When creating a painting, especially a complex painting, remember you are writing a story. Just as a child, when you didn’t think in words, you can think of an entire story in just pictures. And in this story there are many little nuances that you will appreciate as you are painting. In order to compose a painting well, an artist should know every little stroke of the brush and what it is saying in the story. If for instance, you are creating a little landscape. Instead of just thinking, well, there’s a tree, a fence and a mountain, think of it in more detail, but now we are adults, think of it in words and pictures, it makes it easier to visualize. Write it out in your mind as if somebody was telling you a detailed story. This is how to fully enjoy making a painting. There was a beautiful sky above a purple mountain. Really? What color was the sky? The sky was purple and yellow, and on fire, and the clouds would catch the colors (wink). This technique also enables the minimal-object artist (like me) to paint more complex situations and stories.

The problem with the fine art business, particularly New York, is that they are searching for the new Picassos, Warhols, and Dalis. They will not find them. It is happening to music, and writers and any professional position where there are some gurus at the top. And do you know what is happening? Us. We are happening. Time even said so, the person of the year is You. It is a beautiful thing. We are all making this life, we are saying what goes instead of a tired old few. YAY! This is a good thing. Yes, we probably won’t make as much money or get as famous, but that isn’t really the point. The point is to make a living, to be happy, and to get ourselves out there, whether it is for painting, music, writing, or whatever your heart’s desire is! Go! Do it! Be yourself, because only you can be you! And that’s who we really care about. Cheers!

There is a ethereal mystery that comes to painting. And this mystery lead to many, many painstaking writings on topics throughout art history. These topics are broken down into categories like “How To Landscape Paint,” “How to Paint a Portrait” and “How To Paint a Still Life.” But once you learn the rules of painting, you will never again need such books. Once you learn the rules you will be able to know how to break them to benefit your paintings as long as you remember them.

When creating a painting, especially a complex painting, remember you are writing a story. Just as a child, when you didn’t think in words, you can think of an entire story in just pictures. And in this story there are many little nuances that you will appreciate as you are painting. In order to compose a painting well, an artist should know every little stroke of the brush and what it is saying in the story. If for instance, you are creating a little landscape. Instead of just thinking, well, there’s a tree, a fence and a mountain, think of it in more detail, but now we are adults, think of it in words and pictures, it makes it easier to visualize. Write it out in your mind as if somebody was telling you a detailed story. This is how to fully enjoy making a painting. There was a beautiful sky above a purple mountain. Really? What color was the sky? The sky was purple and yellow, and on fire, and the clouds would catch the colors (wink). This technique also enables the minimal-object artist (like me) to paint more complex situations and stories.

There are so many options of materials to use when it comes to painting. There are ample mediums, paints and accessories, it is maddening. I have chosen materials that works best in all painting situations. My personal choice of materials may not be for you. But my choices will serve as a guide and give you structure in order to break and bend the rules in your own artistic way. I have successfully completed many varieties of paintings with only these materials that I have in this book. You will find your own path on your personal painting journey. I can only teach what I’ve learned over the many years of painting. And I will do it for the sake of your own artistic health, happiness and pursuit of art.

This is one of the most important of all artist’s tools. Whether you doodle in it just a little bit per day or draw elaborate pictures, you will see a difference in your paintings. Even if you do not have a style that requires drawing, a sketch book will still benefit you. Yet another personal item, the sketchbook will provide you an outlet at any time per day. Even at work! Keep one in your desk and write in it whenever you have an idea. A quick thumbnail sketch will remind you of your genius idea later on when you have time to elaborate on canvas.

Sketch books with themes can get very tedious, at least for this artist. If you have a great composition idea with a dog, and the only available sketchbook is about landscapes, it can get frustrating. I know from experience. It’s best to have three sketch books and a journal. Have one pocket or purse sketchbook to carry with you at all times (Moleskine are popular, but they are pricey and overrated. Personally, I just use a painting program on my Palm Pilot). Keep one larger sketchbook in the studio, and one favorite size book laying around the house. The writing journal can be used for writing down what you have learned, dreams, ideas for shows, and/or art business (which we’ll get into later on in my journal), and other art-related ideas.

If you want to keep tabs and such in a sketchbook that has many topics and themes, write at the top of each page: a title, date or whatever will remind you that this page goes with that series of pictures. My personal style is: Title, Date, Note Number and Theme. So, if I have a painting on The Big Dipper, I’d write: 01/29/06 “The Big Dipper: Constellation Rendering”, Note #5. The note number refers to how many notes you’ve written about the same idea/painting. The Big Dipper is the topic and Constellation Rendering is the theme.

Do not be timid about messing up sketch books. A pretty journal is of no use unless you actually use it. So, when you get your shiny new, beautiful sketchbook, put your name in it and mess up one page- “There, it’s over, now I have to use it!” Be as great or as lousy an artist you want in these books, be silly, fun, doodle, be a kid. The sketchbook is just for your eyes only, unless you show it people. And remember, there are no rules for your sketch books!

Have fun and find out what you can use to create great paintings! Acrylic paints give endless amount of experimental ideas. Acrylics are so versatile you can paint them on almost anything, you can stick things to them to make a collage and you can paint over mistakes! Below is a list of fun ideas you can use. Remember though, many dyes and materials are not as permanent as acrylics, and may fade or deteriorate over time.

•        Wax (wax resist techniques)

•        Ink, lotsa fun with the wax resist technique. (Try painting, then wash the entire picture with ink, wait about 3 minutes, then drench the picture with water, to get back some of the image, WOW!)

•        Salt (use while acrylics are wet creates pretty neat textures)

•        Forks, knives, spoons and other cutlery (lightly graze the surface of your paints on the canvas)

•        Sand (add to paint for grainy textures)

•        Rubbing alcohol for strange effects

•        Remember acrylic is plastic, with enough of it, you can stick whatever you want to it. Little toys, jewelry, broken pottery, gems, rocks, beads, food, magazine cutouts, fabric, it’s limitless, especially if you live near a craft store.

•        Crayons, same as wax resist techniques, but with color.

•        Colored pencils

•        Make stencils

•        Sponges

•        old inking stamps

•        Paint rollers

•        Bubble wrap (place on wet paint)

•        Plastic wrap (place on wet paint and crinkle it around)

•        Tin foil (place on wet paint, or add for shiny effects)

•        Think POUR, DRIP, SCRAPE, WASH, DYE, SCRUB, TEAR, DAB, PUSH, PULL, PAINT, (insert effect here).

•        Fabrics for gluing in or use of grainy texture

•        Masking tape is your best friend when it comes to sharp edges and masking small areas.

•        Mind your colors!

•        Soap!!! Soap gives fun strange effects

•        Chicken feathers

•        Toothbrushes

•        Crush eggshells and put them in the paints

Creating straight lines does not have to be a cause for grief. There is more than one way to draw a line with paint.

I do the masking tape ritual on occasion. This is where you gently place tape on the surface of your work in progress and paint over one or both sides of the tape to create straight lines. But even then in this situation, sometimes painting the lines can be off. For perfect parallel lines, first measure with a ruler, draw with a black or white pastel very lightly, then place the tape along those lines. Note: charcoal can be seen underneath if used too much, and it also muddies the painting, pastels are more forgiving.

Another trick is to draw the line first with pastel and measure with a ruler as in the first trick. Then use the same ruler as a guide when painting. To do that, hold the ruler at a 45-degree angle (sorta like partially opening a book). Keep holding the ruler with one hand. Take a brush filled with paint in the other hand and hold it like a pencil. Lean the palm of your brush hand against the top of the ruler and glide the brush across the canvas. If you lay the ruler flat, the paint almost always seeps underneath the ruler, causing more frustration.

For smaller lines, you can use your mahl stick (aka guide stick) or arm as a guide, the same way you would use the second technique with a ruler. The only difference is in this trick you can hold the brush in several different ways, rather than the basic pencil hold. (Which I’ll get into in a different post).

Any type of brush can be used for all of these techniques. Use the appropriate brush for what you want to do. Small brushes will give you smaller thinner lines, bigger brushes gives you wider lines, regardless of brush shape.

If you get very good at these techniques, you will have the ability to keep your painting on the easel rather than laying it on a table or floor.

Art does not come with a manual explaining what each piece means. Nor how the work was made or any of the basic five W’s for that matter. The artwork was created by the artist, but sometimes, not even the artist knows what it means. They forget because the work was made several years ago, or they got into a groove while painting and let their subconscious mind take over.

Most of the time, you will not be able to ask an artist what a painting means. It is up to you, the viewer, to take a moment to look and think. The beauty of art is that there are no wrong answers. Even if the original meaning of the art differs from yours, you are not wrong. I believe a painting is meant to form a strong bond with the viewer. A truly great work of art will form a deep connection to your mind, spirit and heart.

First spray the palette with some water, then lay down at least a nickel sized amount of paint, then mist the paint.

When blending with acrylics get the colors you want, mix them out on the palette. Put one thick line of the first color, make sure it is wet, then take the second color and do the same thing right beside the first color. Criss-cross the two colors from top to bottom. Then while they are still wet, brush the center of the two, down in a quick stroke. Ta-da, nice blended acrylic colors.

If you get little bumps, dots, balls, clumps or other unwanted beads in your acrylic paintings, it is because you are using too little paint.

Little crumbs happen in acrylic paint when the paint begins to ’skin’, but is not completely dry. This especially happens when you are mixing with too little paint (very thin and watercolor-like) and the paint begins to dry, as well as diving back into the area you have previously been mixing in. When the paint just begins to skin, you can bring it back to a liquid state quite easily. However, when you do that, the skinned part of the paint rolls into little beads producing clumps in your painting and on your brush. This can produce interesting effects, but for the most part, it is just annoying.

The best way to remedy the lumps is to put just a tad more paint on the palette during your painting sessions and spritz them with a atomizer periodically. Same with mixing with your brush. Spritz the area of the palette (even with a wet palette) you are going to mix on, then dampen your brush, then mix, this should help dramatically. Do not mix in the same area twice, doing so is the biggest offender of the little bump syndrome. Learn how to mix your colors well, so you can repeat yourself when necessary.

The crumbs happens especially to watercolor painters who go to acrylics and paint like a watercolorist. Acrylics are a different animal entirely from watercolors and from oils. Their properties are totally different. You cannot bring paint back to life with more water like watercolors, you cannot blend colors hours later as with oils. It is comparing a rabbit, a hamster and a mouse. They are all rodents, but they all need to be treated differently. A mouse can be trained to walk through a maze. A hamster can wheel around the house in an acrylic ball, a rabbit can mass produce itself with another rabbit. All of these vermin can do what the others do, but not at the same success or pace as the original animal. You must find the best paint for what you want to do, but even then, you’ll have to compromise with it.