade into the background just has I intended and I like the three focal points of the flowers and the bee.
However not everybody thinks the same. A couple of people have commented that they think the leaves should be darker and more pronounced and that the focal point is at the top which makes the composition top heavy.

Now it may have been better if the bee was in the bottom lower third so that it looked as if it might fly into the picture rather than out of it, but then I wouldn't have got those beautiful buds. And does it matter? Do we always have to have the point of focus on thirds. Who's rules are they?

Regarding the leaves. Yes I could have made them darker and made them more prominent, but I was looking for a painterly effect.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not moaning about the comments I love having them it all helps to make us better artists through awareness.

Unlike the blossom at the top of the page, I managed to create a video of how I painted the blossom and the bee, here is the link.

If you enjoy the video please consider subscribing. It is free and you won't even get bothered with notifications if you don't click the bell icon.

I will have another video for you soon.

Polyanthus

Hi all,
At the bottom of our garden we have a couple of polyanthus plants. The flowers are like those of a primrose, but many flower heads are formed on a single stem.

Anyway, I took a photo of one of them because I though it would make a nice painting.

I decided to make the painting simpler by ignoring the background and making it black. This would not only save me some work but it would make the colour of the flowers pop out.

Here is the finished painting which I did on my ipad using an app called Procreate.

I think it turned out pretty well and I did a short video of it which I have uploaded to  my channel, The Armchair Artist. If you would like to watch how the painting was created, here is a link.

If you enjoy the video please subscribe, it cost nothing and if you don't click the bell icon you won't be bothered with notifications. I am trying to do a video evey week so that you can see how I progress and give you an insight into didgital painting. Taking up digital paining is expensive unless you already have a ipad, where if that is the case, I'd download Procreate in a heartbeat and get on with it.

The Armchair Artist

Hi all,
Following on from my last post where I showed you my latest digital painting, "Magnificent Magnolias."

I have now done a short video to show how I did it. You will probably be amazed at how simple the whole process is. There was no need to go to a studio or some other shared space and get all the painting paraphernalia out, I did it while sitting in my armchair. How cool is that. Believe me, if you can do a half decent painting with the traditional kit, digital painting will astonish you.

If you want to see what I mean. You can see the differece by comparing the digital vs the tradditional paintings by clicking on the appopriate tabs at the top of the page. Which do you think are the best?

Anyway, If you want any advice about going digital or any other questions or comments please ask. Meanwhile, I will leave you with the link to the video.

Thanks for looking and please subscribe to see more. it doesn't cost anything.

Magnolias

Hi all,
I really am enjoying doing digital art on my ipad. It is the best thing I ever did and I will 100% not be going back to the tradditional methods. I struggled with tradditional methods of painting and couldn't even get close to producing the images that were in my head. However, after going digital I am now a lot closer to producing what I wanted

I no long have to think about what paper to use and wonder if could I do better with more expensive paint or  even more expensive brushes. With just and ipad and an app called Procreate I can make the images that I always desired.

If you are thinking of making the leap into digital art, stop thinking and do it now. Here is a picture of a pair of magnolias that I completed recently.

I couldn'y have got even close to this with watercolours. So, if I can do it so can you. Chuck your brushes in the bin and say goodbye to wishy washy images. Go digital, relax in your favouite armchair with your ipad, put on some mellow music and make art. If you have any question, please ask.

Talking about armchairs, I have just released another video on my Youtube channel, "The Armchair Artist"  in it I show how I painted some bindweed on some trellis.

Please take a look and subscibe if you want to see more. I will try to do a video af every painting I do in the hope that I can inspire others and help them to do digital art. Thanks for looking.