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5 Things To Do With A Blank Canvas

It’s finally quiet in the house; you are inspired, motivated and focused. Your mood is just perfect to create something. You are not sure what the idea is, but all you want is to get your hands dirty. This spur of imagination and artistry can escape any moment and you want to make the most from it now. You head towards your craft room, set your canvas on the easel and poof! All the ideas went out of the window. This is called blank canvas syndrome. There isn’t an artist in the world, which hasn’t gone through this. Nothing, absolutely nothing comes to the mind. No ideas, incentives and motivation help you. Seeing the emptiness and bareness of the canvas, the mind goes blank. Even if you are not an artist, and you got the abstract paint by numbers painting kit as a gift from a loved one, you still need inspiration, an idea to actually do something on the canvas. All the excitement and motivation turns into frustration and distress because your mind is just stripped from all the ideas.

Before telling you ways to conquer this situation, I’m first going to address the ‘why’. Why does this happen? Why do so many artists and other people fear the blank canvas? Why does a piece of white paper look like a scary expanse? There are so many good things you can do with a blank canvas. It is a way to express your feelings, creativity, mood and mind. Completely block all the tensions and worries of the world and paint your heart out. But still people are not comfortable with this form of relaxation. This is because they fear failure. Universally, adults are scared to make mistakes and to make a fool out of themselves. We don’t want to embarrass or humiliate ourselves and deflate our egos by showing that we aren’t good enough or capable. We tend to judge ourselves too hard. This makes us worry about the end result so much that we forget to enjoy the actual process. This self-doubt is instilled in us by our upbringing, or by unaware, unkind elders or teachers. We feel unsafe and unsure in front of the canvas as we fear a potential possibility to mess up. If you are a beginner, start with a sketchbook or single sheet. Be comfortable and then start.

What if you need a good artwork to grace your walls? It’s hard to shop paintings, as it is either too expensive or too simple that you think there is nothing special about it. Sometimes it is a boring hotel, an animal or some random strokes of paint. Now who wants to buy an artwork that is expensive, but looks simple enough that you can also make it by yourself? Then why don’t you make one. Buy a canvas paint by numbers kit and unleash the artist inside you. You have the potential, competence and ability to create an amazing art work. So no holding back on your ideas and don’t shy away from your imagination. It is your time to shine and reveal the inner creativity of yours. You’ll be so happy when the guests or people around you, will admire the canvas of your imagination. Trust me, they will ask.

Here are some ideas to beat the blank canvas syndrome, try them out to kill the whiteness and bring out colors in your canvas.

1.   Pour the paint

Get your canvas painting kits out and try your hand at abstract painting. Yes! Abstract painting may seem like an expert’s cup of tea but with this simple trick anyone can make abstract art. Lay down your canvas on the floor and pour paints on it. Take a generous amount of paints; add water for a pouring consistency. You can use poster paints or fluid acrylics. Pour down the paint with your hands or use a brush. Shimmy down the paints from different angles and heights, sweeping, stroking, dripping, flicking and pouring it. You can use one color or several.

2.   Stencil it

Take out stencils from the internet or use dolly papers, they work great as stencils. Place them at the canvas and spray paint or paint them to achieve different patterns. Use layering as a way to get a more complex pattern. Change mediums and colors for making the design more interesting and creative.

3.   Doodle and scribble

Doodling and scribbling is better for sketchbooks, smaller canvases or sheets, but that is not a rule. Make a line with your favorite color and take it for a walk on the canvas. It doesn’t have to mean anything or look a specific way. Go wild and set your mind free. You can use brushes, papers, tissues, or even your fingers. It’s very effective in freeing and purifying the mind. It is a great way for a head start, as whatever you do at first is most probably going to be covered by the end. Play with colors, smear them, blob them.  

4.   Cover up the base

Start by completely covering your canvas with any color you prefer. Just get rid of the white spots peeking through. It’s maybe the most mindless and simplest thing to start with. But it brings out the richer hues later on in the painting; you can leave some places from where the base color can peek through. If you are still unsure, just pick any color and let the creativity find its way.

5.   Make a collage

Use the canvas and ditch the paints. Sometimes it’s not the canvas but the wide range of paints that overwhelm you. Bypass the paints, stick things to the canvas, adding texture and dimension to the look. Stick bits and pieces in a way to create a picture. You can also crumble foil, tissues or newspaper. These pick up paints in strange ways and give a unique look to the painting.

There are so many more things you can do with a blank canvas, buy a canvas painting kit and let the creative juices follow. A blank canvas gives you a plethora of opportunities to play, don’t hold back and let it go!

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Top Oil Painting Tips and Tricks for Beginners

Oil paints have been a staple choice of artists for hundreds of years and still continue to be a popular medium among painters, worldwide. It’s one of the most relied upon mediums of painting for centuries and some great art works have been made using oil paints like Mona Lisa, The Starry Night, The Kiss and The Night Watch to name a few. Staring out from the OG of painting mediums is the best way to go forward but if you’re making a transition from another medium like acrylics or watercolors then be generous to yourself, give time and room for experimenting as it will certainly be a steep learning curve but a very rewarding one. To make things easy for you, venture from animals paint by numbers, as they’re easy to follow, allow control, color palette is selected and the end result is so satisfying, boosting your confidence to take a leap.

Oil paints have their own set of rules which must be strictly abided by as they can make all the difference in your painting. Oil paints have a long drying time which requires a lot of patience and perseverance. This is a pro and a con of oil painting, but it depends on the painter’s perspective. The layering effect of wet-on-wet and wet-on dry is something that’s up to the painter's will but both of the techniques have amazing effects on the painting. Although oil paints allow a lot more control, are easy to use, have an incredible color pay off, have a diverse range of colors and the quality is supreme, than any other medium, we can’t take away the fact that oil paints are toxic solvents.

To all the bright-eyed rookie artists out there who want to embark their oil paint journey must work their way up with endurance. Keep your expectations to a bare minimum in starting and allow yourself to experiment, make mistakes and learn from them. Try alleviating yourself from the pressure of performance, familiarize with the medium and enjoy the process. Painting kit for adults are a great starting point and a sure short way to gain confidence with oil paints. Amateur artists feel overwhelmed by the language of oil paints, their application and ramifications but once you get a hang of it all turns into a sweet melody. Things like homemade gesso, linen vs canvas, finer points of pigments and brush talk can be confusing at first, so here we are to make things easy and more understandable for anyone starting out with this most entrusted medium in the world of painting.

Invest Slowly

Oil paints demand your money, dedication, resilience, tolerance and most of all time. Novice artists mustn’t plunge straight into a life size painting, putting too much at stake and end up messing everything or giving up oils altogether. Start out with a small painting, testing with techniques without investing too much time or supplies. Tread slowly, gain experience from the process and then venture in big paintings. Animal paint by numbers provides the perfect opportunity for learning in the most secure way. Buy 8x10” canvas or canvas boards and just paint to familiarize yourself with the medium.

Paint is a Well-Ventilated Room

Due to the toxic fumes released by the oil paints, painters must work in a ventilated room to avoid itchiness in eyes, ringing in ears and severe headaches. A well-lit room is also very important as the light (preferably natural) will help to see the colors in their truest form, you will be able to feel more energized, inspired and inclined to work more often. A special room for painting makes things easier for you, the supplies are set, the canvas ready and the energy is positive. These are all the ingredients for a master painting.

Keep your Foundation Game Strong

This is a key step that you’re supposed to do at the beginning of your painting but the result of this effort will reflect on the end of your painting. There’s no limitation of the surface you want to paint on but you must prime it with a material called gesso. This base coat prevents the oil paints from seeping into the surface, protects the surface from the harmful chemicals of the paints and provides a base that allows the paints to adhere to it for maximum color pay off.

Learn the Language of Colors

Colors play a huge part in making or breaking any painting. There’re many rules that apply to colors, that make them appear livelier on canvas or they seem lifeless and dull. Firstly don’t mix more than two colors and white, don’t over mix them to the point where they tend to lose their individuality and don’t skimp on paints. If you wish to achieve a vivid and vibrant effect then skimping on color will ruin that so make sure to apply the correct amount. Paint by numbers sets provide the perfect quantity of paints which are enough for the set and nothing goes to the waste.

Go with the Correct Order of Paint

The order of paint in an oil painting is absolutely vital if you want the desired effects and not a prolonged painting time. Always paint fat over lean, thick over thin and slow drying over fast drying. What I mean is that start with a thin layer of paint and a low content of oil, so that it dries quickly and your painting doesn’t crack up. Build up with thicker layers of paints with higher oil content.

Clean the Brushes, But Not With Water!

Everyone knows that oil and water repel each other so you can’t clean your dirty brushes with water. It’s important to clean your brushes when switching between colors and it can be messy. Keep rags, turpentine, paper towels handy to wipe your brushes for the best results, no one wants traces of previous colors ruining the new color.

Palette Knife is your Friend

Don’t underestimate this tool, it’s not only for mixing paints, it can be very useful in creating interesting and intriguing strokes. The effects that come with this tool are simply amazing so do try to make use of this tool in your endeavors.  

Conclusion

Painting is an ever learning process and oil paints are the best medium to work with. Oil paints need to be respected and accepted with their limitations. Once you know them there will be no stopping you from making some master strokes of painting.