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I've decided to do something a little unique. In fact, it might even be a bit crazy!

My online video course, "Learn to Paint Dynamic Portraits & Figures in Oil" has 45 written lessons plus 13 hours of video demonstration. In the course, I share the best information I know about painting people, so you can take your paintings to the next level. But I don't want you to just take my word for it. That's why I've decided to do something a little crazy…




I'm giving away an entire unit of the course for free!




When you create a free account at ClagueFineArt.com, you will receive free access to Unit 1 of the course and a 20-minute video from the course. In addition, I’ll share announcements of other educational opportunities such as workshops.

Please enjoy this free gift from me to you!

Create Account to Access Unit 1

(To learn more about the online course, please click here.)

Simple Solution for Professional Corners

Stretching your own linen offers the freedom to choose your favorite type of linen and to work in any size you wish (learn which types of linen we use here). However, stretching your own material also poses a couple of challenges.

Last time, I shared my method for preventing ripples (read lesson here). Unfortunately, there is another nuisance to avoid--excess linen at the corners can be so bulky that the artwork is prevented from fitting comfortably inside the picture frame! Today, I'll show you my method for making the corners of your linen slim and professional-looking.

Step 1: Trim

Using scissors, trim the excess linen so it looks like this:

Top View

Side View

Step 2: Fold

Fold each part as shown.

Step 3: Staple

Once the last part of linen is folded over, staple the material to keep it in place.

Repeat steps 1–3 for the remaining corners.

Now, your stretched linen can fit comfortably within your picture frame while also looking neat and professional. The only thing left to do is put some paint on that beautiful, blank linen!

Preparing the perfect surface is one thing. Creating a compelling painting is another! In my online video course, I'll show you how I communicate the beauty of portraits and figures from start to finish:

This online video course will launch in Fall 2018, but you can start the course today for free! For more info, please click the button below.

Learn More About Online Video Course

Six Steps to Stretch Linen Successfully

Ah, the feeling of painting on stretched linen! Artists' linen is nice and smooth but still has just the right amount of "tooth" to accept paint from your brush (Learn which types of linen we use in Our Favorite Painting Surfaces).

When you stretch linen, the material reacts to each brushstroke with a nice "spring." Furthermore, stretching your own linen allows you to work in any size you wish.

Today, I'll share how I stretch linen evenly and without ripples—nearly every time.

Step 1: Gather Materials

Here's what you'll need:

• Linen
• Stretcher bars (also called stretcher strips)
• Long square ruler
• Pencil
• Strong scissors
• Canvas pliers
• Staple gun
• Heavy duty staples (I use 5/16" T50 staples)

Step 2: Secure Stretcher Bars

After fitting your stretcher bars together to form a frame, ensure the frame is square by using a square ruler or by comparing the diagonal measurements of the frame (if both diagonals are equal in length, your frame is square).

Now, secure the frame by sinking a couple of staples in each corner.

Note: If your artwork is larger than 18" x 24" or so,
I recommend using thicker, heavy duty stretcher bars
like these from Blick. Otherwise, the tension of the
stretched linen can cause the frame to twist. On very
large frames, I add a cross brace for added support.

Step 3: Cut Linen

Cut a piece of linen generously larger than the size of your artwork. For standard-duty stretcher bars (about 3/4" thick), I add 3" to each length of my artwork (1.5" extra all the way around). For heavy-duty stretcher bars (about 1.5" thick), I add about 7" to each length of my artwork (3.5" extra all the way around). Obviously, if you use even thicker stretcher bars, such as the ones intended for gallery wrapping, you will need an even larger border of extra linen.

As in the photo above, place the linen face down with the frame face down on top. Make sure the frame is centered and straight.

 

Quick Tips

• Don't step or kneel on your linen, as this can create bulges or dimples. Clean your work area, as even a small piece of debris can emboss a divot into your linen.
   
• Ensure you cut a piece of linen that is square. First, draw pencil lines on the linen where you intend to cut. Before cutting, make sure the pencil lines are square by checking them with a square ruler or by comparing the diagonal measurements.
   
• I find using scissors the easiest way to cut linen.
   
• To ensure even tension when the linen is stretched, make your cuts parallel and perpendicular to the weave of the linen.

Step 4: Find a Diamond

Wrap the linen over one side of the frame and secure the linen with a staple. Place the staple directly in the middle of the stretcher bar (below).
 

 

Note: I place my staples along the side of the stretcher bar
rather than along the back, because this allows a better angle
for the canvas pliers to stretch the linen tighter. However,
with a gallery wrap, you have to staple along the back
of the stretcher bar to keep the staples unseen.

Using canvas pliers, firmly stretch the opposite edge of the linen over the opposite side of the frame. Staple directly across from the first staple (below).
 

Now, stretch and staple in the middle of the third side. Do the same on the fourth side. Once you have a staple in the middle of each side of the frame, the linen should have creases in the shape of a diamond, like this:
 

Step 5: Continue
Stretching and Stapling

Next, add two staples to each side of the frame—one staple on either side of the middle staple. Place these staples about 2 inches apart. Each time you add two staples to one side of the frame, add another two directly across from them on the opposite side of the frame.

Continue adding two staples at a time to each side, working from the middle outward, toward the corners.

 

Helpful Tips

• As you stretch the linen, pull at a slight angle away from the middle staple. This will help prevent ripples.
   
• The goal is to create even tension over the whole surface of the linen, so try to use the same amount of force with each pull of the canvas pliers.
   
• I pull the linen with quite a bit of force, but nowhere near enough to rip the linen.

Step 6: Fix any Ripples

Normally, I don't encounter those pesky ripples along the edges of the frame when I use this method. However, they do still happen occasionally. Hold your canvas at different angles to the light, and any ripples will become evident.

To eliminate ripples along the frame edge, use a screwdriver to pry up the staples that span the length of the ripples. Then re-stretch the linen, pulling at an outward angle to flatten the ripples, and re-staple.

Once your linen is stretched evenly and without ripples, gently hammer in any staples that may be raised.

 

Helpful Tips

• If your linen slackens over time, you can tap stretcher strip keys
  into the corners of your frame to re-tighten the linen.
   
• Lightly wetting the back of your linen can flatten ripples once dry.
  However, water can be harmful if your linen contains a
  water-soluble substance such as rabbit-skin glue.

•••

Stretching a smooth piece of linen is one thing. Creating a compelling painting is another! In my online video course, I'll show you how I communicate the beauty of portraits and figures from start to finish.

The course will launch in Fall 2018, but you can start the course today for free! For more info, please click the button below.

Learn More About Online Video Course

Unfortunately, rippling is not the only nuisance when stretching linen. The excess linen at the corners can be so bulky that the artwork is prevented from fitting nicely inside the picture frame! Next time, I'll show you my method for making the corners of your linen slim and professional-looking.

See you then!
—Adam

Our Favorite Painting Surfaces

Hi!

Today, I'm going to share our favorite painting surfaces and when we use them.

1. Stretched Linen
(For Larger Studio Paintings)

The first time I painted on linen instead of typical cotton, I knew I would never go back. To me, the difference between linen and cotton is like the difference between fabric car seats and leather car seats (heated ones). Simply put, I love how linen receives paint from my brush. Furthermore, some believe linen is longer-lasting than cotton.

Because linen is more expensive, Andrea and I purchase it the cheapest way possible—by the roll. We also wait for sales and coupons, which online art supply stores issue frequently.

Here are the three types of linen we use:

• Claessens Double Oil Primed #13 (very fine texture)
• Claessens Double Oil Primed #9 (fine texture)
• Claessens Double Oil Primed #15 (medium texture)

Generally, we prefer the smoother #9 and #13 linens for subjects that are softer, more delicate, and require more detail, like a young lady's portrait. We like the coarser #15 linen for more textural subjects like landscapes. However, this is totally a matter of preference, so please try a variety of surfaces to discover what you like best.

We use stretched linen for most of our larger studio paintings. However, when we travel, we use another surface that is much lighter and takes up less room…

2. Linen Mounted to Gatorfoam Panels
(For Traveling)

In case you're not familiar with Gatorfoam, it's like foam core board, but much more dense and durable. It is also very lightweight.

Before switching to Gatorfoam, Andrea and I used hardboard (HDF). However, hardboard is heavy, and when you're traveling (especially flying), every pound counts. Gatorfoam helps us avoid those overweight baggage fees!

The best price for Gatorfoam
we've found is at FoamBoardSource.com.
The shipping is expensive, but overall, the prices at
FoamBoardSource.com seem to be lower than at most other suppliers.
In addition, FoamBoardSource.com pre-cuts the Gatorfoam
in various sizes, including 8x10 and 11x14.

You can enjoy the texture of linen without the bulkiness of stretcher bars—just mount linen to Gatorfoam with a glue like Miracle Muck. However, if you have to prepare a large number of panels, mounting linen to each one can be time-consuming. This is why Andrea and I frequently use another solution…

3. Primed Gatorfoam Panels
(For Traveling with Little Prep Time)

For one particularly long painting trip, Andrea and I prepared 80 panels (below)!
 

If we had mounted linen to each of these panels, it would have taken forever! To save time, our preferred method is to simply prime Gatorfoam panels with acrylic gesso or Gamblin Oil Ground.
 

Helpful Tips:

• Many acrylic gessos are very absorbent, which makes your paint dry and become matte very quickly. We like Utrecht Artists' Acrylic Gesso because of its low absorbancy.
• Both acrylic gesso and oil ground can be sanded to the smoothness of your liking. 
• Apply primer with various rollers and brushes to find the texture you like best.
• Gamblin Oil Ground can take several days to dry, but adding a few drops of drier medium can speed the process.

•••

Choosing the perfect surface is one thing. Creating a compelling painting is another! In my online video course, I'll show you how I communicate the beauty of portraits and figures from start to finish.

The course will launch in Fall 2018, but you can start the course today for free! For more info, please click the button below.

Learn More About Online Video Course

Finding your favorite linen is only half the battle… Next time, I'll share 6 Steps to Stretch Linen Successfully!

See you then!
—Adam

Our Simple, Portable Plein Air Setup

If you've ever set up a French easel, you know it can feel like wrestling an octopus.

That's how I felt the first time I set up my French easel as an art student. Little did I know that my awkward struggle would become legendary. Years later, I learned that our instructor had observed my clumsy attempt that day—and had been using it as an example to students of what not to do!

There is a way to set up a French easel quite easily. But the easel's bulkiness, along with joint-tightening issues in some brands, have caused some artists to seek alternative solutions.

Plein air painting has grown hugely popular in recent years, and with it, many easel solutions have become available. Andrea and I don't claim to have the best solution, but we like our setup because of its portability and ease of use. Plus, it was partly homemade, making it fairly economical!

In this post, I'll break down our plein air setup for you…

Palette Box

Our palette boxes were made with love by my wonderful wife! Andrea created them by modifying paint boxes similar to this one (shop around for best price).

She cut the lid of the box into halves and attached these halves to either side of the box with hinges (A). These new lids serve as trays for brushes, towels, etc. They also hold the palette in place when the lids are closed. In one lid, she added a compartment to hold our brush washing containers (B). Clasps on the front keep the box shut (C).

The palette is a piece of plexiglass (D). The back side is painted with middle-value gray acrylic paint, which makes it easier to judge values when mixing colors.

Our plexiglass palettes are lightweight and durable, making them better for travel than glass palettes. However, a razor blade glass scraper can gouge them, so we try to clean them off promptly with a palette knife after use.

Underneath the palette are compartments to store supplies (below).

Andrea's dad cut angled brackets for the palette box, so it can hang over the legs of our tripods. Below are several pics of the brackets, in case you'd like to make your own.

My palette box (not including brackets) measures about 15" x 10.5" x 3.25" when closed.

Don't Want to Make Your Own?

Andrea designed our easels after James Coulter's Coulter Easel, which you can purchase in a variety of sizes here. The difference between our setup and Coulter's is that, instead of using a separate piece to hold our paintings, we use a tripod easel to hold both our paintings and our palette box (see below).

Tripod Easel

Andrea and I use Italian steel tripod easels from Richeson (Shop around for best price). We've broken other brands, but the Richeson easels have held up well. Plus, they come in a variety of fun colors!

My favorite thing about this easel is that it can hold my painting high enough so I don't have to bend over to see it straight-on. I like to stand while painting, and having to bend over hurts a tall guy's back after awhile!

Portability

Best of all, everything fits inside our matching backpacks! Aren't we cute? ;)

It's one thing to have the right painting equipment, but it's another thing entirely to create a compelling painting! I'll share how to communicate the beauty of portraits and figures in my upcoming online video course, "Learn to Paint Dynamic Portraits & Figures in Oil." Click the button below for more info!

Learn More About Online Video Course

Until next time,
—Adam

Our Favorite Brushes & How We Use Them

Painting is hard enough without having to deal with crummy brushes!

When I switched to Rosemary & Co. brushes, it felt like driving a Lamborghini after years of driving clunkers. Have I ever driven a Lamborghini? Well, no… but I imagine it feels like using Rosemary & Co. brushes! And no, Rosemary didn't pay me to say that. :)

Rosemary Thompson (owner of U.K.-based Rosemary & Co.) and her crew hand-craft fantastic brushes that are used by many of today's leading artists.

First, just a few disclaimers
to get out of the way:

• There are many other brands of brushes
  that Andrea and I have never tried.
   
• There are several other varieties of
  Rosemary & Co. brushes that we've never tried.
   
• We use the brushes mentioned below because they are well-made and give us the results we want. In the end, I recommend you try a bunch of brushes and discover which ones work best for you!
   

With that said, here are the Rosemary & Co. brushes we use and how we use them:

Ultimate Bristles

 

"We take two equal amounts of best quality Chinese bristle
and set them opposite each other so that the natural curve
is facing inwards… this gives the artist a hard wearing brush
which keeps its shape for a very long time."
—Rosemary & Co.

Ultimate Bristles can pick up and lay down large amounts of paint, making them perfect for blocking in. Andrea and I use flats and filberts in a wide range of sizes. These have become our main "workhorse" brushes.

Ivory

 

"The Ivory is synthetic bristle at its best,
a cross between the feel of nylon and hog bristle."
—Rosemary & Co.

Ivory brushes are not quite as stiff as traditional bristle brushes, so we prefer the Ultimate Bristles for blocking in large areas. However, the Ivory brushes can achieve sharper edges, so they're ideal for drawing precise lines and making sharp-edged shapes. We use flats, filberts and riggers in medium and smaller sizes. We generally prefer the "springier" feel of the regular-length hairs over the longer hairs.

Pure Red Sable

 

"...a good choice when flexibility is needed, [and it]
carries the paint with flow and precision. So many marks
can be produced from just one good sized pointed brush."
—Rosemary & Co.

These brushes are extremely versatile—the soft hair is great for softening edges and creating smooth blends. In addition, the brush's ability to retain its shape makes it able to create razor-sharp edges. We use Series 7320 Pure Sable One Stroke brushes in medium and small sizes.

•••

Choosing the perfect brushes is one thing. Creating a great painting is quite another! In my online video course, I'll show you how I communicate the beauty of portraits and figures from start to finish.

I plan to launch the course October 7, 2019, but you can start the course today for free! For more info, please click the button below.

Learn More About Online Video Course

Rosemary & Co. brushes can be purchased through their website or from their U.S. supplier, Wind River Arts.

See you next time,
—Adam

How to Find Your Artistic Voice

Finding your artistic voice is like walking a tightrope. On one side of the tightrope is the Chasm of Static Rendering. On the other side is the Abyss of Unbridled Creativity.

If you traverse the tightrope chanting “Paint what you see, paint what you see,” you can enter Gotta-Get-This-Right Mode and topple into the Chasm of Static Rendering. However, if you forget to "paint what you see" altogether, you can enter There-Are-No-Rules-So-I Can-Do-Whatever-My-Creative-Whims-Tell-Me Mode. Accuracy is lost, and you plummet into the Abyss of Unbridled Creativity!

How to Keep Your Balance

You need a balancing pole. One end of this pole is weighted with your creative vision. The other end is weighted with accuracy.

By "accuracy," I mean painting your subject faithfully, according to the 5 Fundamentals (See 5 Reasons Your Painting Doesn't Look Like Your Subject). I consider these 5 Fundamentals to be the foundation upon which good representational art is built. So accuracy is important! But it's not everything. It is also important to allow your work to be influenced by your creative vision.

By "creative vision," I mean having a relatively clear mental image of how you want your painting to look. Developing your creative vision takes time, and that's OK—if painting weren't a journey, it wouldn't be exciting! Fortunately, there are practices that can help you develop your creative vision. Here are two that have helped me the most:

1. Study the work of great artists
to learn how they solved problems

• Observe their work at museums and galleries.
• Paint copies of their work (Doing this gave me some of my best growth as an artist).
• Merely copying another artist's style is not the ultimate goal. Instead, study their work to get ideas for how you might solve similar problems in your own work.
   

2. Ask yourself questions like these:

• What subject(s) inspire me the most?
• How can I make the best picture?
• How do I want this to look?
• "Do not ask yourself, 'What do I see?' Rather ask, 'What do I see?' " (Richard Schmid, Alla Prima: Everything I Know About Painting)
   

The First Step Toward
Finding Your Artistic Voice

The first step toward finding your artistic voice is simply venturing out onto that tightrope. At first, you'll feel a bit wobbly. Sometimes you'll fall—I do frequently! But eventually, as you take one step at a time, you'll pick up speed and the balancing will become easier.

Again, always balance yourself with accuracy and creative vision. The more you make decisions based on both accuracy and creative vision, the more your unique voice will develop.

Walking a tightrope is a frightening illustration (sorry about that). However, finding your artistic voice is nothing to worry about. It will develop naturally over time. And when it does, it cannot help but be unique to you. After all, each of us is specially hand-crafted by the Master Artist. Your voice is merely an extension of who you are—a beautifully unique person!

So venture out onto that tightrope—I can't wait to see what you'll paint!

Learn to Paint Dynamic
Portraits & Figures In Oil

Online Video Course

(Click image to view full-size)

Remember, one end of your balancing pole needs to be weighted with creative vision and the other with accuracy. This lesson contained steps to develop your creative vision, but there’s much more to talk about when it comes to accuracy. There’s just not room in these blog lessons to completely unpack all the vital principles that will enable you to capture the beauty of your subjects. That’s why I spent 3 1/2 years developing the Online Video Course. With 52+ lessons, including over 10 hours of videos, I'll show you how I communicate the beauty of portraits and figures from start to finish.

Access to the course will become available for purchase on October 7, 2019, but you can start the course today for FREE! For more information, please click the button below.

Learn More About Online Video Course

The next Free Art Lesson will start a series of lessons on our materials. You may already know that Andrea and I love using Rosemary & Co. brushes. But next time, I'll share specifically which brushes we use and why in Our Favorite Brushes and How We Use Them.

See you there!
—Adam

How This Perfectionist Learned to Paint More Loosely

 

Left: An early student drawing of mine
Right: A more recent oil painting

I'll be transparent—I'm a perfectionist. I iron my jeans. I have a hard time focusing in a cluttered studio. I quintuple-check these lessons for typos (and kick myself when one gets past me). For years, my perfectionism was a huge hindrance to my painting—by the time I got everything just right, it was way too tight!

Now, please don't misunderstand me—there is nothing wrong with fully-rendered or "tight" paintings. Just look at the masterpieces of artists like William-Adolphe Bouguereau, Lawrence Alma-Tadema and Lord Frederic Leighton! Tight painting is only an issue if you want your paintings to look loose.

And man, did I want to paint loosely like John Singer Sargent and Richard Schmid! My paintings may never be on a par with those masters, but my work finally developed the looseness I desired.

This perfectionist learned to paint more loosely by disciplining myself to adopt these 6 practices:

• Stand up. Sitting will keep you from frequently backing away from your work. This is an essential habit, as problems are much more evident at a distance. If you're unable to stand while painting, sit in a chair with wheels.
   
• (Following from the last point) Adopt the 10-Foot Rule: If it reads well from 10 feet away, it's good—don't touch it!
   

• Envision your subject made up of shapes like mosaic tiles. As much as possible, try to paint these shapes with one stroke each. If you need to adjust a shape, do so with a separate, deliberate stroke instead of continuing to dab at it. Painting a shape with a single stroke often requires a generous amount of paint on your brush, which leads me to the next point…
   
• Mix up large batches of paint on your palette with your palette knife. One of the biggest culprits of tight painting is not using enough paint—when your brush is hungry for paint, multiple strokes are needed to cover an area, and this can cause the surface to look overworked.  

• Use a brush slightly too big for the job (I couldn't find what artist said this, but if you know, please remind me!).
   
• Continuously ask yourself, "How do I want this to look?" Having at least a semi-clear vision for your brushwork can keep you from falling into the trap of slavishly copying your subject.

See My Loose Painting
Techniques on Video!

(Click image to view full-size)

Watch me demonstrate all kinds of loose brushwork in my Online Video Course! In over 10 hours of video instruction, you'll see my painting process from start to finish. Each lesson is a stepping stone to guide you toward making better paintings. I can't wait to help you capture the beauty of your subjects faithfully and artistically!
 
Access to the course will become available for purchase on October 7, 2019, but you can start the course today for FREE! For more information, please click the button below.

Learn More About Online Video Course

Asking "How do I want this to look?" is a key for beginning to find your personal style or "voice." I'll discuss that in the next lesson, How to Find Your Artistic Voice.

—Adam

4 Principles for Powerful Paintings

It's one thing to paint something to look like that something. It's another thing entirely to paint that something dynamically, in a way that draws your viewer's attention from across the room.

When you just can't make your painting of that apple look like the apple, be encouraged that there is a maximum of just 5 things that could be wrong—drawing, value, edge, temperature and/or color (See "5 Reasons Your Painting Doesn't Look Like Your Subject").

However, like I mentioned last time, there is another set of issues beyond these 5 that may keep your painting from being as strong as it could be. Does your picture lack "punch"? Do the elements in your picture seem lopsided? Is it unclear where the viewer should look? These are usually issues with composition.

To avoid composition problems, remember "4 Principles for Powerful Picture-Making":

1. Center of Interest or Focal Point
2. Placement
3. Value Pattern
4. Line

Now, let's unpack these…

 

1. Center of Interest

 

Your center of interest (or "focal point") is the thing you want to convey the most. To decide what your center of interest should be, ask yourself, "what is the most important thing I want to communicate through this picture?" You can certainly communicate multiple things in the same painting. But when you do, it's a good idea to emphasize your most important statement and make your other statements subordinate. Otherwise, your viewer can feel visually overwhelmed and be confused as to where he is supposed to look.

In a room of shouting people, no single voice is heard.

The remaining 3 Principles for Powerful Picture-Making can be used to make your center of interest more powerful and compelling…

2. Placement

Do the elements in your pictures ever feel lopsided or otherwise awkward? Next time, plan the placement of elements beforehand by sketching small thumbnails in pencil. This allows you to move the elements around until they feel "right."

Good placement can be very subjective, but here are a few rules of thumb that can help (these are certainly not absolutes):

• Avoid placing your center of interest exactly in the center.
   
• Placing your center of interest higher than the canvas's center is often more appealing than placing it lower.
   
• The further you place your center of interest from the center of your canvas, the more likely it will be that you'll need an opposing secondary element to balance it. This can help avoid lopsided pictures.
   

3. Value Pattern

Value pattern can give your picture that compelling "punch" to draw a viewer's attention from across the room. Value pattern is the arrangement of basic shapes of darks and lights. I often spend a great deal of time planning my value patterns by making thumbnail sketches like this:

If a value pattern is strong as a thumbnail, it will usually be strong in the final painting, too.

When I plan a value pattern, I consider these rules of thumb (again, these are not absolutes):

• Allow the area of highest value contrast to be on or near your center of interest. This is one of the most powerful pulls to attract your viewer's eye.
   
• Don't allow your dark shapes and light shapes to occupy the same amount of surface area. This can look static.
   
• As much as possible, connect areas of similar value into one continuous shape. This almost always makes a composition stronger.
   

4. Line

Lines—both actual and implied—are powerful devices that can be used to lead your viewer on a fun journey through your painting and toward your center of interest.

In this painting, notice how the lines of the yarn, seat back, cushions, and other elements lead the eye through the piece. Although the lines take the viewer on a meandering stroll through the picture, they eventually lead back to the center of interest—the girl's face and hands.
 

Dig Deeper With the
Online Video Course

(Click image to view full-size)

This blog lesson only scratches the surface of composition. In my online video course, I’ve dedicated two entire units to its study! You’ll learn how to draw your viewers from across the room with dynamic compositional techniques.

Access to the course will become available for purchase on October 7, 2019, but you can start the course today for FREE! For more information, please click the button below.

Learn More About Online Video Course

Many people ask me how they can paint more loosely and have more interesting brushwork. Becoming a looser painter was a long journey for me, but in the next lesson, I'll share How This Perfectionist Learned to Paint More Loosely.

See you there!
—Adam