When I go into an art store, it's like being the proverbial 'kid in a candy store' only I can probably afford to buy more lol.  Yes, I have more art supplies than you can imagine,a person can collect a lot of 'stuff' over 30 years of time.   When I first started to learn though I only bought a few things.  It is a common misconception that it takes a good amount of money to make good art, I find this is not true.  It's not the supplies or brand that make it, it's learning to see first.

It is more important that you learn to see, it is easiest when you are doing monochrome, I said that in my 2nd tip, but what happens when you do that is you also don't invest much money to begin learning to paint.  A student grade black or sepia oil paint and a canvas board is all you really need to get started.  Be sure to read my tip #2 on getting started making realistic art a few blog posts ago.

Rita Hayworth this was with burnt umber and white only.  That is the next step after one color and a canvas board, adding white. When it comes to learning values, this is the next step. This date is not easy to see but it was painted by me in 2002.

It doesn't cost much to purchase one tube of student grade paint and a canvas board.  Investing any more than that at first is a waste of your hard earned money.

Put your reference into black and white, turn it upside down and then either paint the entire board solid then wipe out the light areas with a rag, or purchase one brush and some solvent to clean it with, I would get a round bristle, and get started that way.  When you are somewhat impressed with what you end up with as it goes right side up, then you can move on to buying a few more art supplies, which will be one more tube of paint that I will tell you about in a later blog.

 If you have a question you would like answered be sure to ask in the comments section and I will do a blog post about it.

I have always been drawn to charcoal as an art medium.  Some refer to it's use as " painting "with charcoal, and I do paint.  So the two go hand in hand.  It is the oldest known medium that humans used to make artwork as can be seen in ancient cave drawings.  Although what we call charcoal for art today is refined from that time.

I have also recently learned about a product called PanPastel that can be erased and has properties that blend well with charcoal, I will be exploring where I can use that as well, in conjunction.

My first such piece is of a white horse that I photographed several years ago at a friend's house.

This is on an 18 x 24 inch mixed media paper, and is the first work I have made available that is like it, there will be more.

Whether painted with oils or drawn with charcoal, art is the best way to bring a smile out, both for me as the artist and depending on who views the work, sometimes the viewer.  I recently heard from someone who bought a painting from me in 2013, they have moved and the painting went along for the ride, she said she smiles every time she sees it. That makes me happy!

8 x 10 Charcoal on canvas board.  Sealed, available.

I'm starting a new project, it will be charcoal based on both canvas and paper.  Look for these in the drawings category on my website.

This is the first so far, it's on canvas and is sealed.  There is a faint color which you may see in the calf, it's just a touch of warmer conte to differentiate it from the background. 

I call this little one Spot Face Calf.  

So, this applies to all realism artwork in any medium you choose.  I did learn it for painting first, then had to learn how to use a pencil and charcoal after that because I didn't really have any skills with dry materials, but whether you are painting or drawing realistically, it is of utmost importance to remember the following how to tip:

2. Focus on shapes and values, not what it is

That might be a little confusing to you, I say this because even though I paint cows and cattle as my main artistic focus, I am often asked if I can paint a (fill in the blank) too.  The fact of the matter is, since everything I see is shapes and values, I can paint about any subject that I have been given reference for.  I can't make up details that are not there, but I can render whatever the subject is into shapes and values.

Monochrome Hereford Calf       8 x 10 (this was a finger painting with burnt umber, the brush was leaving brush marks so

I used my fingers and a rag to wipe off the lights)

Shapes is self explanatory.  Values means light to dark shades.  I would start out working in monochrome, all one color, and put your reference in greyscale not color.  A photo will often blow out the lights or make shadows appear black,  which they rarely are, so when using a photo as reference this has to be accounted for.  This is one reason a lot of artists like to paint from a real scene, they can actually see what is there instead of what a camera sees first, then translating it. 

One of very first oil experiences involved one tube of Ivory Black student grade winton oil paint and a canvas panel.  I painted the entire canvas black, then using a rag wiped out the light areas using more pressure for the lightest, and less for the medium tones.  I highly recommend this!  It was from a reference photo of Chief Joseph of the Nez Pearce tribe and is shown below:

9 x 12.  33 years ago or so, my first portrait in oil.  It was so much fun to do!

In a previous post I listed a bit of information about pencils and drawing, in this post I will address how to get you started painting.  

1.Painting realism is seeing

I used to have an art teacher named Lela Harty who would say, "if you can see, you can paint with a bucket of $hoot and a broom on the side of a barn.  Words of wisdom. Her lessons were designed to show people how to see. 

Many times our left brain wants to label things and when we paint or draw an eye it is known to be an eye and they all come out oval shaped. In reality everything is shapes and values, or shades.  If you turn the picture upside down it will trick your brain and make it difficult to identify things as we aren't used to looking at them upside down.  In doing this you are very likely to do a better artwork than if you do it right side up.  Give it a try and let me know!

So, today's tip is to turn your subject and media upside down.

You can learn more about this method in the book "Drawing on the right side of the brain" by Betty Edwards which I read many years ago and have used the method as a helpful tool ever since.

I did paint this image of the tree shown, and the painting is 6 x 12 inches and can be seen in my Available Paintings category.