Linear perspective revolutionized the way artists perceived and incorporated spatial depth in their work.  Devised in solid, mathematical terms in the 15^th century, linear perspective creates the illusion of three-dimensional space on a tow –dimensional surface.

To create effective linear perspective, artists establish a horizon line, a vanishing point on that line, and multiple orthogonal, or vanishing lines.  The horizon line is a horizontal line that runs across the paper or canvas to represent the viewer’s eye level and delineates the sky meeting the ground.  The orthogonal lines, which distort objects by foreshortening them, create the optical illusion that objects grow smaller and closer together as they grow farther away.  These imaginary lines grow smaller and closer together as they get farther away.  These imaginary lines recede on the paper to meet at one point on the horizon called the vanishing point.

The difference between one point perspective and two-point perspective is how many vanishing points there are and where they are placed on the horizon line. For more basics consider coming into Ogden Blue and take a class with one of our very fine instructor’s.

Many of us become artists for different reasons. Some of the most common reasons include the need to express oneself; and, the desire to reproduce memories of people and places that we have experienced.  It is freeing to be able too stop what you are doing anywhere and sketch a scene or put a new idea onto paper while it is fresh in your mind.  While painting is satisfying, carrying all the supplies that you need on a daily basis can be cumbersome and takes planning. If you prefer simplicity, colored pencils are an attractive option.  Paper, pencils, a sharpener, and an eraser are the general basics; all of which can easily fit into a backpack or satchel.

Color pencils are relatively inexpensive and the palette is extensive.  The color is pure, clean and bright.  The medium is permanent, and color pencil drawings do not require elaborate storage or care.  Along with hard and soft color pencils and oil based color pencils offer more options for beginning and advanced artists.

Whatever medium you like to work with, color pencils are a fun addition that offers rewards of both drawing and painting.

Ogden Blue offers Premier Prisma colors, Verithin, and Prisma watercolor pencils.  We also have Derwent Aquatone, and Derwent watercolor pencils.

How do you define success?  Having a lot of money is an obvious answer,

but what about satisfaction in knowing that you absolutely tried your best?

When someone interviewed me recently, she asked how I define success. I

surprised myself a bit when I referred to several material things; perhaps

because they're tangible. But I added that the ability to feel joyful everyday

is a sign of success for me, a statement that is true today as it was back in

college when I only had about $10 extra to spend each week and lived on

noodles and coffee. Money, I realized has little to do with it.

I hope that as an artist, you feel successful when you have taken some time

to dedicate to your art.  It could be sketching for practices, painting what you

hope to be a masterpiece, reading about other artists, taking an art class,

browsing an art supply store or visiting a gallery.  All of these things will in

some way will push you a step forward, and help the momentum of your

desire to create.  In my humble opinion, we're each successful as long as

we don't stop.

While you may not feel inspired to actually paint or draw everyday (although

I hope you do), when you need a little push, one resource you can always

rely on is one of your family of fine art magazines, including American Art

Collector, International Artist, Art of the West, or Watercolor Artist.

Portrait Painting Tips

Painting   portraits is a skill that may take a few years to master.  It is the job of the painter to bring out the persons /subject personal qualities as well as their attributes or what they look like. There is no right or wrong way to paint a portrait, the likeness comes with practice.

The portrait is not usually started without a lot of preliminary sketches.  A likeness can be mastered with patience and practice.

SOME SIMPLE TIPS

-The subject should not cover more than two thirds of the canvas.  It is important to size the subject right.

-Ensure that the source of light will fall on the sitter’s face in such a way as to make the best use of shadow. Good use of light and shadow can give the impression of strength and solidity to the subject’s face.

-The background is important in the portrait. Avoid putting distracting things in the background so the eyes of the viewer will always be drawn to the subject of the painting.

-If possible use a live model.  If this is not possible use a good quality photo and a larger photo.

-Study the subject as a whole. Study the bone structure and try to see the shapes and planes.

-Focus on a section at a time.

-Begin with a thinner mix of your darkest darks, next paint your lightest lights with a thicker or medium consistency.

-Mixing flesh tones takes time and of course skin comes in so many varieties of colors. There is no specific formula; you will have fun experimenting and practice. Over mixing can deaden a color.

-The forehead and muzzle area (the space between the nose and the mouth) and chin are usually the same color but cooler.

-When painting hair, don’t try and paint every strand. Look at the hair as one object.

-Try and repeat the colors and values in your painting to create balance.

-Add bits of color where the shadow meets the light in your portrait.

Painting portraits does take practice so enjoy the practice!

The art and technique of Giclée 

Giclée ("zhee-clay" or , from French) is a neologism for the process of making fine art prints from a digital source 

Giclée is the process of capturing artwork through digital photography or scanning to reproduce the artwork. At Ogden Blue we have been doing Giclée for over a decade. There is a lot of information about Giclée, and without getting too technical, I will tell you the three P’s of Giclée: Process, Proofing, and Printing.

Process

With Giclée there are two main ways to capture the artwork.

The first process is through digital photography. When capturing through photography it gets very technical. You must have a camera, computer screen, and high quality printer all calibrated to each other for the color matching process. Additionally, you need a naturally lighted room to be able to capture the artwork without glare. Once you have the equipment you simply put the artwork on a wall mounted easel and capture the artwork.

The second process is through scanning on a flatbed and calibrating the colors; this is the process Ogden Blue currently uses. With this process the artwork is scanned in on our calibrated flatbed scanner. We use this process to keep the quality under control, and also to keep the cost low, so that all artists of any style or background are able to afford to reproduce their artwork.

We start first by scanning in the painting in on our flatbed scanner multiple times.  Depending on the size of the artwork it could take one scan or it could take up to twelve. Once we have the individual scans of the complete artwork, we start to piece the different scans together in Photoshop until we have compiled them to have a digital image of the original. We then clean the image of any flaws or scratches. Next we flatten the image and start the proofing process.

Proofing

The proofing process can either be extremely easy or a long process of adjusting colors. Since we use the scanning process, we are excellent at watercolors and sketches. However, oil or acrylics on canvas tend to be a tricky texture to work with. Even if you don’t use a high gloss, the liquidity of the paints tend to prevent the scanner from capturing the correct color of the artwork and instead reflect the light from the scanner back into the digital image. Don’t let that deter you from coming to Ogden Blue if you paint with oils or acrylics though. That just means that we need to extend the proofing process. We start with the original proof by comparing it to the original. The vast majority of the time the colors are exactly what you are looking for, and we can start with the printing process. If the colors or contrast of the proof is off, we adjust and do additional proofs. Once you we have created a replica of your original we start reproducing and printing your artwork.

Printing

Although Giclée is a major offering of Ogden Blue, we are known more for digital color printing of flyers, brochures, business cards, invitations, booklets, etc. If you want just replicas of your original, it’s an easy process and we offer a wide selection of reproduction papers to choose from. We have the three standards: artist paper, watercolor and canvas. We can also stretch and do gallery wraps or a simple foam core mount. One thing unique to Ogden Blue is that we aren’t limited to just those papers. My professional recommendation is our newest reproduction, a mimic gallery wrap. With a mimic gallery wrap, we print your art work on our large format printer; from here we then mount it to an illustration board, then to black stretcher bars. We have many examples at here at Ogden Blue of our different options.

If you are looking for an alternative to just printing out copies, we have many other options for you to decide from. Instead of the standard happy birthday card, we can turn your mother’s favorite painting into a birthday card for her. We can also print portraits of your favorite dead economists! From John Maynard Keynes to Frederich Hayek, show whose economic ideas you support with pride on your living room wall; it’s also a great conversation starter! Or not.  J

Ogden Blue also has a fantastic framing department. We can frame anything from 5x7 to 20x30 sizes. Last holiday season, a customer had us Giclée process a painting her mother did of the family. We printed 11x14 copies, and framed them so all of the siblings could have a copy as a gift, while leaving the original on her mother’s wall.

We can also do card packs with envelopes to sell at the Farmer’s Markets during the summer season. Another great idea is bookmarks of a fun drawing to give out to children to inspire them to read more; or better yet compile all of the grandchildren’s art work and make a family calendar for a great Christmas present.

Here at Ogden Blue we do it all, whether it is a 24x36 master oil painting, or a finger painting by your granddaughter. We are your store to help capture and reproduce your artwork to share with the world. Come in and see us today about our limitless options! 

Are you looking for something to reach out to your customers or audience and grab them by the shirt, get their full attention, and pull them into your store?

Did you know Ogden Blue offers some great Large Format printing options that can do just that?

Here are a few Large Format options we have to help give your business a professional yet noticeable look:

-         Use a colorful Banner to draw attention to your business or special event.

_-         Print large posters to advertise your company’s services or to promote your latest campaign.

_-         Get cut or printed vinyl to help create a professional display in your store windows.

_-         Use banner stands, displays, and banners to bring color and attention to your trade show event.

_-         Bring your family memories to life by printing them on canvas, watercolor, or photo paper in Color or Black & White.

_-         Take your project plans to large scale with vivid color or crisp black & white.

Our large format black & white prints start at $0.52/sq. ft. (?), and large format color prints start at $5.00/sq. ft.

Don’t be Shy. Live Large and Get Noticed.

Watercolor painting is versatile and fairly easy to begin learning. The materials can be varied, but for beginners, there are just a few basics that should be sufficient.

Brushes:  Sable brushes are the highest quality, but blends of sable or squirrel hair and synthetic will also be fine for starting. Synthetics are lower quality, so if this is your only option, select the highest quality brush you can. You will need a round brush, usually #8, and a flat wash brush, at least ½”. An oval wash or mop brush, usually size 3, is useful for getting large amounts of water and/or paint onto the paper quickly.

Paint:  A few higher-quality paints will be more useful than a lot of low-cost colors. Paints are available in student and professional grades and come in tubes or pans. Pans are less expensive, but dry out faster, while tube paints are ideal for covering large areas, and are useful if you paint often. Some artists recommend you start with a warm and cool version of each primary color, which allows for mixing the other colors you need. There are many other color suggestions, but this depends on the individual.

Paper:  Watercolor paper comes in rough, hot-press, and cold-press. Rough paper is textured, hot-press is smooth and slick, and cold-press is in-between and slightly textured, and usually best for beginners. Paper comes in sheets or blocks, and sheets must be stretched to minimize rippling and warping.

Other Materials:  Most pan watercolors come with a palette. For tube paints you can use any palette, but a covered one will keep your paints from drying out. You may also benefit from a drawing pencil, kneaded eraser, and a few odds and ends such as a spray bottle, sponge, paper towels, and whatever else makes your painting experience the most rewarding.

As you work, you will quickly discover which paints, papers, brushes, and other materials work best for you. The best thing to do for beginning artists is to dive right in, and enjoy the learning process!

When it comes to buying art supplies, we’re luckier than the Old Masters because we can buy everything ready-made, ready to use and we have far more choice. What hasn’t changed is the importance of being particular about the art materials you use, opting for quality rather than quantity. Tubes of paint you know are full of pigment, not just a little stretched with filler. Paper that doesn’t yellow or have spotty sizing. A brush whose hairs stay firmly in place and shape. By using top-quality art materials, you make the most of your artistic skill and creativity.

Even if you are already using top-notch materials, it’s worth periodically checking to see what’s new. It's not every day that you will discover a product such as Winsor & Newton’s Artists' Acrylic which introduced a totally reformulated acrylic, but innovations and improvements happen all the time.  For instance, Winsor & Newton now has three versions of traditional lead-based white for oil painters. 

The right brush for the painting

Hog-hair, sable-hair, squirrel-hair, synthetic fibers, mixed fibers... filbert, flat, round, mop, fan, rigger... long handle or short. There are so many variations to something as fundamental to painting as a brush. Everyone has their favorite, the one that’s just right for your painting style. But familiarity puts you into a comfort zone; you know what you can do with the brush and if you’re not careful, the brush dictates how you’re painting.
Try a different shape of brush and see what it does to your mark-making in the paint.

Try a different type of hair and see how it works with the paint. A rigger brush for delicate lines longer than you’d think possible, or a mop for wonderfully watery washes. And if your memories of synthetic-hair brushes date from when they first came onto the market, give them another go as you’re in for a pleasant surprise.

If you look after a top-quality brush well, it may even outlast you, whereas a poorly made brush will frustrate you by leaving hairs in the paint and soon end up unused in a jar on the shelf. What you’re after is a brush that will hold the paint within the hairs and let the paper gently pull it from the brush rather than it all slide off the instant you touch the surface. As well as a brush that is balanced in your hand, not top- or bottom-heavy. The ferrule won’t rust or loosen. The varnish doesn’t flake off the handle. Hairs don’t fall out or instantly splay in all directions.   

When you look at the Rolls Royce of sable brushes, such as a Winsor & Newton Series 7 brush, you’ll notice it has an exceptionally fine point. That’s because it’s made from different length hairs, carefully arranged to have longer ones around the fatter belly of the brush and tapering to a point. Put a little pressure on the brush to paint a thicker line, lift up and the hairs spring back to the point, enabling you to paint fine detail without swapping to another brush.

If you do have to replace a quality brush, the new one will respond like the old. With poorly made brushes that wear out rapidly, you have to keep buying a new one and learn its idiosyncrasies all over again. You’re spending time mastering a tool – again – rather than developing a painting.
Next time you looking at brushes, don’t think of it as simply “this brush costs X and that one Y” but analyze what you’re getting for the price. The quality and selection of the hairs, the construction, how many miles you’re going to get out of it, what it might add to your painting technique and style.

Student paints and artist’s quality paints

There are many different types of oil paint and at the bottom end of the market, those of a poorer quality have so little pigment that they can be difficult to paint with. Above this you get cheap student paint, and above this you get the student or hobbyist lines produced by the reputable brands. These student paints can even be better than what some manufacturer’s sell as affordable artist’s quality.

Buying a reputable brand means you can know the colours aren’t going to fade or produce peculiar colour mixes, that there’s a decent amount of pigment in the tube and it’s been properly formulated.  

Winsor & Newton’s affordable brands -- Galeria (acrylics), Cotman (water colours), and Winton (oils) -- all offer an array of colours that will have anyone painting contently. But WINSOR & NEWTON’s artist’s ranges give access to far more; to the full range of pigments, traditional and modern, the full extent of the strength and subtlety of colour available to artists today. Learn with student paints, and then step it up a notch and move up to artist’s quality paint.   

For an in-depth look at how to judge what you’re getting in a tube of paint, read The quality of your oil colour by Emma Pearce, former technical expert for Winsor & Newton. It’s about oil paints, but the key information applies across all mediums.

Quality in the foundation

The best paints in the world aren’t any good if what you apply it to isn’t going to last or yellows. With canvas, some of the problems encountered are easy to spot. Stretchers that aren’t put together square or so thin they’ve warped. Canvas not stretched tightly enough or pulled skew so the grain is distorted. Canvas with a coarse weave that will overwhelm fine detail. Unsightly folds at corners. 

Other issues are less easy to spot, such as uneven priming. I’ve even encountered a canvas where acrylic paint simply wouldn’t stick in one spot. I had to sand it down and prime it again.

If you’re using oil paint, look for canvas that is double or triple primed or buy unprimed canvas and apply several layers of gesso yourself. Several layers of gesso helps stiffen the fibers in a canvas, reducing movement and flexibility, thus protecting the paint. Gesso also protects the canvas from the oil in the paint. Acrylics are more flexible, so it’s less of a concern unless you’re using thick layers of paint or texture paste.

Paper needs to be acid free or it will deteriorate and yellow over time. Few of us are going to check a paper declaring itself to be acid free is indeed so, relying on the integrity of the manufacturer. Similarly, you can't see the sizing in a paper, but once you put brush to paper you experience it. A quality paper will have the same level of internal and surface sizing, so you can rely on it responding consistently. Poorly sized paper can lead to paint spreading unexpectedly. One small spot on a sheet of paper is all it takes to ruin a watercolour painting.

Once you've found a paper you enjoy using, why might you change it? There's the new-on-the-market aspect, the greener-credentials papers, and the stuck-in-a-rut factor. If you only ever use what you know, what might you be missing out on, what paintings might you not create by changing the materials you’re using?

A heavier weight paper isn’t simply a thicker version of a thinner one with the sole benefit that you don't have to stretch it before painting on it. Try it and you'll feel it responds differently, it’s more resilient. With graphite, for instance, a thicker paper will more readily take additional layers. You can leave the paper for a bit to 'relax', then apply more on top. If you’re lifting colour off to fix a mistake in a watercolour, there’s less risk of disturbing the surface of the paper.  


Don’t forget mediums

If you’ve never used anything but oil and turps for oil paints or water for acrylics and watercolours, then you’ve been missing out. How about adding a bit of texture medium to watercolour? Or a sparkle to colours with iridescent medium? Deliberately making the pigment dry uneven with granulation medium? Slow the drying time?

With oil paint, there are mediums for speeding up the drying time, for making it easier to blend without brush marks, for adding body (impasto). With acrylic paint the range is even larger, including mediums to facilitate glazing, make the paint more matt or gloss, or slow the drying time, as well as all sorts of texture mediums for extra body and surface textures such as glass beads.

Getting an easel

Few things feel more like a commitment to creating art in the long term than getting an easel. If you’ve been in an art class with battered tripod easels that wobble however you stand them, struggled to adjust wing nuts or tighten them so your painting doesn’t slide down as you’re working, then you probably won’t need persuading to buy a sturdy, h-frame one with a ratchet so it’s easy to adjust. If it seems an expense you can’t really justify, divide the cost over the years you’ll use it, probably the rest of your life...

Check the largest size canvas it’ll take and whether your ceiling is high enough for the easel at its maximum extension if you like painting standing up. Check the mechanism for adjusting is easy to use and, if it’s on castors, that these are easy to lock. If an easel wobbles or is a pain to adjust, you won’t use it and may as well chop it up for firewood. If an easel is sturdy enough to withstand vigorous brushwork and simple to adjust, the joy of using it will be reflected in your art. Once you get over the horror the first time you get paint on your lovely new easel, that is.

I recommend taking a look at Winsor & Newton’s Shannon and Welland studio easels.
 

Don’t get stuck in an artistic rut

It’s easy to find excuses for sticking with what you know, for not trying art materials other than what you’re now using or using better quality paint. Take the initiative and discover for yourself how much more you can achieve with top-of-the-range art materials and experiment with new products. You won’t be the first to discover that it is true you can use less good quality paint to achieve more than you can with loads of inferior paint.

Marion Boddy-Evans is an artist and writer who now lives on the Isle of Skye. She paints mostly with acrylics, but regularly gives herself a creative boost by using other mediums too. Marion also writes About.com:Painting.

http://www.winsornewton.com/resource-centre/product-articles/choosing-quality-art-materials

WHy the new web site?

For anyone who saw the old web site, I think you will understand why we really wanted to update this site!  When I came to the company two and a half years ago, there were a lot of pressing issues that needed to be taken care of, and the web site just seemed to drop by the wayside.  We really concentrated on becoming a top-notch printing firm during that period of time, and we have done an outstanding job on offering unique services, stellar customer service, and a fast, easy printing experience.  The web site is more about customer service to me.  Is there a way that we can help you get stuff done faster, easier, with less hassle?  I hope that is what the new web site will be all about.

This site now gives us the ability to change the information here ourselves.  We get to blog and converse with you through it.  It links to our social media, so we can let you know about all the great services and specials you can find at Ogden Blue.  In other words, it helps us continue the conversation with you, and helps us deliver a higher level of service than we could before. 

New Features

We have a lot of new features and a new look.  Our new look, which some of you have seen, reflects a bit better the new Ogden Blue.  We have had blueprinting services for a long time, but a lot of people didn't know that we also do color printing which is reflected in the new logos.  We have some amazing digital presses that give incredible quality... right here in Ogden so you can keep your business local.  Our six color bars reflect the six ways that we can serve you, and each one represents an area in which we can help you express yourself as you want in print, art, and design.

So... we have added a File Upload area, where you can send your print files to us.  You can also contact us directly or learn about the different kinds of services we offer.  We have an Art Knowledge base coming soon, where you can learn a little about the different types of products and how they are used.  You can join a newsletter that can help you track when art classes are, what specials we are offering, and hear about great new products that we are bringing on-line or into the store.  There will be specials that you can only view on-line, and we will have contests that will run.  For instance, right now, you can win an iPad by just printing with us or by joining our newsletter forum!

 We are happy that you decided to check out our new web site, and I hope you find it enjoyable, informative, and easy-to-use.  I also hope it saves you time, helps you learn, and helps you save.