“As you will have read in the first post of this blog-set, our tutorials are not random, they are carefully considered. We do not simply say “Today we will show you how to paint a flower”, or “Today we will paint a landscape.” For how can someone paint a flower if they do not understand the basics of their painting equipment, or comprehend the myriad techniques and methods that could be exploited, to make their artistic journey as satisfying as it can be?
Accordingly, our tutorial subjects are not random, they too are carefully considered.
We do not simply say “Today we will show you how to paint a flower and we’ve decided to do it in Watercolours – just because we feel like.”
For instance, Series 3 of ‘Learn to Enjoy Painting in Acrylics with Paul Taggart’ was to be painted using impasto, working with texture paste; along with its companion box-set ‘Painting Topical Techniques for Acrylics with Paul Taggart’ – which is why we wanted subjects that had varied textures throughout, hence the main demonstration of a cockerel with his magnificent plumage, strutting about a garden pond surrounded by myriad plants and stones. And for the detailed, step-by-step, work-along Exercise, a still-life of shells on folded fabric.
The method demonstrated in ‘Series 2 of ‘Learn to Enjoy Painting in Pastels with Paul Taggart’ uses the technique of working gradually in layers from dark-to-light – which requires the darkest of underpainting. By applying a wet-underpainting, it freed us up to exploit as many layers of pastels as possible. The subject needed to feature the deepest of darks, to act as a contrasting foil for the subsequent layers of ever-lightening tints of pastel. For this we selected a sunset scene, overlooking water, in which sparkles of light danced across the surface and from the distant building. For its companion exercise in ‘Series 2 of Painting topical Techniques for Pastels with Paul Taggart’, a richly contrasting flower study, with its purity of pigmented petals shimmering against the backdrop.
Although our tutorials are dedicated to each of the four principal media – it is worth noting that most of the methods and techniques used in my demonstrations can be exploited to work across other media – the dark-to-light layering and impasto processes demonstrated in these two box-sets, being adapted from oil painting techniques, can therefore be exploited for use with oils. Not to mention the directional strokes of a pastel stick, which in of themselves, mimic the directional brush-strokes used in painting with wet media.
Click here to browse through the current catalogue of box-sets listed on our artworkshopwithpaul tutorials page, where you will find posters for the following strands and series dedicated to each of the four principal media - Oils : Watercolours : Acrylics : Pastels with a separate series covering Colour Mixing.
Click on any poster to watch the trailer for the corresponding box-set.
Click on the Vimeo icon to discover the VOD page - watch this video to find your way around artworkshopwithpaul on Vimeo.
Click on the Patreon icon to discover the Collections page. - watch this video to find your way around artworkshopwithpaul on Patreon.
Click here and browse through our free-to-download reference photographs available to download from our official account on Flickr.
We look forward to your company and, as always, send best wishes, from Eileen and myself,”
Paul Taggart
Artist, Author, Presenter, Producer
NOTE : This blog post contains information pertaining to Paul W. Taggart and Eileen M. Tunnell and may contain copyrighted material. It should be read as protected by International Copyright law and DMCA.